From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Dr. Maduka Okoro is a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State. In this interview, he talked about why the Senate President position should be zoned to the South East. He spoke on other issues.
Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu who is your principal was re-elected to the Senate in the last election, how did he overcome the ‘Obidients Movement’?
Yes, like you rightly pointed out, the wave was so much, but we weren’t perturbed because when the wave got to the Iroko, the wave stopped. The wave was somehow much in Abia State, but when it came to Abia North and saw Orji Kalu the Iroko, the wave stopped. It was like that because we worked hard in Abia North, in all the five Local Governments there, we did very well; we delivered. We attracted so many projects to the area. We give glory to God who has been using Kalu to touch lives in the area.
People had expected your party, the APC to do better than it did in the last election in the state, what actually went wrong?
Everybody in the party knows what went wrong. We tried the much we could to work things out with Chief Ikechi Emenike, but the man is a very stubborn man, I have never met an individual that talks about himself, that cares about himself alone, instead of the people. There was nothing that Kalu didn’t do to bring peace into APC but because of Emenike’s stubbornness, the party in the state broke into factions.
You saw Dr. Alex Otti with his own structure moving out, the same thing with Dr. Uche Ogah and others, with their own structure, moving the other side. Kalu did everything to bring peace to the party, Ikechi Emenike refused because he said he wants to be governor of Abia State. But look at the indices, Kalu is from Abia North, he was the governor, after him came Senator Theodore Orji from Abia Central and then Okezie Ikpeazu, from Abia South. Equity, justice and fair play require it goes back to Abia North.
Everybody was clamouring that the governorship seat moves back to Abia North, everybody had in mind the APC would zone the ticket to Abia North but Emenike who is from the same LGA with T.A Orji refused; he wanted to be governor. If APC had picked its candidate from Abia North, it would have won the election; Bola Tinubu would have won the election in Abia.
I must tell you also that PDP lost the election because it refused to zone the ticket to Abia North.
What’s your take on the said suspension of your principal and other bigwigs of the party from the South East?
I wouldn’t want to comment much on this. A team cannot do away with its best 11 and expect to win any match. It only remains to be seen how someone who was unable to win his ward in an election will be talking of suspending pillars of the party in the state. Things are this way in the party because Ikechi Emenike wanted to be the Chamberlain, the Lord of Lord’s; he believes whatever he said should be law in the party in Abia, but it can’t happen that way.
What do you think should be done to bring peace to APC in Abia?
I think the NWC of the party should come and have dialogue with Kalu and all those they said they have suspended who actually are the backbone of the party in the state. The NWC should set up a reconciliation committee headed by Kalu. If APC wants to be a strong political party, it must have to go back to the basics. And going to the basics, you have to bring the Professor and the Professor that will teach that class, is Senator Orji Uzor Kalu. We have to reach out to people like Prince Benjamin Apugo and it is someone like Kalu that will do that and that’s the only way peace can come to the party in Abia.
Do you think the Abia Governor-elect would deliver when he assumes office?
Yes, I believe he will deliver, I respect the man. It’s my view he will work closely with Kalu and others for the development of Abia North in particular and Abia State as a whole. Before the election, he visited Kalu and they dialogued on the good of the state, you know a lot of things have gone wrong in the state.
Apart from the wrongs in the education and health sectors, it will not be an over statement to say the out-going governor never visited and does not know places like Okporo Enyi, Umuhu Ezechi, Ozuitem and Itumbauzo all in Bende LGA. If the governor does not know these and many other places in the state, how would he extend social amenities to them? I believe Otti is going to right the wrongs.
Many are of the view that the Senate President position should be zoned to the South East in the interest of justice and fairness. Do you align with this?
There is no question about that. Nigeria from the beginning, is standing on a tripod stand -North, East and West. Today, Bola Tinubu from West, is the President-elect, his deputy is from the North and we cannot now have a Senate President from the South South, because we’ve had a president from that zone not long ago.
So, this is time for us to say, there must be sense of belonging, there must be equity, there must be fairness, there must be mutual respect in this system called Nigeria.
If we go by our national anthem, there’s nothing that will stop the South East, there is nothing that will make it to fall short from producing the president of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And if you come to the South East, the Senator foots the bill, he is eminently qualified to be the Senate President. Kalu was a none-sitting governor or president to have addressed the House of Commons. It is an honour that is not commonly given to people. If Kalu becomes the Senate President, I think we are going to have peace in Nigeria.
Someone from Abia the other time said Kalu was not competent to be the Senate President. What’s your take on that?
I was very disappointed with Chief Mao Ohuabunwa, that’s his name. I remember it was Kalu who pushed him to the House of Representatives. He went there, he performed abysmally. Despite that, Kalu gave Ohuabunwa the opportunity also to go to the Senate, just like he did to the late Senator Uche Chukwumereije. Kalu is not overtly an ambitious man, he respects people and he loves people.
For Ohuabunwa to come on air and say those things, I was disappointed. First of all, he cannot be equated with Kalu. The Senate Chief Whip is his boss, his political mentor; there is no question about that; Ohuabunwa knows that and when the people gave Ohuabunwa opportunity, he never performed. He cannot tell us a single road he attracted. So, he is only condemning Kalu out of envy and there is nothing he can do to stop a moving train.
What do you think Kalu will be remembered for in the politics of Abia State in particular?
What Kalu will be remembered for was in human capacity building. Today, I’m proud to say that 97 percent political appointees in Abia were made by Kalu. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe was Kalu’s deputy when he was governor. Senator T.A Orji was his Chief of Staff (CoS), Gov Ikpeazu had his first appointment as a local government chairman, courtesy of Kalu.
The list is endless, talk about Nkeiru Onyejeocha, member representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi, Ben Kalu, representing Bende Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Eze Chikamnayo was given his first political appointment and many more were all made by Kalu.