John Nwosu is the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Anambra State. In this interview, he speaks on his agenda for the people of the state and how his emergence as governor will change the fortunes of Anambra State, among other issues, ANAYO EZUGWU writes
Aren’t you and the ADC coming a bit late to the governorship election?
I don’t think so. I was the one who built a structure of Labour Party, when I decided to run for governorship last year, I met our leader who said John ‘you know that Labour Party does not have physical structure in Anambra State, and that you are also not visible.
You need to go and build the structures and be visible.’ Then I recruited a team, including the campaign manager for Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Council, under which I served as the Director of ICT. With him and Ben-Chuks Nwosu, who was the Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly, when Obi was impeached as governor.
Three of us moved down to Anambra State and set up 21 offices for the 21 local government offices for Labour Party, giving them N1 million each and went to our brother Innoson, who made chairs and tables for them. With that, we built physical structure, and started moving from one local government to the other. As a matter of fact, we travelled across Anambra State about four times.
But that was under the Labour Party and then you were forced to leave…
It was the Supreme Court judgement on April 4. The primary was scheduled for April 5, between myself and my kinsman, Chief George Moghalu, who joined Labour Party from the All Progressives Congress (APC) on October 1, 2024. Then, around 9.30 am in the morning of April 4, there was a Supreme Court judgement, sacking the entire leadership of Labour Party, led by Julius Abure on the ground that their tenure has elapsed. You know what it means in law; that whatever they do after that April 4 amounts to nullity.
So, I sought opinion from legal experts around the country, and even from the Interim Caretaker Committee Chairman, Nenadi Usman, the advice from everybody was that if you go ahead with what they are planning to do tomorrow for April 5, you stand a chance of being an illegal candidate, if you emerge.
So with that, I wrote a letter of withdrawal, giving them the reasons and advising the caretaker committee chair that whenever the party is ready for a new primary, that I am ready to contest. Of course, you are aware that Nenadi Usman, Governor Alex Otti and Peter Obi obtained a certified true copy of the judgement, which they presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) around two weeks after the judgement.
But you can see that since then, INEC hasn’t made any major pronouncements on that. So, for me, being a law-abiding citizen, and somebody who believes in the truth, as you know, the way a leader emerges is more important than the position that leader is occupying. I believe in the right internal democracy within the party.
You left and now you’re in the ADC, where you’re battling build a support base under the name of the ADC, or is your popularity increasing…
As you know, ADC is a coalition of parties, being represented mostly by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from which I picked my running mate, Dr. Ndubuisi Nwobu, who was a local government chairman of Akwa South under PDP, and also the state chairman of PDP. So, PDP forms a major part of the coalition, followed by Labour Party, where I came from.
Are you saying that Peter Obi is now in the ADC?
Definitely, he’s part of ADC.
How much does this Anambra governorship election matter?
Four years in the life of a state is very important. As a matter of fact, the incumbent has not done well for the state. The point is that this is there for everyone to see, starting from insecurity.
As a matter of fact, in the last three and a half years, Anambra State has lost illustrious sons and daughters in the name of kidnappers and whatever. In fact, there is a local government, Ihiala, where people have not been going home in the past three and a half years. As a matter of fact, they are now holding traditional wedding ceremonies and everything in townships.
And even to bury the dead, you have to find a way to pay ransom and then get in there. So, insecurity has been a major challenge. Everything the government is claiming to have done is story and the facts are there.
There should be accountability in what we are doing and the fact that our leaders have failed in the past doesn’t mean that there are some that shouldn’t be trusted
I have the media team that follows me around to take pictures of all the nooks and corners of Anambra State. I can tell you today, right at the centre of Anambra State, opposite the government house, the major road, there we claim is federal road, but the point is, where is the road. That’s in Anambra State. A trip from Anambra State to Enugu used to take us 30 minutes. Today it goes for more than one hour.
Beyond general statements, are there any errors that the incumbent governor has made that you think would really give you the edge in terms of tripping him over?
Definitely! Let me tell you, since he came to power, starting with insecurity, I can tell you that as of today, 50 per cent of industries in Anambra State has closed down and moved to other states. As a matter of fact, because of insecurity and ease of doing business, majority of our businessmen in Onitsha now live in Asaba, Delta State
The other part lives in Lagos because of insecurity and because people are not secure. Also, it will surprise you that Anambra State’s government is not fully computerized.
What I’m bringing on the table is e-governance, e-security, e-health, e-tasks, e-transportation, e-commerce. My seven-point agenda of good governance is termed SHEEE. S stands for security, H stands for health, first E stands for education, second E stands for economy, where the third E stands for environment because Anambra is being ravaged by erosion and they are all man-made.
As you know, I have managed an ICT company for over thirty-one years. So, what is the difference between managing a state and managing a company? The only difference is that in a company, you go for profit, whereas in a state, it’s about welfare of the people. But accountability is everything; you must be efficient in the management of both human and the resources, which is what is lacking in Anambra State today.
As a matter of fact, we have issues of thugs beating people with canes on the streets in the name of chasing them for revenue. And after looking at it, you go back to review Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory last year, you will see Lagos State coming up top again at the N1.26 trillion, followed by River State at N3.17 billion.
Then looking at states in the SouthEast, where I come from, Enugu State in on the fifth position in the entire country at about N180.69 billion. Then, my own state, Anambra which is seen as the commercial nerve centre of the South-East coming a distant 17th position at N42.69 billion.
What does it show? It shows that most of our IGR go into private pockets because the state is not fully computerized. So, what I’m bringing to the table is e-governance, so that we can remove the thugs from the streets and allow people to pay tax with ease as it is in Enugu and Lagos states.
Can you do all this in four years because we understand that you’ve promised to serve only one term if elected?
Yes, four years is enough for you to build a foundation and get things done. I went through Governor Peter Mbah’s report for the last two years and I can tell you that he has done tremendous things. His governance touches all the areas, down to the veterinary system for animals and whatever.
Why is Enugu State generating more revenue than Anambra State? It is because the system is fully computerized. There should accountability in what we are doing and the fact that our leaders have failed in the past doesn’t mean that there are some that shouldn’t be trusted.
So, I went to the extreme in taking an affidavit for them to trust me. As a matter of fact, I was supposed to be a priest before I moved. For people who have known me for the past 31 and half years, managing an ICT company, they will tell you that I have kept to my words. So, I went to that extreme. But with an organised team because already I have a team there is no way I cannot achieve a lot in four years.
Outside Enugu State, look at Abia State, you can see what Governor Alex Otti has done in the past two and a half years. The governors of Enugu and Abia states have something in common, which is that both of them came from the private sector. They have been managing human resources and that’s where I come in, too.
