From Idu Jude, Abuja
Chief Willy Ezugwu is the Secretary General, Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) and the National Convener of the Coalition of National Civil Society Organisations (CNCSOs).
In this interview with Sunday Sun, Chief Ezugwu, who is also the National Coordinator, South East Revival Group (SERG), advised Nigerians to vote wisely as the country cannot afford a sick president in 2023 after the current experiment.
He tasked President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to tackle the insecurity challenge aggressively so that it does not distort the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
He also urged the National Assembly to make laws that will mandate presidential aspirants to declare their health records for public scrutiny going forward.
What are the challenges facing your organization and indeed Nigeria as the 2023 election draws near?
The challenges are many, ranging from insecurity, including banditry, kidnapping, arson and others. Insurgency remains a big threat to all sectors in the country. Right now, we have started to hear about what looks like politically targeted assassinations and violence in the country. The security agencies should do more than exposing those who are alleged to be behind crimes, they should be arrested and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others. We need security for elections to hold as scheduled. Politicians should be able to campaign across the states and the Federal Capital Territory without fear of assassination or attacks. At the moment, that is what the President Muhammadu Buhari administration owes Nigerians, the security of lives and property.
As a neutral body, what is your organization’s set standards for a potential Nigerian president come 2023?
The standard is a transparently elected Nigerian president who has the capacity to solve our numerous problems as a country. Today, the challenges of insecurity moved from the Northeast to all parts of the country in the last seven and half years. The same with economic challenges. They have both increased and the ordinary people are suffering. The masses are groaning in pains of economic hardship, hunger and insecurity. So, if Nigerians fail to elect a capable leader as the president, the situation will worsen and that will be a catastrophe not just for Nigeria, but also for the entire Africa.
What is your assessment of INEC National Chairman, his resolve and confidence in the BVAS machine for a hitch-free election?
So far, the Commission is on track. That is not to say that there are no issues, but INEC is doing well in terms of preparation and we want the Commission to do even more especially in the area of PVC distribution. There are videos of allegations of hoarding of PVCs in some states while some have even alleged that money is exchanging hands at INEC collection points before some registered voters get their cards. INEC should set up a monitoring team that will ensure that those in the field are doing exactly what they were sent to do at the INEC approved PVC collection points. We commend the INEC leadership for insisting that the BVAS machines have come to stay as part of Nigeria’s electoral process. Electronic transmission of election results has worked in Edo, Ekiti and Osun states. So, we are confident that it will be deployed with improvements in the 2023 general elections. INEC should know that its conduct of the presidential elections will determine whether there will be a post-elections crisis or not. For instance, Edo, Ekiti and Osun states remained calm after the governorship elections were declared. The reason is simple; the people knew who won and who lost. So, if INEC can frustrate vote buyers and manipulation of election results in 2023 general elections, Nigerian democracy would have advanced under the current leadership of INEC and it will be to their credit that Nigerians were allowed to transparently choose their leaders without external interference. I think that INEC should strengthen its relationships with various security formations across the country to ensure a violence-free general election in Nigeria next year.
The ruling party, APC, is bent on Muslim/Muslim ticket for a better Nigeria. Do you agree?
The APC has made a choice and it is left for Nigerians to accept or reject the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the party. Ordinarily, it would have been unimaginable in view of how polarised the country is along political, ethnic and religious lines. So, it is a choice made by the party and whether it is right or wrong is left for Nigerian voters to decide in February 2023.
Can you assess the nomination crisis in PDP and the leadership crisis in the Labour Party and others?
The reason for some of these crises are about interests. So, it is election time and interests and the stakes are high. Such crises have been part of politics in Nigeria for a while. Most times political parties manage them, but where they are unresolved, the party will suffer the consequences.
What is CNPP’s advice for better party leadership?
