A former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly for Onitsha North, Hon Ejiofor Egwuatu, who is now contesting for the Onitsha North and South Federal Constituency seat, speaks with OKEY MADUFORO on his ambition and the coming primary elections of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)

Your party is set to conduct its primary elections for the state and federal constituencies but there are fears that internal democracy would not be respected. Are you worried over such fears?

We have as a political party respected the internal democracy of our party and because of that we have produced credible candidates who have always won elections. Those making that accusation lose sight of the fact that we have our party constitution and guidelines for the conduct of our primary elections and they are always followed to the letter.

Some people have accused Governor Charles Soludo of having overbearing influence on the nomination of candidates?

That is not true and they know it. All that they want is for us to do business as usual where they always gain. Governor Soludo is the national leader of our party, and as a leader, he insists that the right thing must be done and that is to ensure that we respect the internal democracy of the party.

This party is not like any other political parties where the rules are not followed and when the governor insists on that, they call it overbearing influence on the party.

Recently there was an 11-point Code of Conduct handed down to the party, but some people see it as part of the influence on the party?

This is laughable to say the least and that tells you the mind set of those people ahead of the party primary elections. Some people have already packaged strategies to obtain unsuspecting aspirants with the assurance that they will give them ticket without going through the primary elections.

Before now, you hear of several lists of delegates flying everywhere from different sources and each of them claims that their own is the main list and at the early hours of the day for primary election, a new list of delegates would appear and those aspirants who had spent huge sums of money are left to their fate.

But Governor Soludo said this has to stop and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party is very deliberate about what it is doing ahead of the primary elections. The tickets of our party are not for the highest bidders. We are looking at loyal and real party members who will fly the party’s flag in the election proper, not those who will forget about our members when they get there.

So, we the aspirants of APGA are totally in support of that Code of Conduct because it gives room for people to taste their popularity and acceptability in the party and not those that do not know the names of their ward leadership and some even do not know their polling units.

You appear too confident that you will emerge as the candidate for the Onitsha North and South constituency election…

I have been around in politics and I am familiar with the terrain so why would I not win? I have served as a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly and my work speaks for me. There is no party man in the two local government areas that I have not interfaced with and they know my capacity both as a politician and a loyal party man.

This is not a question of delegates but direct primary elections and every registered party member would go and cast their votes and no one is going to hijack the delegate lists as it used to be before. As a lawmaker, I attracted infrastructure for my constituency in all sectors such as power supply where I attracted transformers as well as educational teaching aides.

Go to Isiokwe police post, go to my school Dennis Memorial Grammar School, where I reconstructed the classrooms and also carried out scholarship scheme for our school children. Go to Ugwunagbamkpa and Ibegbu streets and see for yourself what I have done in those places as well as provision of motorcycles as poverty alleviation scheme. The security of my area received great boost through my donations and assistance to the local vigilante outfits.

I went a step further to teach students at their extra-moral classes free of charge and paid for JAMB and WAEC examinations for indigent children. As a loyal party man I have served as the secretary of Onitsha North Local Government Area and our party members found me worthy because I carried everyone along, so what is stopping me from winning.

But they said that the governor has the final say…

That one belong to the realm of speculations and I do not react to speculations and the body language of Mr. Governor do not suggest that because he respects the internal democracy of our party being the national leader of the party .

This is more of name dropping by some people who are scarred to throw their hearts in the ring and they are looking for short cuts to become a candidate through the window and not through the door. If the governor has the final say, there would not be any need going for direct primary elections.

Why the interest in Onitsha North and South Federal Constituency?

This is simple because Onitsha houses the largest market in Sub Saharan Africa and there is that urgent need to leverage that and take Onitsha to another level.

So, far Governor Soludo has activated the process going by what he has done in Onitsha in his first term in office and what he is doing now by bringing back the lost glory of Onitsha. The water ways of Onitsha need attention and there is the need to partner with the National Inland Water Ways (NIWA) in the ease of doing business.

The Onitsha River Port also needs a boost in the area of expanding its operational base as well as creation of large terminals for our importers and other members of the business community. Also water transportation is indeed key to my blue print for Onitsha Federal Constituency to save our roads that have always been under pressure since independence.

How do you intend to achieve this when you will not be a ranking member of the National Assembly,?

This idea cannot stop me from achieving my ambition for Onitsha Federal Constituency. All lawmakers need each other to succeed and don’t forget that the rules and proceedings of the legislative arm of government are nearly the same and I am familiar with the workings of the legislature.

Again, I would also work hand in gloves with my other colleagues from Anambra State both at the Senate and Federal House of Representatives. So, it is more of a joint venture and as it is said, you don’t walk alone.

Your party is not fielding a presidential candidate in the coming elections. What is responsible for this position?

Like we say in APGA, the progressives are working together and it is not what I can answer now because I am not the national chairman of the party.

But you know that when President Goodluck Jonathan was there, APGA supported the PDP and when Buhari was there, the party supported APC, so this current dispensation would not be different.