Senator Uche Ekwunife is the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Anambra State.
In this interview monitored on Channels Television, she speaks on the party’s manifesto and what the party will do differently if elected into office, among other issues, ANAYO EZUGWU writes
What exactly is the mood of the people of Anambra State as they prepare for the November 8 governorship election?
In Anambra State, it’s quite tense. It’s tense in the sense that all political parties are working very hard to win the votes of Anambrians. APC, the party we are running on, is also working very hard and assiduously to ensure that they get the trust of Anambrarians.
This is actually the first time people are embracing APC and they are working very hard to see a change in the system. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has been there for over 22 years, and the people are looking forward to change.
They want to see something different. And in life, there’s always a time to compare and contrast. You cannot continue with one process without testing another set of people.
It will be difficult for you to actually appraise the performance of a particular political party. I think that APGA has overstayed in Anambra State. So, it is time for Anambrians to embrace another party, embrace another people, and compare what they’ve been getting with what they can get if another party comes on board. I think the feelings are there, the people are looking towards a change.
You talked about the tense situation in Anambra. Some say that there are concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the state because of the election, and that it’s the politicians that are heating up the polity. You’ve also been in the eye of the storm because of the comments you made about the governor. Do you still hold on to those things or do you have any regrets?
The moment I was announced as the deputy governorship candidate of APC, the governor’s media aides went too far, castigating me, maligning me, trying to destroy my reputation. I thought that the governor should have called them to order but he never did. Unfortunately, I saw him on live television trying to question my credentials. Not only that he’s my governor, he’s also a friend and a brother.
He knows me and is aware that I had my first degree in University of Calabar. He is also aware that I went to Nnamdi Azikiwe University, where I had my post graduate diploma and masters and I had my PhD in Atlantic University in America. It’s not as if he’s not aware that I had this qualification. So, for him to come on live television to malign my person and question the credibility of my credentials, I felt that was too much, and of course, I needed to respond to those allegations.
APGA has overstayed in Anambra State. So, it is time for Anambrarians to embrace another party and compare what they’ve been getting with what they can get if another party comes on board
Having worked in the bank as a manager; serving as two-time member of the House of Representatives and two-time senator, I am not just an ordinary person on the road. I felt I should be able to clear my name.
Maybe, in the course of doing that, I went overboard by saying all those things, especially when it bothers on the governor’s hygiene and all of that. I mean that particular thing about his personal hygiene, of course, I had regrets and I am truly sorry for that.
On the other issue of your credentials, some have said that if you are accused of something, that you probably present evidence to show that you really do have that certificate, others are saying that you’re using diversionary tactics. What do you have to say?
I published my certificate. From beginning to the end, I published my first degree. And of course, University of Calabar is there. I published my second degree. Nnamdi Azikiwe University is there. I published even my postgraduate diploma in Marketing. I published my Atlantic University PhD certificate, and it is there. And they’re no longer talking about getting a forged certificate. I’m not talking about accreditation.
I mean, these are internal processes of the university. When you’re talking about fake or forged, you’re talking about originality of the article. So, nobody can question the originality of my certificate and it is actually unfortunate that those issues are coming up, considering where I’m coming from.
All my documents are there for the public to see and also to be testified in courts. I can’t say why these are happening but we know our strengths in Anambra politics. We know our strengths; we know our capacities, we know our capabilities. In Anambra, it’s when they think you have something to offer that they attack you.
I always take it to be a football field. Nobody attacks someone that is not having the ball. Once you have the ball, all attacks will be on you. But this attack is becoming intentional. I’m not a candidate. It’s the first time I’ve seen where a barrage of attacks should be on a deputy governorship candidate. But it’s ok. We are slugging it out.
I’m so used to them. One thing about running an election against men is that they have to attack you, especially accusing you of sleeping with men, going up and down and all of that. So, we are used to all those stories but it has never really deterred anybody. They told those stories and I got to the position I did my career in the bank. They told all those stories and I won the House of Representatives twice.
They told the same stories, I got to the Senate. So, it’s like the story is even helping me to get to where God wants me to be. One thing in life is that you should work hard and put everything in prayers. No amount of fabrication, storytelling, blackmail and slander can destroy hard work. I’ve been a member of House of Representatives for eight years. My colleagues cannot tell you I’m a lazy woman. They will tell you this is a very hardworking legislator.
My colleagues in the Senate will also tell you that. So, what stories are you telling to those who know me? That is why the stories are not making sense. They’re not adding up because the people know me one way or the other. I’m a nationalist today in this country. I’m not a small person.
Do you feel threatened in the course of your campaign and is your campaign going smoothly or are you hindered?
We have seen a spate of political killings we’ve never seen before in Anambra State. They have murdered two APC ward chairmen in the last two weeks.
That’s very unfortunate. The killings are happening on a daily basis. People cannot have meetings now without calling police or calling security people to come and stay there.
It has never happened before. It’s something everyone has to be concerned about because security is everything. If your security is not guaranteed, businesses cannot thrive. No social life can thrive. Schools cannot be there. Major stakeholders and even investors will run away.
So, let us know that if we continue to portray this kind of, or allow this kind of trajectory to continue in Anambra State,, not only will it affect the economic activities, it will also affect the fabric of our foundation.
