As the storm gathers in Anambra ahead of the November 8 gubernatorial election, Coordinator APGA Media Warriors Evangelist Chinedu Obigwe spoke to OKEY MADUFORO on sundry issues. Excerpts:
A total of 16 candidates are contesting against Governor Charles Soludo in the forthcoming election; how does your Governor stand?
Governor Soludo’s second term in my own opinion which is also invariably the opinion of any unbiased Anambra person is that his re-election is well deserved. No Governor in the history of Anambra State, since creation, can confidently boast to have done what Governor Soludo has done in office within three years and some months. He has touched all sectors of governance from agriculture to infrastructural development, education etc.
As other candidates are campaigning, Soludo is very busy executing more projects, and for me, I see him as a man on a missionary journey in Anambra. I was at Enugu-Otu Aguleri the other day when the governor went there to inspect the road project ongoing in the area. You see the angle of development which the governor is taking which no one has ever done before now. He is trying to remember the abandoned and neglected communities in Anambra connecting them to the rest of the state and making them smile again.
The Enugu-Otu which I mentioned earlier is part of Aguleri but it was completely cut off in such a way that for you to visit there, you have to go through Ayamelum LGA to access the place. That community is where Anambra has its oil deposits but yet you can’t access it through Aguleri. But today, their story has changed. When he first visited that place, he made a promise to execute the project in phases because it is a very lengthy and challenging terrain. He also considered the challenges people of the area encounter in accessing healthcare where it takes someone an average of two hours to access Umueri General Hospital which was the closest there.
Today, there is a hospital in Aguleri-Otu while the road construction is on course steadily. Again, before now, Anambra West LGA used to be the only LGA in the state where you could not access the headquarters by road unless by boat but today, the Soludo administration has made it possible that you can drive from Anam to Nzam, the LGA headquarters with your car. That was why the people celebrated recently what they called the triumphant entry of government into the area by the Soludo administration.
Soludo had on inception promised to turn Okpoko slum around but his opponents are challenging that…
Go to Okpoko community in Ogbaru that used to be the biggest slum in Anambra State but today, you can’t recognise the place anymore because the once known slum now boasts of good road network, pipe borne water, ultramodern health facility and street lights. In Anambra Central, the Soludo effect is there when you talk about breaking the 24- year jinx of not having a befitting Government House in Awka.
But today, the governor can wake up from the lodge, trek to his office and also retire on foot after the day’s work all in one place because of the Light House in the state capital. In other sectors, the records are there too. It is under the Soludo administration that the citizens enjoy free antenatal, maternal care and also free education in the public schools among other numerous milestones recorded.
Security has remained the campaign issue of other candidates and they feel that Soludo has not done well in this area…
I say it proudly that security is everyone’s affair and not the business of government only. But the governor is doing well and has done well in the security sector. What I will say is that some people criticising the government in the area of security now are not being sincere with themselves because we know what the situation was before Soludo came into office. I remember that in the past, it was difficult if not impossible to conduct election in places like Ihiala and Nnewi South but we all saw what happened in the August by-election, the two areas are core parts of Anambra South and the election held there successfully.
Even INEC commended the governor for restoring life in those places. All over the world, there are still security issues, and you can’t stop crime completely. Even in America we saw how that activist was killed not long ago. Our people need to help government in fishing out the criminal elements operating in their localities. A majority of the criminal elements had been wiped out because of the continuous onslaught against them, and the birth of Operation Udo ga Achi is a good omen in the state because the purpose of setting it up is being achieved massively. With the joint security team comprising the police, army, DSS, civil defence including Agunechemba, the state local vigilance had done marvelously well in crime fighting and our people are reaping the benefits today.
How about the extrajudicial activities of the local vigilante groups against the people which led to calls for the scrapping of Agunechemba Security Squad?
I don’t support scrapping of those agencies totally because despite some instances of excesses, those agencies have really contributed in restoring sanity, civility and the peace we are enjoying today in Anambra State. What happened at Main Market was unfortunate and regretted but you know the efforts government had put in place before now to ensure that street trading and blockage of access roads across markets are stopped. Without those men in different agencies controlling these things, the state would have been totally messed up. And you also know that government takes steps immediately to address any excesses on their part and never shields anyone who acts outside the law in any form. So, anybody calling for the total scrapping of those agencies is just being selfish and economical with the true situation. The federal government has not scrapped the police because of the excesses of some officers in the system.
Soludo is being accused of insulting and deriding his fellow contestants in the most unfortunate manner; what do you say to this?
The opposition parties and their candidates are wasting their time and resources as far as the coming election is concerned. There is no opponent in the real sense of it in this election. The November 8 governorship election will be an affirmation for Governor Soludo. For the APC candidate, check his antecedents and you will see that he has lost virtually all elections he had contested before now and this one will not be different. As for those talking about foul language, no one should accuse Governor Soludo of that. He is just hitting the opponents below the belt. Anambra people not only want the best as their governor but they actually deserve the best, that’s why it is a settled matter for Soludo. If you do an opinion poll in the state, you will realise that this assertion of mine is correct and true.
How about the alleged vote buying through the announcement of N5 million gift to the highest voting electoral wards?
The opposition is merely twisting the matter to suit their self-serving interests but they have failed already. The truth is that the opposition elements had clearly read the handwriting on the wall, seen their defeat ahead of the forthcoming election and resorted to the use of childish blackmail against Governor Soludo to score cheap political points. Soludo did not at any time promise cash for vote to anybody, rather he introduced a healthy competition for APGA faithful in the 21 local government areas of the state. He merely promised a motivational reward for any ward that takes 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions in all the local governments in the state. He did not tell anybody that he would give them cash to vote for APGA. The Electoral Act 2022 did not criminalise motivational reward after election but rather criminalised voters inducement which is giving someone money to vote for you.
APGA was accused of violence in the last by-election and it is being accused of trying to repeat same in November 8 gubernatorial election; what’s your view?
The election will be conducted peacefully and it will come and go. The only thing Anambra people must do is to be vigilant because the rat cannot eat someone’s edible when the person is awake. Those threatening violence are those whose stock-in trade is rigging. They are furious because their rigging strategy during the August 16 by-election was thwarted and they are trying desperately to come again this time with such plot but they will be highly disappointed. As far as governance is concerned, the opposition has nothing to offer. What we are telling our supporters is to vote and protect their votes by ensuring that collation is done and results announced before they can go home on the day of election.