We advise political parties to ensure that there is transparency at the party management levels. If political parties lack internal transparency, it will be difficult for them to produce transparent leaders. And that has remained the reason corrupt politicians have continued to emerge as our leaders. It is because the candidates emerged through buying of votes of delegates and manipulation of the primary elections in many of the political parties. That is the reason we have continued to call for transparency in political party management in the country.
It is expected that your coalition should be at the forefront in organizing political debates for intending leaders. What happened?
Yes, you are right, but over the years, some politicians have been evading scheduled debates ahead of elections from 1999. The reason is because there are no laws compelling attendance and there are no sanctions for those who fail to participate. It was for this reason that we’re urging the National Assembly to bring in candidates’ debates into our laws by making it part of the legal process of electioneering in the country. I reiterate our call to our lawmakers at both the national and state Assemblies to work towards a constitution amendment to make it compulsory for candidates of all political parties to participate in debates and have a Commission saddled with the responsibilities of organizing the debates in conjunction with relevant stakeholders. So, refusal of candidates to participate in debates and lack of sanctions remain the major reasons the CNPP has not been at the forefront of organising debates for candidates. The other challenges relating to debate bother on funding and the obvious lack of transparency in our elections before the amendment to the Electoral Act in 2022.
What is CNPP’s take on Tinubu’s hide and seek over his health status, refusal to attend political debates in Nigeria as well as his academic qualifications?
Well, there is a need for a law that will compel all aspirants seeking public office to present their medical records to their political parties and later to INEC before their nomination can be accepted and published by the electoral umpire. If when we are seeking employment or seeking admission into schools they require our medical records, why will Nigerians not ask for the medical certificates of those seeking to take over at different levels of government as the chief executive officers? You can see how some candidates are being assisted by security operatives and personal guards to climb platforms during campaigns. Some of them have been seen in videos falling and rising. Nigeria cannot afford a sick president in 2023 after the current experiment.
It has been alleged that Governor Ugwanyi and PDP are playing politics with Enugu State becoming oil producing state, to score cheap victory come 2023 elections. Do you agree?
First, let’s correct an impression here. Those who are saying that they are playing politics don’t understand that the whole essence of politics is primarily the allocation of resources. So, politics is about the use of legitimate power to allocate resources. Having said that, it shows ignorance on the part of those people who are looking at the inclusion of Enugu State on the list of oil producing states in Nigeria as mere politicking. They are also playing politics by making reference to it. But, seriously, the governor should be commended because it was on the basis of including Kogi State that Governor Ugwuanyi presented his argument. So, the oil producing status of Enugu State is beyond mere politicking, it should attract commendations, not condemnation.
What is CNPP’s stand on the Governor Nyesom Wike-backed G5 governors of PDP and the future of the party?
In the first instance, they are politicians and it is interest that matters in politics. So, there is nothing new about what they are doing. The PDP presidential candidate did the same thing during the 2015 election when he led a walkout against the imminent emergence of Goodluck Jonathan as presidential candidate of the PDP. The then PDP Governors were seven, but two decided to remain in the party in 2015 bringing their number down to five governors who eventually joined Atiku Abubakar to form the then new PDP (nPDP). Did Jonathan win the election, even as a sitting president? The answer is no. So, political parties need to ensure that the interests of all are accommodated. Perhaps, what is different between 2015 and the forthcoming 2023 presidential election is that the major contenders, today, have grown from two to probably three. Today, we have the PDP, the APC and the third force, which is the Labour Party.
What are your estimated chances of the Labour Party winning come 2023?
Well, the party has shown potential from being perceived as a few people tweeting from a room to a physical force initially propelled by Nigerian youths. And, as it stands now, the truth is that the fear of the Labour Party has gripped all top political parties in Nigeria. While Labour Party’s presidential outing in 2023 is something to watch, the party may not do much at state governorship elections unless a bandwagon effect happens if their presidential candidate emerges victorious. But, even as the Labour Party is the party to beat in the 2023 presidential election, it will take more than hard work to sweep the state governorship elections because non-members of the Labour Party are in their respective political parties, but their hearts are for Labour at the presidential election.