A member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Dozie Nwankwo, who recently defeated the former National Chairman of the party, Senator Victor Umeh, for the Anambra Central Senatorial District election, speaks on a wide range of issues including a President from the South-East, among others, in this interview with CAJETAN MMUTA
Did your victory in the recently concluded primary election of your party come to you as a surprise?
Well, you know it is a political contest and everyone in the race is optimistic about winning and I was too. But at the end of the day, only a winner emerged and to the glory of God, I won the primary election. Our former National Chairman, Senator Victor Umeh, and Uzuegbuna Okagbue, who contested with me have congratulated me and that is the spirit of democracy. All of us in the race are qualified to represent Anambra Central Senatorial District and have the capacity to serve our people at the red chambers, but members of the party decided it was me and I thank them for that. I also thank our governor, Prof Charles Soludo for providing a level playground for a free, fair, and credible excise as well as the National Chairman of our party, Victor Oyeh, and the National and State Working Committees for ensuring that an internal democracy worked in our great party.
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What are your expectations for the 2023 elections?
It would be wrong for anyone to say that our democracy is not growing, and it would be incorrect to say that the political class has not done its best in the present circumstance. From 1999 to date, we have made our mistakes and found our grey areas and we have been able to correct certain errors in the process. But I know that much needs to be done now. Had it been that the civilian rule was allowed from 1979 to make the mistakes and make corrections, it would not have been like this, but all the same, we are not doing badly. Regarding the 2023 general elections, I see hope and see improvement and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been experimenting with all ideas and policies to improve the electoral process and I wish to commend them for their efforts so far. They tried the card reader in the last general elections, and we recorded success in some areas and had our challenges in some places. During the gubernatorial election in Anambra State, we used the BVAS capturing device and to a great extent, it was able to check irregularities that had been the story of the past, but we know we had places where it didn’t work. With all these experimentations you can agree with me that INEC is doing all that it can to ensure a free, fair, and credible electoral process and I see INEC improving in the forthcoming elections next year.
But the political class appears to be the problem in vote-buying and other manipulations?
Do not say the political class, say Nigerians in general. If the electorate does not come to function expecting handouts, the candidates cannot force them to accept the handouts. So, it is a two-way thing. Again, why would someone win a second-term election when he has not done anything for his people? If, for instance, you are a member of the National Assembly and you have effectively interfaced with your people, you have no business sweating to get a second term because the fact speaks for itself. So, when we blame politicians, we also blame the masses, and we need enough voter education to change this attitude of ours. For instance, I am a two-term member of the Federal House of Representatives, and it is not in doubt that I have always interfaced with my constituency and there are several things on the ground to show for my representation and performances. So, I do not need this kind of persuasion to make my people always vote for me.
There seems to be a plot by the younger generation in APGA to retire the older members, given the victory of young men like you in the party?
That is not true because everyone has equal chances and opportunities to contest. You cannot chase away the people you call the elderly because they are the custodians of the party, and they are there to always guide the party and make it known to you that politicians don’t just retire that way. Similarly, there is the need for a paradigm shift from the old order to the new and our people say that a man who remains on the battlefield up to old age has no youth in his homestead and that explains why the older ones should stay at home and play the fatherly role while young men like me go to the battlefield.
Recently, the Supreme Court made a pronouncement that Victor Oyeh is not the National Chairman of your party, how do you feel about this?
Well, I cannot comment on that because I don’t have a copy of that pronouncement and the full genesis of that report. If I have, I will be in a better position to talk about it. However, for now, the only National Chairman of APGA is Victor Oyeh, until otherwise stated. But you know the nature of some of our people. Once there is an election by the corner some people get busy trying to create confusion so that they will be settled. It happened during the last governorship election in Anambra State where at some point we had three National Chairmen and in the end, Victor Oyeh remained as chairman of the party. This has been a common practice in most political parties in Anambra State. The PDP also has this problem of leadership as well as the APC, so it is not only an APGA affair.
There had been this issue of zoning the Presidency to the South-East, what is your take?
Equity is equality and it is only fair and just that Ndigbo gets its fair share in the power equation. But you know that it is not given because it is our turn, but I salute our leaders who have been championing this struggle and I have a strong feeling that other parts of the country would see reasons for this rotation. We also need to carry this campaign to the North and Southwest because we cannot get this alone. Ohanaeze Ndigbo has been touring most parts of the country with this message.
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But the major political parties are not helping matters by throwing it open for a contest?
That is why I said we need to work hard enough to secure the Presidency and it would be proper for us to present one aspirant and let other aspirants agree to support one person in the PDP and one person in the APC and then talk to other aspirants from other parts of the country, but with the emergence of Atiku Abubakar in the PDP, we pray the APC nominates a candidate of our own. It is not only in the case of the presidency but in the socio-economic development of the country. The Southeast is blessed with a lot of things and we, as members of the National Assembly, the governors, and those in the private sector. For example, I laboured to bring the campus of the Federal College of Agriculture from Isiagu in Ebonyi State to Anambra State and that would go a long way in creating jobs and jumpstarting development in those areas. Again, commercial, and industrial towns such as Nnewi, and Aba need to be encouraged by ensuring a steady power supply to help our industries and the Federal Government should also allow places that have become economic hubs to access their source of power supply. While we battle for the presidency of the country, our industrialists and businessmen can come together to domesticate their factories in Igbo land, and you know that wherever there are the market people must go there to do business and that would help the Southeast’s economy.
What are the chances of your party, APGA, making inroads at the national level in the next election?
Very bright and I am confident that we will do well in the coming elections going by the quality of candidates that we have at the national and state assemblies. The party is no longer a new party after producing three governors since it was registered and has produced national and state assembly members across the country and in this coming election, we shall improve on that. When you look at the strength of the party you will discover that$@EDFSA!#@WQAS people have been joining us and we are building formidable structures ahead of this election and any party that underestimates us would be doing that at its peril.
