Chief Modestus Umenzekwe is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with FELIX NWANERI, he speaks on the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State, the choice of Senator Uche Ekwunife as running mate to the APC candidate, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, and two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration
Senator Uche Ekwunife has emerged as running mate to Nicholas Ukachukwu, the APC governorship candidate for the November 8 election in Anambra State. What do you think informed her choice?
I recently granted an interview, where I said the opposition is building mansion on sandy soil, and that it will surely collapse. When you look at what is going on now, I have been vindicated as I was vindicated in 2015, when I said APC will spring up surprises and it came to pass.
First, the election of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu as our flagbearer was a step in the right direction. Prince Ukachukwu, the much I know him, is very enterprising, I can say 90 per cent of his investments are in Nigeria and the greater part of it is domiciled in Anambra State.
So, he has a very big stake in the state. Besides, he has his tentacles in every part of this country; all the geopolitical zones, and deep rooted in Anambra State.
He mixes with the high and low, very unassuming, a man with listening ear, and he is a very good political fighter. From time immemorial, Ukachukwu has been a brand name in Anambra politics. He has been directly or indirectly assisting people to assume elective positions, including the governorship position. Now that he has decided to handle it himself, it is a welcome development.
On the choice Senator Ekwunife; already I have sent a congratulatory message to her for accepting to deputize Prince Ukachukwu in the coming election, and I give kudos to Ukachukwu for heeding to the advice by picking Ekwunife as his deputy. It is a formidable team and it is a winning team from all political calculations and indices. Both have tested the National Assembly. Ukachukwu tested it from Abuja, while Ekwunife has been there from Anambra.
While in the Senate, she sponsored very important bills in the hallowed chamber. Besides, she is a mobilizer and a dogged political fighter. She has what I may call the social and political clout to ensure victory for our great party. Eighty per cent of Anambra women are with her. She is known for her generosity and philanthropy.
Ekwunife, the much I know her, has given hope to many people, especially the downtrodden. Her ubiquitous character makes me personally to like her. I am not equating her with God when I say ubiquitous, but just to tell you that she is almost everywhere. She attends occasions, honours invitations, and if for any reason she would not be there, she will send someone.
When you see her, you will observe she is a woman of honour, she has distinguished herself. So, with the combination of Ukachukwu and Ekwunife, APC is good to go. There is no dissenting voice and I am already saying to our great party, congratulations in advance.
Talking about victory; no electoral victory comes without hard work. How prepared is APC to win the election and what are your strategies?
Yes, I know the fight will be tough, but with good strategy, APC will win the election come November 8.
The first strategy is to have Ukachukwu as our candidate, you know I told you sometime ago that I will not disclose anything, that you will be seeing actions. The second strategy is to have Ekwunife as the running mate.
If you were at the airport on May 8, when President Bola Tinubu paid an official visit to Anambra State, you would have noticed that over 5,000 APC members were there to receive their leader and the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
With the combination of Ukachukwu and Ekwunife, APC is good to go. There is no dissenting voice and I am already saying to our great party, congratulations in advance.
That is another strategy The unity of purpose being experienced in the APC family is another strategy, and that is why you see defections from every part of the country.
You witnessed the political tsunami in Delta State, where the governor and all members of the House of Assembly defected to the APC.
This is happening state by state and it shows that APC is ready to take this nation, all the state they govern and all the states they hope to get to a higher level. There are other strategies I will not tell you. I only mentioned these ones because you have seen them.
Talking about defections, it is believed that APC, being the ruling party, is inducing members of the opposition with money and appointments. There is also the angle of coercion, the fear of harassment by the antigraft agencies…
You see, politically when somebody is on a fishing expedition, the person might fire or misfire. Some of these opposition politicians talking are on a fishing expedition without nets. That is why they keep talking all these things.
Let me ask you, before 2015, was APC in power, where did they get the money or power to coerce Nigerians to vote for them? APC didn’t have the money. If you say they have the money now, fine, but that time they had no money. They were looking for people to join them, and people were mocking them, calling them all sorts of names.