What exactly is it that is wrong with Anambra State with regard to governance, especially under Governor Charles Soludo that you think your party wants to come in and address?
Of course, we’re going to improve on what is on ground. You can’t really say that the current governor hasn’t done anything. Of course, they have done their best. But if you compare what they are receiving and what they have done, you will find out that they have not performed to our expectations.
Of course, I was one of the persons that commended him when he started. But at a point, the outcome started declining in terms of security. Today, if you go to Anambra State and enter the bushes, you will see skulls everywhere. People don’t come home anymore.
Those that come to Anambra do what they want to do and run out of the state. So, for me, we need to put more efforts in security. And it is a three-part thing, community, local government, and states because these security issues are becoming too locally domiciled. So, we must come with a strategy that will ensure that we uproot it from the system, from the grassroots level.
First of all, we’re going to strengthen the local government administration by changing the law of Anambra State, extending it to four years single term, so that they will have enough time to plan and execute the security issues.
We have seen a spate of political killings we’ve never seen before in Anambra State. They have murdered two APC ward chairmen in the last two weeks… The killings are happening on a daily basis
We’re also going to strengthen the leadership of the communities through the president generals and the traditional institutions. We are also going to employ technology to get this security matter abetted. But most importantly, we’re going to lay emphasis on intelligence gathering. We are fighting an unconventional war, and in an unconventional war, you don’t know who your enemy is. Your enemies may be people around you.
So, we must encourage people to come up with information. And for you to do that, you must encourage them by giving them stipends. So we’ll ensure that we involve people to deal with issues of security.
We are also going to introduce new legislation that can help us ensure that we have cameras in different locations, which will enable us to track realtime, security breaches.
How about the security outfit established by the current administration. Isn’t that a good step?
It’s a very good one but one thing is establishing a security outfit, another thing is: Are you equipping the personnel? Are you funding them? Are you training them? If you see what is happening in Anambra today, it is as if those people you have organised to serve the people are now the people killing the same people that they are selfguiding.
So, training is very critical. It’s not just about bringing some people together and giving them guns. You have to train them. You also need to pay them well because these are people taking risks on behalf of the state government.
Anambra State under Soludo has been praised for infrastructure development. What do you think about that?
The infrastructure is okay. He’s opening up the roads. He is of course, opening up a lot of places by dualizing our roads and all of that but there’s one thing we call governance with empathy. Government is about the people. That is why they say democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people. And who are those people?
Those you are leading, so you must lead them with empathy. Government cannot stand up and say it is going to dualize a particular road, and start pulling down people’s wealth down without considering that those people you’re pulling down their wealth are those people you’re leading.
There must be community engagement. All of the projects we’re going to carry out, we would even add the ones that, of course, will affect some investors. Because we’re looking for investors, we will be able to engage them.
Another thing is the quality of the roads. A situation where the roads are being done, before you get to the middle of the same road, you have started repairing them from the beginning. That’s not a quality job. We have neighbouring states; we also know the quality of jobs they are doing in those areas.
We have Abia, Enugu, Imo and Ebonyi states. We are in an era where people compare things, so you can’t stop people from comparing. I went to Senate, for instance; I won’t stop people from comparing me with my predecessors and my successor. I will also not stop people from comparing me with my successors in the House of Representatives.
It’s through comparison that you get the best and be able to put yourself in a position to make a good choice when you have the opportunity to do that. So, in terms of infrastructure and construction of roads and all of that, fine, but what quality are you giving us and what is the cost implication of that road?
We have to begin to appraise the information given to us visa-vis the knowledge that we have. So, in terms of infrastructure, of course, road construction is not the only infrastructure in the state. We have to talk about health, and health care is not just painting a structure and say it is health centre.
The governor said that he has established 30 cervical cancer screening centres and has recruited at least 1,000 medical personnel. Don’t they exist?
When we say those things on the papers, we want to see that happening. I want us to be a practical government. It’s not about having them; it’s about the workability of what you have on ground. I don’t know if they exist because I haven’t seen them.
Even if they exist, do they function? I come from a community, I am not a foreigner. If you say you have a well-equipped health centre, I want to see a health centre that I can walk into and get treated and have access to subsidized drugs.
The essence of having health centres in the communities is to reduce the stress of the common man living community to go very far away to get treatment. If that benefit is not guaa Our government will be a government of the people. Our government will be a government that we will go to the grassroots and get them to understand that they have a listening government that cares for them.
For me, what an average person in the village wants is accessibility to healthcare, affordable healthcare, and also subsidised drugs to reduce the stress and also to help the downtrodden in the village. People also want to have access to quality and affordable education.
You cannot say you are giving free education, while parents are contributing money to pay for books, to pay for remuneration of teachers, and also to pay for other logistics such as chalks and blackboards. What is the free education there?s There’s no free education if students are not paying school fees, but through the back, they’re paying more than school fees. That’s what’s happening in Anambra State.
Look at the rating; 33 out of 36 and that’s the first time. It’s not about rhetoric; time has come when we have to be accountable. It’s not about telling stories, jumping up and down.
Once you are a sitting government, so many things, of course, go for you. Sycophants will be praising you, even though when behind you, they say a lot of things, they will come and praise you and all of that. But we’ll see how it goes.
