By Dickson Okafor
A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and patron, Pan-Igbo socio cultural group, Okpoko Igbo, Chief Tobby Anumaka, has advised the President-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu and the ruling party on the need to balance the power equation through supporting the Senate Chief Whip, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu to be President of the 10th Senate. He also called for equity in appointments in the incoming administration to douse tension in the country.
Anumaka also said the performance of labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi at the February 25 Presidential election has set the pace for change in the political equation of Nigeria, which if sustained would retire old breed politicians from the Nigerian political space. He also discussed other national issues.
What is your take on the re-election of Miriam Onuoha as representative of Okigwe North Federal Constituency of Imo State during the February 25 election?
We give God the glory for using the people of Okigwe North to give Miriam Onuoha victory at the National Assembly election. She was re-elected because she deserves to win, she has warmed herself into the heart of the people by not only performing well but by touching people’s lives positively.
So, the people looked at what she did in just barely two years and seven months in the seat and decided to give her a full term. She performed well that the leadership of the House called Okigwe leaders pleaded that we should re-elect her to continue the good work she is doing in the National Assembly.
The APC retained two Senatorial seats and several House of Representatives seats, the Labour Party (LP) also swept several seats in the South-East, were you surprised by that?
I was surprised Peters Obi’s popularity helped Labour Party candidates to win elections across the country even though he lost in the Presidential race. The electorate are wiser and want to enthrone credible leaders at the helms of affairs in the country.
If you are not a good candidate, the electorate won’t vote for you because they are now wiser.
The South East is an elite society and people vote for credibility and competence. We didn’t vote for people because of the political party they are contesting under.
People voted for Peter Obi as Presidential candidate of LP, but in the National Assembly election, the people voted for other candidates irrespective of the political parties they belong.
Governor Hope Uzodimma’s performance in Imo State also gingered the voters.
The Presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi respectively have gone to court to challenge the outcome of the presidential election, what is your view?
Going to court to challenge election results is the beauty of democracy and rule of law. I will not say much because the matter is in court. The beauty of it is that when you feel aggrieved, you go to court and seek redress.
The race for the 10th Senate President is on and some argue that for equity and balance, it should go to the South East, what is your take?
Without sounding sectional, if we want to go to equity, we must go with clean hands. Those who want peace must first seek justice because there cannot be peace without justice. When you look at the composition of federal appointment in the last eight years, the South-East has been marginalised and they complain that the zone is not carried along. We want to believe that the incoming administration will carry the Igbo along.
On who should be the leader of the 10th National Assembly, I think that the Senate President, should be from the South East to balance power.
We don’t need to look far for who should occupy the position because the Chief Whip of the 9th Senate, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu is competent and experienced to be the president of the 10th Senate. He has sacrificed so much for the well-being of Ndigbo. Kalu is a principal officer in the National Assembly and a nationalist who has mission and vision to transform the country through qualitative and people-oriented laws that will improve the living standard of Nigerians. Don’t forget that Kalu was a member of the House of Representatives and a two-time Senator, hence as a ranking member he is qualified to head the Senate. The APC should zone the position to South-East which I think will give the Igbo a sense of belonging in the Nigeria project.
What is your assessment of INEC in the conduct of this year’s general elections?
I am not impressed by the way INEC conducted the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections. The handling of the election was poor, and Nigerians are disappointed with INEC because few days to the election, the National Chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu assured Nigerians that they were prepared to conduct free and fair elections. Unfortunately, they did not do that, there were irregularities and malpractices in most polling units; INEC promised to transmit the results through BVAS but they did not do that as well.
How do you see the governorship and House of Assembly elections?
The election was peaceful and orderly because INEC upgraded this time in the conduct of the exercise. From the result of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, I knew APC will win in more states and House of Assembly seats.
Even though the governorship election was not held in some states including Imo, you can see that APC cleared over 18 LGAs in Imo State and in the other states which is a working majority. So, we made proper use of our chances.
There was strong agitation for a president of Igbo extraction but as it turns out, the Presidency is going to the South West, what do you think is hindering the South East from clinching the number one seat?
The South-East has all it takes to rule not only Nigeria, but the world. Chief Emeka Anyaoku was the Secretary General of the Commonwealth. You can see what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is doing in the world. Look at Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, she is Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), they are all from South-East. So, the region has all it takes to lead the country, but we must work with the other regions of the country because no section of the country can produce the president without the support of the other regions. We are still on the drawing board, and I know that the South-East will get it one day.
Can the support Peter Obi got from the South-East and in the other parts of country be sustained towards future elections?
It is left for the LP, Peter Obi, and the leadership of the party to sustain the huge support it got through Obi. Again, there is what is called political fidelity, let those who won election under LP remain in the party so that the party will remain relevant. They must not defect to other parties. A party like the APC didn’t wake up one morning to become the ruling party, they did a lot of home and underground work to get to where they are today.