Follow Us on Google
By Dickson Okafor
Chief Chukwumalu Emeka, Chairman of Customs Licensed Agents, Apapa Chapter, has said the people of Anambra State re-elected Governor Chukuwuma Charles Soludo for a second term to fulfill his promise he made that he would turn Anambra State into Dubai of Africa as the economic hub of South-East.
He called on the Governor-elect to continue the good job he is doing by improving on security, saying the security outfit called Agunechemba established by Soludo has been infiltrated.
He speaks about other issues of interest.
Excerpts:
What is your assessment of the conduct of the recent governorship election in Anambra State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the watch of its new Chairman, Prof. Joiash Ojo Amupitan?
Much is left to be desired as there was allegation of vote buying and some people were arrested by the police. The other candidates complained of several irregularities that took place during the last governorship election in Anambra State. The agenda for the new Chairman of INEC, Prof. Amupitan began with the Anambra election as a litmus test which was reechoed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the swearing-in of the new INEC boss when he gave him a matching order that he must ensure Anambra State governorship election is free, fair and transparent and the people of Anambra State. But because of Nigeria factor which played out in a situation where some people will turn June to July and that was the reason vote buying took place during the exercise. In spite of that, the election was free and fair and I believe that Amupitan will improve in the conduct of other elections especially in 2027 general election.
John Chukwuma Nwosu, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the result of election and described the exercise as national embarrassment, how can Nigeria overcome power of incumbency in elections?
In the case of Soludo’s victory, the power of incumbency was not at play, rather, the electorate chose the best between the governorship candidates. That was why the people of Anambra State are happy because their votes counted. Above all, power belongs to God and that it is only God that can give power to whoever He wants. And if you are not destined by God to be in power no matter how you force yourself, you will never get it. I prayed about the just concluded governorship election in Anambra State that God should give to us whosoever will operate on the mandate of the people. Not who is grandstanding because if you are grandstanding as a leader you are coming for your selfish interest. What the people of Anambra want is a servant-master as governor and not opinion leaders and God answered my prayer by giving us Governor Soludo to complete the good job is doing in Anambra State. If you are a servant leader or servant master who has the interest of the people at heart, you will be able to deliver on your mandate. Because government is a big institution and it requires somebody who has wealth of experience to run it. As I said earlier, between Governor Soludo and the candidate of APC, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu and others Soludo has consolidated and improved on what past governors have done in Anambra State. So, it is the right of John Nwosu to approach the court to seek redress if he felt the election result was manipulated. But the people of Anambra State have spoken that Soludo should continue for another four years.
Other News
APGA has been the symbol of Anambra State since the inception of the present political dispensation and many believe that is why Soludo defeated political gladiators like Ukachukwu, what is your take?
In an electoral contest under democracy, before you can contest for any position, you must be a candidate of any of the political parties as a means through which you run the race. This is a vital requirement any candidate must meet before you appear on the ballot. And majority of the people of Anambra State settled for the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) which gave their ticket to Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo. And they overwhelmingly voted for him based on his track record and his performance in the last four years as governor. Of course, no coach will change a winning team and before now APGA has given its ticket to credible and competent individuals since its formation. If APGA had denied Soludo their governorship ticket in the governorship election and Soludo got ticket from even any unknown party he would have won because the people of Anambra State don’t vote party, but persons of substance to lead them. No doubt the candidate of APC, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu is an accomplished politician and business mogul and people also cast their votes for him, but the people of Anambra chose the best between the candidates and their choice is Governor Soludo. To me, virtually all the political parties in Nigeria are the same.
What new thing is Soludo bringing to the table?
With his performance in the last four years, what the people wants from him is mostly continuity because Anambra is the economic stronghold not only in the South-East or Nigeria, but in Africa, hence, it is better to have someone who will align with the people than having a leader who will betray the people. Therefore, the people re-elected Soludo to replicate what he did in the financial sector as the Central Bank Governor of Nigeria in Anambra State, Anambra being the centre of commerce in Nigeria. And to meet this expectation, it requires someone who has what it takes to govern the state among the contestants especially in the area of security. Because once Anambra State is peaceful and secured, the rest of the states in the South-East will heave a sigh of relief. Before the election took place, I called on the electorate to cast their votes for a candidate who is not skeptical between Governor Soludo, Ukachukwu and others to lead Anambra State for the next four years. So, I’m sure that Soludo will meet the expectations of the people of Anambra State. But he needs to do more on the area of security because security of lives and property of the citizens is the primary responsibility of government hence without security there will be no development and other social amenities. And nobody will inhabit in such place without security. Notwithstanding, he has improved on the area of security in the state with the establishment of Agunechemba Security outfit, but with his re-election, he will do more. Security is significant to the people of Anambra State because they like visiting home regularly to have respite after years of staying outside South-East doing businesses. And by so doing, Anambra State will become Dubai which Governor Soludo promised before now that he will turn Anambra State into, that will now become a reality.
Why are you concern about Soludo and Ukachukwu because there are other competent candidates who alleged that the election was not free and fair?
As a leader I have contested elections and I know the feelings of the contestants mostly those who lost. In this case Soludo’s victory was landslide and the electorate are not complaining or saying the results were manipulated. The losers have right to contest the results announced by INEC and they have option to seek redress in the court. So, I’m concern about Soludo and Ukachukwu because they are the two heavy weights in the race. And all eyes were on them as you can see Soludo came first and Ukachukwu came second because they arch rival. Again, my view is based on the achievements of the two in the private enterprise and the performance of Governor Soludo within four years as governor. But Soludo needs to do more about security because there are a lot of challenges in the area of security in Anambra State.
But the people appear to have lost confidence in Agunechemba security outfit because some of their members are secretly committing crime; will people be truly safe if they come this Christmas?
People indeed, want to come home and enjoy with their kinsmen this Christmas, but because of insecurity they are afraid. They don’t take such risk considering that they are not safe because of unknown gunmen, kidnappers, armed robbers and all manners of atrocities. Hence, most of them will prefer to remain where they are outside the South-East region to celebrate Christmas. It is unfortunate that the security outfit Soludo established called Agunechemba has been infiltrated by the youth restiveness in the state as many of them are looking for where they are going to get big money and they have committed one evil or the other to get rich quick. The establishment of Agunechemba is good, but that is not enough. Governor Soludo should engage more youths in the fight against insecurity and if done the rate of insecurity will reduce drastically. Because those youths know those who are bad among them and they know how to fish them out. Also, the state government must empower the youths through creation of enabling environment for businesses to thrive and youth restiveness will disappear. For example, if somebody is doing well, you give him carrot, but if he is not doing well, you give him stick to keep. So, I believe in the carrot approach as a better way to checkmate those who are causing havoc in Anambra State. And if it is done there will be sanity because we know those who are bad, and the families they come from that are also bad. But people are afraid to point at them. Such act is affecting businesses in the state and it is the major reason you see a lot Igbos establishing businesses outside Igboland. So, Soludo should look inward and take care of insecurity you will see people coming back to Igboland to establish businesses.
