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Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abia State, Chief Umeh Kalu, SAN, has explained why many progressives in the state have left the Peoples Democratic Party.
In an interview with VINCENT KALU, the Abia State Campaign Coordinator of Peter Obi Presidential Council lamented that the PDP failed to provide infrastructure and basic amenities to the people of the state in 23 years. He noted the Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, has attracted progressive politicians to the Labour Party, insisting Obi is the only one among the major contenders capable of salvaging Nigeria. He also expressed hope that the Labour Party would win the governorship election in the state.
The campaigns for 2023 election have kicked off. What should be the issues?
We cannot divest the issues for the electioneering from the state of affairs of our country. The country at the moment is bedevilled by multifarious problems of such monumental proportions that have never been experienced in the history of this country. As a nation, we are thrown apart and divided by our ethnic affiliations and religious beliefs. A lot of people feel that they are not part of this country and as such feel strongly marginalised. We are passing through a lot of economic woes occasioned by hyperinflation, Naira devaluation, shortage of food and essential items for human subsistence, unemployment and underemployment, incessant devaluation of our currency, national debt burden etc. Insecurity has virtually made life worthless in the country. No part of this country is safe for human habitation. The effect of climate change has further worsened the decrepit infrastructural level of our country as the recent flood has rendered most highways in the country impassable, thereby restraining the movement of persons, goods and services across the country.
These issues as identified above and many more should form the fulcrum of the electioneering campaigns of the various political parties. Nigerians have indeed had enough and at the moment have their backs pressed to the wall. We can only but seek a team that will pull us out of the doldrums and the pitiable situation, which we find ourselves at the moment.
You were in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). What led your pitching tent with the Labour Party?
Yes, I was in the PDP for a very long time, having served two different PDP governors consecutively and for a cumulative period of ten years. Every politics is local and the PDP where you rightly said I was a member at a time has been in power in Abia State from 1999 till date. It is sad to note that there is little or nothing to show for PDP’s 23 years of governance and being in charge of the state. Abia State at the moment is one of the least developed in the country, despite the human and natural resources available there and even the fact that we are amongst the oil producing states in the country. Salaries of workers and pensions are in arrears; some for over 20 months, while courses in our only university and even the polytechnic are being denied accreditation. The health care facility is in a sorry state and health care workers being owed salary for about 24 months. No human being with the fear of God and who is honest with himself will want to remain in a political party that has left Abia State in the sorry state as I have described. This actually informed my decision and those of other progressive minded individuals to leave the party, as it is obvious that the PDP in Abia does not mean well for the citizens. Many of us progressives, including myself deserted the PDP and APC and ran into the warm embrace of the Labour Party, where we are presently determined to stay and use its platform to change the fortunes of Abia State.
If you joined the Labour Party because of Peter Obi, how were you sure he would win the election?
It is important that I state from the outset that majority of us in the Labour Party in Abia State, including Dr. Alex Otti, our gubernatorial candidate, were already in the party before Peter Obi joined. Being in the Labour Party before Peter Obi does not in any way diminish his essence in the party. I admit in totality that Peter Obi’s presence in the Labour Party and his decision to fly the flag of the party as its presidential candidate has enormously enhanced the fortunes of the party. There has been monumental increase in membership and public acceptability of the party since the emergence of Peter Obi, as its presidential flag bearer, as so many other progressive persons across the country have joined the ship of the party. This, if you ask me is heartening as like minds attract other like minds. Talking about winning the election, I remain prayerful and hopeful that Peter Obi will win the election, because it is in the interest of the country and its citizens that we vote for Peter Obi in order to fix the multiple problems bedevilling us at the moment.
What stands Obi out from the other frontline candidates?
Peter Obi stands out in many respects from the other candidates. Firstly, he is youthful in age and appearance. He is virtually the most educated amongst the lot. He has a verifiable track record, having made remarkable progress in governance, business and service delivery. He has the fear of God and is generally seen as one who is fair and just in most of his dealings. He is humble and has no air around himself, and has shown how to be selfless in public service, as per his track record in Anambra State.
