IBB’s aspiration
makes 2007 elections interesting – Okorie
By GODDY OSUJI, Enugu
Thursday,
November 30, 2006
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•Okorie
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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The National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA),
Chief Chekwas Okorie, says that the tenure of President Olusegun
Obasanjo could be elongated by the poor preparation for elections.
He predicated his fear on the shoddy preparations of Independent
National Electoral Commissin (INEC) for the 2007 elections,
even as he praised state Houses of Assembly for using the
impeachment clause to checkmate the excesses of some state
governors. He also said that Nigerians should be allowed to
decide whether they would want somebody like former military
President Ibrahim Babangida or not.
Okorie said that what would elongate the tenure of President
Obasanjo was the poor preparation of INEC. He called on the
INEC Chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu, to honorably resign immediately
or, in alternative, the National Assembly should use its constitutional
power to dissolve the present INEC.
He said that Prof. Iwu doesn’t appear as one who will
do well as, according to him, "his body language, policy
summersault, disobedience of the order of courts and poor
service delivery so far portend danger signals to our democracy.
My strong advocacy is that Iwu should either resign or be
kicked out. I will call on the National Assembly to dissolve
the present board of INEC. It lacks confidence. It should
be disbanded and the President persuaded to appoint people
of proven integrity. That way, we can approach the election
more confidently and if there is free and fair elections,
Nigerians have the capacity to make good choices."
On the emergence of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida as a presidential
aspirant, the embattled chairman observed that the former
head of state’s declaration was healthy for the country’s
democracy, in the sense that he is a controversial political
personality.
"There are divergent views about what he represents.
Some people are vehemently opposed to him. Some are fanatically
in support of him. How that will play out in real voting is
what makes it interesting and exciting. His coming in is welcomed.
It is going to make the contest more robust. People like me
will like to see Nigerians decide whether they want somebody
with Babangida’s antecedents. What will tidy up that
will be free and fair elections.
If we have free and fair election and Nigerians vote for him,
who am I not to support him? He has experience, which can
never be purchased with money, but being a controversial person
his candidature becomes more interesting. As a matter of fact,
it is a challenge selling a character like Babangida. I have
my idea of what I can do for somebody like him and I have
my idea of what I can do against somebody like that. If he
comes to APGA and after due process he emerges as candidate,
I think I have my own experience in white-washing."
On the impeachment gale that has taken over the political
terrain, Okorie observed that in some of the cases, impeachment
was a healthy thing in democracy; "more so where certain
persons in authority, especially the President, governors
and deputies are immune from civil prosecutions. In such circumstances,
it’s only the legislative arm that could become effective
checks on such persons. It is a healthy provision in our Constitution.
But, like every other thing we have had in this country, it
is subject to abuse and some have abused it. The same is applicable
to the judiciary. There should also be checks on the excesses
of the two arms. The judiciary in some circumstances has failed
to live up to its billing. If we go into specifics, I will
tell you that impeachment of the governor of Plateau state
was welcome. The governor was disgraceful and embarrassing
to any well-meaning Nigerian even to the extent that the outside
world will be thinking that we are actually a banana republic
when we are not.
"The same applies to what happened in Oyo State. In the
case of Ekiti, the same kind of thing that armed robbers will
do when they enter a banking hall happened. The government
was right by sacking the two recalcitrant arms of government
and imposed a state of emergency. The Anambra situation, by
all intents and purposes, was for a good cause.
There could be sentiment that one would even expect me, as
chairman and founder of APGA to be sentimental about, but
I tell you that, we feel embarrassed and stigmatized by the
kind of perfidy that Peter Obi exhibited right from the day
he was sworn in as the governor. From the political point
of view, one never had a party in Anambra State. What we had
was Peter Obi government and not APGA government.
APGA does not have moneybags. Our strength lies with the masses
and the government ordered that they should be shot on sight.
Why wouldn’t we celebrate the termination of that nightmare?
"About Ojukwu, I will be reluctant to comment on what
he has done or not done in that circumstance, but let me quickly
say that I played a pivotal role in retention of Lady Etiaba
and made early statement at that time.
Those who Peter Obi regarded as his leaders were busy boasting
that they will resist the impeachment. I was busy lobbying
the state House of Assembly effectively to spare the deputy
and I addressed members of the public after I had got their
consent. My own idea was that we needed to have an APGA government
in Anambra State even if it is a short time of six or seven
months. They listened and spared her".
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