Anambra guber: Ngige is the best man for the job’. BY ONYEMAECHI UCHECHUKWU Ahead of the governorship election in Anambra State this Saturday, many of the stakeholders are speaking up on the possible outcome of the election. In this interview, Chief Innocent Ofojee, a Public Affairs analyst and Chief Executive Officer of Pierre Cardin Stores adds his voice to the election and gives reasons why Senator Chris Ngige is the caliber of man that Anambra State wants. Excerpts: How do you perceive the atmosphere in Anambra State ahead of this Saturday’s election? I am feeling that by the grace of God, everything would be fine and people of Anambra State would come out enmasse to vote according to their conscience. There is a lot of political awareness among the people now and they know that the election is about their future and they should take it seriously. The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) and security agencies have been communicating with the people of Anambra State to ensure a free and fair election. We would not like a situation where there would be no violence during the election. From what I have been hearing on the Radio, Television and reading in Newspapers, I believe the INEC has prepared well. I believe that INEC would give us a free and fair election. ‘Only Ifeanyi Ubah can save Anambra’ NKECHI CHIMA-ONYELE, ABUJA The governorship candidate of the African Peoples Alliance ( APA), Hon. Chuka Patrick Ibeziako, has called on all his supporters and the entire people of Anambra State to come out and massively vote for Dr. Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah, the standard bearer of the Labour party ( LP ) in Saturday’s election. Ibeziako is the CEO of The House of Maestero, a print-production design consultant based in Lagos and publisher of The Parliament Magazine. He was also a senior aide to the former Senate President, late ChubaOkadigbo. In this interview, he speaks on his recent foray into politics and why he declared his support for Dr. Patrick Ubah of Labour Party. You were among the candidates for the coming election in the state; what is your view on the election billed for this Saturday. I offer my salute and bring tidings of love, peace and joy to all distinguished sons and daughters, friends and well-wishers of Anambra State. The election that will hold in few days will not be a conventional one. Call it system and land cleansing. Call it hurricane Ogbazuru Obodo. The reality is that as we get into the final hot days of the election, it’s absolutely essential that we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice, the danger is that we’ll be taken for a ride again. And this time, you never know, it could be on a jet plane. The 44th President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama, while addressing a rally in New Hamsphire, during his second term bid, threw a prophetic challenge when he told the crowd “…our destiny is not written for us, it’s written by us” How would you assess the past leadership of the state? The ruin and mis-governance of the state by the past leaders have increased the animosity and anger across the land. Today, Anambra when judged by her political, economic and social travails, ranks pitiably low in any serious calculation of the Nigerian nation. Her past leadership brutally undermined the purpose and spirit of their engagement, shamelessly indulging themselves, their families and friends in an unparalleled charade of embezzlement and misappropriation of the commonwealth of the Anambra people, leaving the state stifled and plundered; and in a state of coma, totally emasculated by poverty, penury and deprivation. Why did you join the race and later declined I did not join the race to Awka Government House to win or lose. My involvement was predicated on a tripod stand to reasonably and adequately contribute towards exposing the failings of the past leaderships and by extrapolation, enshroud the culture of credibility and performance in our politics. There’s no gainsaying the fact that intelligent and conscientious criticisms guard against impunity and are equally exercises that add value to governanceGovernance is delicate and a complex web and the art of untwining the intricacies is not a magic trick. It’s an applied expertise. It is not luck that allows some achieve success in the practice, whereas others fail. It requires a schematic interplay of a multitude of skills and potential, polished by a supreme providential order. Finally, to collaborate the effort of all progressive stakeholders, in resisting and marginalizing the forces that would rather see a governor fail than the state succeed foreclose ridiculous radicalization and senseless insurgency. As we count down to the election, it is advisable for us to be cautious if we must underwrite an irreversible culture of credibility, responsibility, accountability and performance in our politics. We should What is your prediction? Which of the major parties in the race do you think would carry the day? I am not a politician but I am a committed indigene of Anambra State. If I die tomorrow, wherever I am, they would definitely take me to Anambra State. For me, I believe that out of the contestants in the race now, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Senator Chris Ngige is the most experienced in terms of ability to deliver democracy dividends to the people of the state. If you observed the live debate the other time, you would have noticed that the brightest of them was Senator Ngige. He is far ahead of other candidates. I was in America but I watched it and from what we saw, Ngige excelled in that debate and it showed that he is not in the same league with others. He has a template and he is not coming to learn on the job. I believe that the best that would happen to Anambra people now is the election of Senator Ngige to succeed Governor Peter Obi. In fact, I am using this opportunity to appeal to Anambrarians that another opportunity has come and they should take their destinies in their own hands. And the best thing we could do is to make sure that we vote for the right person. I believe that among the candidates, the rightful person is Ngige. I am not saying that Governor Obi did not try. He has done his best but at this time in the history of Anambra state, we need a very experienced and competent person who can consolidate on Obi’s achievements and take the state to a higher level. Anambra is one state in Nigeria that everybody knows is endowed with a lot of potentials. What the state needs is the right leadership that would engender the enabling environment for these potentials to be optimally harnessed. We need a leader who can give us a better result at the end of the day. But what is your take that the APC is a Yoruba party? Some people think so but I do not believe so because the party has a national spread. It is all part of politics and those propagating that story are doing that with a motive to achieve a goal. They want to score a cheap political point. But one thing that should be clear is that we should not base Saturday’s votes on sentiments or party. Let the people go out there and vote for the best candidate irrespective of party. The candidates should be voted for based on their antecedents. I, Chief Innocent Ofojee is appealing to Anambra people to shun sentiments and that the issue of Yoruba/ Igbo party should not arise at all. Let us vote for the candidate and not the party. He has done it before and I believe he is going to do it better now. He did not complete his tenure the last time and we should give him another opportunity to lead Anambra State. Let him go and finish the good work he has started. You can see what Governor Fashola is doing in Lagos. I know that Ngige would even do better and we would like to see an Anambra that is even better than Lagos. We saw it before. In that period when Ngige was there, there was security of lives and property in Anambra State. Then, when we travelled home for Christmas, we shuttled from one town to another and from one Local Government to another without incidents. There was no fear of robbery or kidnapping. Everybody was safe and happy. But today, it is a different ball game and many people do not even go home again for Christmas. What would you say of the impression that Senator Ngige failed to live up to expectation at the Senate where he is currently serving? It is what his political detractors are saying again to reduce his towering influence ahead of the election. At the Senate, I think his records there speak volume. His colleagues at the National Assembly would attest to his robust participation in the proceedings there. We all know Ngige. He is not the kind of man that would be in a place and not make meaningful impact. It is not a matter of shouting on the floor of the Senate but making sure that while there, you protect the interest of your constituency. I think on that score, he is discharging his duties well. So, ahead of Saturday’s election, what is your advice to Anambra voters? This is a time to take their destiny in their hands. Anambra people should not make a mistake this time. Whatever money politicians give to you, take that money because it belongs to Anambra State but vote for the candidate that would protect your future and that of your children. Vote according to your conscience. Vote for the person that will deliver and I believe that person is Senator Chris Ngige. This is a golden opportunity and people should not waste it. Another advice I am giving our people is that after voting, they should stay there and guard their votes until after counting. THE SUN. Admin Prince.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 11:41:57 +0000