People like us were described as Boko Haram. I know what I suffered in the hands of my people because I am a member of APC. I saw hell, but I persevered. Do you want to tell me that APC coerced Atiku, a former vice president of Nigeria to join the party shortly after its formation.
What is happening now shows that APC has better strategy and approach to issues. As i have always said, before you will be able to judge the APC, you must allow the party to rule for 16 years as the PDP did. Until APC spends 16 years in power, it will we be difficult for anybody to draw conclusion on the party’s performance vis a vis that of the PDP.
As we talk, people are beginning to see that the President means business. For him to take hard decisions in his first term shows that the man is not afraid of second term. But I can tell you that from all indications, there’s nothing stopping his second term.
We usually talk about light at the end of the tunnel, with what the President is doing, what should Nigerians expect?
This question has been asked several times and my answer remains the same.
There will be light at the end of the tunnel. President Tinubu knows what he is doing, the elite is already singing his praises and it is the elite that will go down to the grassroots and explain to them that there will be gain without pain.
That is how I will summarize my submission. Some people called it T-pain, fine, but we are now seeing the gain. That shows that the President was prepared and that the party was prepared and we are solidly behind him.
Forget about the so-called coalition; those behind it are neither here nor there. As far as I am concerned, the President’s victory in 2027 is already guaranteed.
What are some of the things the President has done that gives you this confidence?
Have you not heard that our debt of $4.3 billion has been paid. The President has approved establishment of Forest Guard. Go to Abuja and see what is going on there, every part of Abuja is being touched, using the instrumentality of the FCT minister.
The students loan scheme is going on, farmers are getting loans and fertilisers, the security apparatus is being rejigged because insecurity is not what will stop in one day, The administration has done a lot; states have been getting fat allocations, many states are now paying the minimum wage, as a result of the fuel subsidy removal. The Naira is within the stability range.
The last time President Tinubu went to Anambra State, he ended that visit without endorsing either Governor Charles Soludo or Prince Ukachukwu against all expectations, what is your take?
Why do you people like delving into issues that are very clear and self explanatory? I wonder why people are wasting their energy on this endorsement issue.
Was it an item on the agenda for which the President was invited to Anambra? Was the visit even a friendly visit to suggest such insinuation?
The President officially visited Anambra as one of the states in the federation called Nigeria, which is under his administration with divergent political platforms.
Again, the President and the governor of Anambra State are not in the same political party but friends as expressed by the President.
Yes, various speakers at the event, who are not in the same party with the President indirectly tried to drag the him into an item that was on the programme, but the President was smart enough to avoid it.
Recently, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced that glitches affected its system. Candidates from Lagos and the entire South East were affected and required to resit the examination. What’s your take on the issue?
It was a very unfortunate situation and very painful indeed. It has touched the academic psychology of those students, and the positive expectations of the parents.
But, be that as it may, God knows everything. I sympathize with our students, their parents and guardians and I feel very bad that the SouthEast was mostly affected. However. we must thread with caution and remain calm. I commend the Registrar, who has accepted full responsibility.
Personally, I see it as one of those things that happen in one’s life both on the part of the JAMB officials and the students. I had similar experience in my secondary school days, but our set braced up and went back to school to retake the exams. My appeal is that we should not make it a political issue, but see it as one of those things that happens once in a lifetime.
I commend JAMB to have taken steps to remedy the anomaly. I am appealing to Nigerians, the affected candidates, the parents and the states in the South-East to remain calm. It is one of those things that happen in life and I know that the President will look into the matter and come up with measures that will nip those glitches in the bud.
As President begins the journey into the third year of his administration, what is your advice to Nigerians?
I will continue to appeal to people to remain calm but above all, we have to pray and look unto God, God knows all these things. At the appointed time, everything will fall in line, after all the rich also cry in this country.
The government of the day in this country has not denied that things are hard, and it is working assiduously to make sure that the whole situation improves.
It is not revolution or riot or whatever that is going to solve the problems because those things will not solve anything but let us support the government of the day, criticize them constructively and try to market our country outside our shores because we don’t have any other country except Nigeria.