Peter Obi’s message resonates and one can definitely not get tired of his analysis of the problems of this country, the reasons we are where we are as a country and how we can get out of the mess we find ourselves in. Peter Obi can clearly be set apart from the other front line contenders; the fact that he has shown capacity and an excellent past record of good performance in government and can hardly be faulted in the way and manner he discharged his duties in the past, is a plus for him. I will however, not join the league of persons who mimic the other frontrunners as being too old, because I know that age is a virtue and a blessing from God. We all long for old age, but in the dynamics of governance, age is definitely not a virtue. Old age comes with its challenges and frailties. Having said this, those who make reference to the past achievements of the APC and PDP flag bearers as a basis for rooting for them in 2023 miss the point, as 20 years in the life of a human being is a huge time. Both candidates of the APC and PDP definitely do not possess the candour, comportment and strength to replicate at the moment what they presumably did some two decades ago. The younger generation which Obi and Datti represent, must and should be given an opportunity. Obi has record of excellent performance in governance and has from his interactions with the electorate shown that he appreciates in clear terms the problems of this country and has solutions to the myriad of our problems. I reckon with his message of turning this country from a consuming nation to a producing nation. He has equally shown excellence in handling public funds. He can manage men and resources effectively. He remains the only hope for salvaging the country
Many had expected that you were going to contest the Abia governorship election, but you didn’t show up. Why?
I am aware that there were expectations and even demands on me to run for the governorship of Abia State in the forthcoming elections. Recall, that I had given a solid decade of my lifetime to the service of Abia State as the attorney general. For me, service is service, no matter the level at which you offered the service. Those 10 years that I gave were equally tedious and took its toll on me. It was a great relief for me to abate service in 2019 to attend to my law practice and family matters.
I decided not to contest the governorship for several reasons, prominent of which is that I had identified one of the contestants whom I think has the capacity to deliver Abia from its present sorry state. That candidate is in the person of Dr. Alex Otti of the Labour Party. There is only one seat for the governor and having identified Dr. Otti, who has consistently expressed desire to serve as governor, I am under obligation to God and the people of Abia State to support him. In supporting Dr. Otti, I am buoyed by his past record, his pedigree and my judgment of the attributes he possesses vis a viz what I know to be the problem of the state. A time like this, Abia definitely needs somebody in the mould of Otti. He has no godfather and is sponsoring his election from his resources and contributions from friends and well-wishers.
How do you want the Abia governorship election to go?
Abia governorship election of 2023 will go the way of the Labour Party and by extension Dr. Alex Otti. He is the preferred candidate of most Abians. He has the mental and physical capacity to deliver. He is experienced in the management of men and resources and that is what Abia State needs at the moment. He has an enviable track record of successes in his past endeavours and will bring his experience and contacts to bear in the running of the state, if elected. I see him equally as watershed and a unifying factor, as he has his roots in both the southern and northern divides of our state. Abia has been most unfortunate in the past over leadership and that explains why we are probably the least developed state in the southern part of Nigeria. We are a laughing stock and the object of ridicule and comic jokes in the Nigerian public space. So we must grab the opportunity before us with both hands by voting Dr. Otti and the Labour Party.
What agenda do you set for the next Abia governor?
I see most persons who have sought and obtained tickets to run for the gubernatorial elections as pretenders and attention seekers, with majority of them ignorant of the problems of the state. Abia in all sincerity is a state lying prostrate with virtually no foundation. So my agenda for the next governor will first of all be to shore up the state’s IGR through blocking of leakages in the system and ensuring that all government revenue goes into government dedicated accounts. Salaries of workers, public servants and civil servants, must be paid as and when due and the backlog cleared. Basic infrastructure in the state i.e. road network, electricity and water must be made available in all major cities in order to boost economic activities and enhance the living standard of the citizens.
There must be prudent management of available resources that accrue to the state, both internally and from the Federal Government. The idea of an individual earning N700 million in a month in the guise of security vote, while workers are left without salaries for several months, must be halted. We must give attention to our schools and make health facilities available and affordable to the citizens of the state. The basic infrastructure of state must be put in place, like the residence and office of the governor and principal officers of government. All these I must admit will not be accomplished in one year or even in one term, but we must prioritise them and show commitment and dedication in solving most of these problems.
