Zika Bobby
Chief Jude Emecheta, is a chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and chairman, Willie Obiano Support Group (WOSG). He is also the Managing Director of Anambra State Signage and Advertising Agency (ANSAA). In this interview, he speaks on the desperation of the opposition in Anambra to undermine the Obiano-led administration and their desire to heat up Anambra polity by thwarting the zoning arrangement, which he says favours Anambra South senatorial district in 2021.
How would you assess the APGA-led government in Anambra State?
Since 2006, the APGA government has been able to create the best environment for businesses to thrive in the geopolitical zone; businesses have been springing up and employment is being created for our youths, people are coming in now to patronise Anambra markets because of the conducive security infrastructure.
Again, APGA as a party has restored the dignity of the Igbo man in Nigeria; as a government the party has taken education and security to another level because you can’t talk about these two areas in Nigeria without mentioning Anambra.
In health, APGA government in Anambra has the biggest oxygen plant in the entire South East, meaning that other states in the geopolitical zone can come and buy; the governor has also approved free oxygen supply to all healthcare facilities in the state, that means that more lives would be saved.
Do you think APGA is still a viable brand in Anambra State?
People of Anambra see APGA as a symbol of Igbo unity and political future in the present Nigeria. APGA is spiritual, it is a movement of the masses that cannot be allowed to die. Anambra belongs to APGA and APGA is Anambra; the party has brought real progress to Anambra because compared with Enugu, which was the capital of the former Eastern Region, you would see that we have made tremendous progress.
Does APGA have relevance in national politics?
Yes, in the larger Nigerian society, if the rest of the country agrees to concede presidency to the South East, which we expect would soon happen, APGA is going to play a key role in selecting who the candidate would be.
What is the take of WOSG on the debate to zone Anambra governorship seat in the the 2021 poll in the state?
It is moral for Anambra to support the South zone for governorship come 2021 election; this is because by the end of this administration, Anambra North would have completed eight years and Anambra Central cannot come out now, having produced governors for 11 years.
Your party has zoned its ticket to Anambra South, what is your reaction?
WOSG is happy with the decision of APGA and the national leader of the party, Chief Willie Obiano’s decision to zone the ticket for governorship to Anambra South Senatorial District.
How about other parties that are not considering zoning?
It will be suicidal for those parties that are pretending that there is no arrangement for zoning in Anambra if they don’t give ticket to candidate from Anambra South; the truth is that any party that fails to zone its ticket to candidates from Anambra South would be abhorred by Anambra people.
But does Anambra South have the resources to pursue the 2021 agenda
Yes, Anambra South zone has all it takes both human and material resources to give Anambra the best, credible and qualified people across the party lines; people like Emeka Okwosa, CEO of Oilserve though apolitical, can be pulled out, Nnaeto Orazulike, M.D Genesis Ltd, Chief Onyema Allen, a lawyer and CEO Air Peace, a man with heart of gold and many others.
People argue that APGA has overstayed its welcome in Anambra, do you agree?
No, that is not true, as a matter of fact, this is the payback time for APGA, the Anambra North owes APGA gratitude being the party that gave it a chance to produce the governor of the state; the Central also owes APGA gratitude for giving Peter Obi a platform for two terms of eight years, so this is the time for Anambra to pay back APGA by giving the South the chance to produce a governor.
Some people say development will move to Anambra South to the detriment of other zones, how true is this?
That is not correct; an Anambra South governor is going to work across the state, the next governor from South would consolidate on the development in all zones; remember that the reason for zoning is to allow somebody from Anambra North to open the area which is what governor Obiano is doing and doing it very well.
How would you react to the increasing criticisms against the Obiano administration?
What I have found out is that the PDP is so desperate to come back to power and they are using every little thing they see to play politics. They just want to destabilise the system so that they can come in but it will not work; they will just end up chasing businesses and scaring investors away and keep our people out of jobs.
For the bad roads, the rains have been torrential and rains are not good for roads; it is a general thing across the country, not just peculiar to Anambra. Even the Federal Government is having her own headaches on the condition of roads.
Our assurances are that those things that they think that they will use to shoot down this government will fail; they will find themselves groping in the dark.