The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Candidate for Aguata Constituency II in the Anambra State House of Assembly for the 2019 election, Mr. Ndubuisi Osele, has condemned what he calls the recklessness of the Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano.
In an interview with NewsProbe, Osele said Obiano’s alleged recklessness led to the current turmoil in the state House of Assembly.
He noted, “Let me just say it emphatically, for a governor who was handed over billions of Naira in credit to be borrowing billions of Naira again is very uncalled for. In fact, I am calling on the lawmakers to investigate Obiano, his financial spending and other things; his political life also because a lot of allegations are being peddled here and there about his social life also. I think he should be investigated. A very deep probe into his financial spending is needed. Anambra State is sinking. Something needs to be done. Anambrarians should rise up and question the financial behaviour of the governor.”
He added that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) party is more or less a dead party in Anambra State. “The governor has messed up with the APGA to the extent that currently there is massive exodus of APGA members to PDP,” Osele claimed.
Please read the full interview below:
Q: You are going for House of Assembly, Aguata Constituency II in the forthcoming election. What motivated you to actually vie for this position?
A: Actually, there has been misrepresentation by those we voted to represent Aguata II Constituency, most especially the APGA candidates going along with the slogan nkea bu nkeanyi (this one is our own). At the end of the day, we have not seen anything to show that Aguata constituency II belongs to that same state that says nkea bu nkeanyi.
Q: A lot of people believe that Anambra State belongs to APGA and that no other party can win in the state outside APGA.
A: I don’t believe so, that is why I picked up the ticket for Aguata Constituency II under PDP. Our people are more or less tired of this misrepresentation.
Q: There is somebody else coming from your town, Isuofia, on the platform of APGA. A lot of people believe your votes may be shared during the election. Don’t you think it may affect either you or the APGA candidate?
A: Well, this is a notion that emanates from the political novice. It is not true. The other guy is having the APGA ticket. I’m having the PDP ticket. And this election is not meant for Isuofia community alone. It’s meant for eight communities that have 11 wards. The voting strength of this constituency is above 35,000 and Isuofia only has about 6,000 votes. So, believe you me, the PDP has what it takes to win this election landslide.
Besides, I got the PDP ticket and mandate before that of Mr. Okey, the APGA Candidate, who got his own later. He purportedly said that he won without certificate of return and the certificate of return was given to an Oraeri person. And the Oraeri person was still holding it by the time I got mine. It was later, indeed an afterthought of the APGA party, that they purportedly restored his certificate. I’m not even sure it’s been resolved because somebody told me the matter is still in court. So, if anybody was trying to play on anybody’s chances, it’s the APGA candidate playing on my chances because I got the ticket first before he got his own.
Q: You are also the Onowu-elect of Isuofia. A lot of people feel you should have dropped one for the other. They wonder why you should be going for the two positions at the same time.
A: It’s still what I said before. It’s ignorance of the first degree. One is that the onowuship is a cultural thing that has nothing to do with partisan politics. The government doesn’t pay the onowu unlike Igwe that receives salary from the government. Onowu is not even recognised by the chieftaincy edict. And more also, it is you contributing to the town. It has absolutely nothing to do with my candidature as the PDP candidate for Aguata II Constituency.
Q: The permutation among the Isuofia people is that one of your illustrious sons, the former CBN governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, is being packaged to take over from Willie Obiano as the governor of Anambra State in 2022 under APGA. Is it not going to be a clash of interest when the time comes?
A: Thank you very, very much. When people talk about Soludo being packaged for governorship position, I laugh. You know why? Politics is a social phenomenon. It’s not goods you import from China and package. Two days is even too long for you to see big changes in political permutation. So, nobody can predict tomorrow who is going to be the next governor. This forthcoming presidential election, nobody can even predict who is going to be the president. One phenomenon can crop up and the whole scenario will change. So, Soludo being governor is until 2022 mind you; some four years to come. And four years in political circle is like talking about 400 years. So, if Soludo gets the ticket of APGA in 2022, and it’s not cast in iron, we might also shift to back him a little bit.
Q: The Anambra State House of Assembly is in crisis. It appears to have two Speakers, and that is the Assembly you are aspiring to become a member. How do you see the crisis?
A: I think the Nigerian security is not helping the situation. It is very clear that Rita has been impeached. The Ikem Uzoezie group, having gotten 20 out of the 30 lawmakers, they have the prerequisite of the law of the land for impeachment. And the former Speaker stands impeached. The Commissioner of Police should go and mind his duties. He should open the chambers for the lawmakers to do their lawful duties.
Q: Generally, how do you see the APGA governance of Anambra State currently and do you see a change in 2022?
A: Let me just be very frank with you. With Peter Obi handover to Obiano, the APGA party is more or less a dead party in Anambra State. The governor has messed up with the APGA party to the extent that currently there is massive exodus of APGA members to PDP. His recklessness of the first order even led to the turmoil we are experiencing in the House of Assembly. Let me just say it emphatically, for a governor who was handed over billions of Naira in credit to be borrowing billions of Naira again is very uncalled for. In fact, I’m calling on the lawmakers to investigate Obiano, his financial spending and other things; his political life also because a lot of allegations are being peddled here and there about his social life also. I think he should be investigated. A very deep probe into his financial spending is needed. Anambra State is sinking. Something needs to be done. Anambrarians should rise up and question the financial behaviour of the governor. That’s my opinion.
Q: What will you do for your constituency if voted into office?
A: If I am voted to represent my constituency, I shall sponsor bill for the rehabilitation of most social amenities, more especially, the Obizi Water Scheme through the PPP, that is, Public, Private Partnership. I also intend to sponsor bills for the establishment of what I call artisan, traders’ education scheme whereby schools are established in the markets and workshops to align with what we have in the North called nomadic education. By so doing, the traders’ literacy level will rise and also the electoral apathy will be on the decrease. I also have in mind of pushing for a bill through the state House of Assembly and the National Assembly for the removal of energy from the exclusive list to concurrent list. It will enable the state governments to establish independent power stations and by so doing there will be massive spring up of industries that will lead to employment.