By Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin City
The immediate past Commissioner for Trade and Investment in Imo State, Comrade Simon Ebegbulem, in this interview scored the Governor Uzodimma-led administration high in the last four years.
The thoroughbred journalist who also was former spokesman of the former National Chairman of the APC, Senator Adams Oshiomhole also reacted to the forthcoming guber election in Edo State and other issues.
You served as Commissioner under the administration of Governor Hope Uzodimma before the dissolution of the state executive council last month, can we know your experience delving into politics from journalism?
First of all, I want to thank God Almighty for His grace in my life, His protection and wisdom to deal with the numerous responsibilities assigned to me by my boss, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, who gave me the opportunity to serve in his administration. Yes, as a journalist, I had written politics for several years but this time I had to deal with the real politics and of course administration having served as the first Commissioner for Special Projects, later as Commissioner for Commerce and Industry which was later renamed as Ministry of Trade and Investment. It was a great opportunity for me to serve my people and also helped in driving the policies of the state government in terms of investment and commerce in the state. I am proud that Imo today has an industrial policy which will help to drive the industrialization needs of the state in the next four years and beyond.
You can recall that sometime last year, we flagged off the Orashi River Dredging Project which is geared towards dredging the Orashi River to the Atlantic ocean. This will connect the waterways to the hinterlands as well as expand Nigeria shipping and agricultural sector. The project which was initiated by the administration of Governor Uzodimma will be executed through Public Private Partnership (PPP) and will create thousands of employment opportunities to Imolites. The state is today a fertile ground for investors and the administration has laid solid foundation for investors to leverage on. Any form of illegal taxation has been eliminated, the state government is ready to apportion land to willing investors to erect industries; the ease of doing business is guaranteed today in Imo. And, this was made possible by the clear vision and mission of His Excellency, Governor Hope Uzodimma, who had vowed to make Imo great again. I am happy to say that in the last four years, Uzodimma has done extremely well and I am proud to be part of the success story and I thank His Excellency for the opportunity given me to serve.
How would you describe the swearing-in ceremony of Governor Uzodimma where President Bola Tinubu commissioned the 10-km Bola Tinubu Drive?
Encomiums have continued to trail the naming of the 10-kilometre stretch of road inaugurated by Governor Hope Uzodimma at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, after President Bola Tinubu. You noticed that Mr President personally graced the swearing-in ceremony of Uzodimma, for his second term in office and two weeks before the event, he had commended the latter for the peace his administration has brought to the South East State, promising that the Federal Government will continue to partner Imo to sustain it.
So Onwa is always on top of things. He is a listening governor with complete grasp of what Ndi Imo want and are deserving of. I particularly commend His Excellency for the naming of that road after President Bola Tinubu. It is in sync with the mood of our people. Onwa is ever foremost, and this was attested to by all during the second term inauguration. The plethora of personalities that witnessed the occasion of His Excellency’s second term swearing-in ceremony speaks volumes. Don’t forget that the swearing-in was on a Monday, but we saw the mammoth crowd of citizens and too dignitaries that were on ground. We cannot miss the significance. Before now, no President had ever graced the swearing-in of a governor in the state. Not only was it historical, it confirmed the state’s ability in hosting events of such magnitude, with all the categories of guests, and void of any negativity. This is also the first time that a sitting governor will be winning in the 27 LGAs of the state. This is quite significant and it portrayed the feelings of the people towards the administration.
Talking about Governor Uzodimma, he was recently accused by some governorship aspirants in the Edo APC, of plotting to manipulate the coming primaries of the party in collaboration with the leader of the party in the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, what is your take on that?
That is absolutely untrue and arrant nonsense. But you see, in any contest like this, people will try to insinuate rubbish. I read one Blessing Agbomhore alleging that Comrade Oshiomhole wants to use Governor Uzodimma to impose a certain candidate on the party. You know there are some persons who like playing to the gallery. The same Oshiomhole made this guy the South South zonal secretary of the APC, against all odds. He did not accuse Oshiomhole then of imposing him on the party. I don’t want to join issues with anybody but people must also be warned to stop making spurious allegations. All I know is that Comrade Oshiomhole who is the leader of the party in the state is making all efforts to ensure that the party fields the best candidate for the election. He is determined to return the state back to APC. Oshiomhole and Governor Uzodimma I know are both democrats and will ensure that the primaries are free and fair. I saw efforts being made by the leadership of the party in Edo to prune the number of aspirants from 29 to about six, that is commendable. It is a sincere effort to eliminate the unserious ones because some of those aspirants cannot win election even in their families. Some are only being sponsored to cause crisis ahead of the primaries, while some are even being used by the PDP. However, I am aware that 12 aspirants have picked their forms and it is my belief that the primaries will be free and fair.
How optimistic are you that APC will win the Edo election come September, particularly with the brewing crisis in the party ahead of its primaries?
I am very optimistic because since Comrade Oshiomhole left office as Governor of Edo State, the people of the state have not seen any meaningful development. What they are used to now is stories about signing of MOUs and nothing on ground. Today, APC has two senators in Edo out of three, six House of Reps seat and nine House of Assembly members. So, APC is solidly on ground in Edo. And when you talk about crisis, much crisis is in the ruling PDP and even Labour Party. The crisis in Edo PDP is worse than ever and they will not survive it. I am proud of the caliber of aspirants in APC, most of them are die-hard party men. They are not hungry men, they have been tested in the past and have impressed the party. So, I believe that at the end of the primaries, whoever emerges, others will support that person, in the interest of the party and the state at large. I am very confident that Edo will return to APC after this election.