The founder and pioneer National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie has delivered a shocking prediction on the fate of the ruling party in Anambra State in the upcoming senatorial and governorship elections scheduled for November this year.
In this interview with Cyril Mbah in Abuja, Chief Okorie, the firebrand politician, who is also popularly known as Ojeozi Ndigbo, said although Anambra people have sentimental attachment to APGA as a party, the enormous public goodwill may not be there again for the party in the coming elections due to prolonged leadership disputes, the frustration of the and litigations which have almost destroyed the party. He also spoke on the influence of vote buying on the outcome of Nigerian election results among other issues.
Sir, you are a critical stakeholder, as the founder and pioneer national chairman of the ruling APGA in Anambra state. There are many things at stake at the moment not only for APGA but for other people, looking at the overall situation in the state sir, do you think that the party will emerge victorious in the two elections coming up later this year in the state?
APGA historically enjoys both sentimental loyalty and the emotional attachment of the people of Anambra State, especially in all the gubernatorial elections in the state since its inception in 2002 about 22 years ago. However, I fear that this enormous goodwill of the Party is being rapidly squandered by prolonged leadership disputes that have eaten deep into the main fabrics of the party for nearly two decades. I warned late last year that the Party may face avoidable electoral embarrassment in the forthcoming elections in Anambra State because a house divided against itself will not stand.
What are your fears about the two elections. Will the people’s votes really count and how can the fears be addressed?
The public lack of confidence in the management of elections in Nigeria remains a major drawback to citizens’ participation in our elections, which in turn questions the legitimacy of the outcomes of elections conducted by the Commission. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a responsibility to firmly assure the electorate in Anambra State that the polling unit results will be transmitted directly to the IREV immediately upon announcing the results without further recourse to the Ward and LGA collation centers where the manipulation and distortion of election results usually take place. This should be the case in the forthcoming Senatorial and Gubernatorial elections in Anambra State. In my opinion, this is the only way that will guarantee the transparency of the process and will be acceptable to the electorate.
The impending battle appears to be between four parties namely APGA, APC, LP and the PDP. Which of the parties do you think has better chances, better grounding and better support base in Anambra state?
My candid assessment of the imminent Senatorial and Gubernatorial contests in Anambra State is that it will be a straight battle between APGA and APC. At this point in time, I doubt very much whether the PDP has any aspirants for the two elections. In the case the Labour Party, the none recognition of former Governor Peter Obi’s faction of the Party by INEC immediately robs the Labour Party candidates for the two elections of the leverage of Governor Obi leading their campaigns in Anambra State.
The PDP used to dominate Southeast politics before it lost ground to APGA. Now APGA appears to be suffering a similar fate like PDP by losing some ground to LP and APC. Many people now fear for the future of APGA especially because it might lose Anambra State as the party has become so factionalised that the center cannot hold. What do you say about this sir.
The founding fathers of APGA are deeply saddened by the sorry state of the Party. The leadership crisis in APGA began in December 2004, barely two years after its registration in June 2002. The situation continued to deteriorate until it came to this sorry pass. It is unfortunate that it was the highest beneficiaries of the blood and sweat of those who toiled and traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria to meet the stringent conditions of INEC to qualify for the registration of APGA that perpetrated and sponsored the decimation of the Party and promptly decamped to other Parties after they had inflicted maximum damage to the goose that laid the golden egg. As the founder of APGA, l am stuck with the Party. APGA defines my place in Nigeria’s political history. APGA is my legacy. APGA is the second oldest political party in Nigeria, after the PDP. We are confident that at the fullness of time, the soul and spirit of APGA will be restored, and the Party will live up to its vision and mission in Nigeria’s democratic space.
What would you advise INEC to do to ensure free, fair and credible election in Anambra State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a responsibility to firmly assure the electorate in Anambra State that the polling unit results will be transmitted directly to the IREV immediately upon announcing the results without further recourse to the Ward and LGA collation centers where the manipulation and distortion of election results usually take place.
Insecurity is a serious problem in Anambra state and some people are expressing concern that it may affect the proposed elections. What do you advise the state and federal government to do on the matter?
I must give it to Governor Chukwuma Soludo that his administration is currently on top of the security situation in Anambra State. I will urge the people of Anambra State to cooperate with the governor in this regard. It is in the interest of the good people of Anambra State to turn out in their numbers to exercise their inalienable rights to choose their Senator and Governor at the elections and insist that their votes count.
Lastly sir, what do you advise public in the state to do knowing how desperate Nigerian politicians are about winning elections? Do you think that vote buying will be a factor in the election? Thank you sir for the anticipated response.
Vote buying has become the malaise that has afflicted our electorate process, resulting in poor and unintended leadership recruitment. The matter is made worse by the apparent complicity of both the security agencies and INEC officials. I believe that improved application of technology and appropriate legal framework for our elections will help to check the incidence of vote buying in Nigeria. Ends.
