Second Republic lawmaker and leader of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) National Stakeholders’ Forum, Sylvester Nwobu-Alor, speaks with Special Correspondent, OKEY MADUFORO, on developments in the party, Anambra Central senatorial election and why former Governor Peter Obi should be in the Red Chamber.
Anambra Central Senatorial election and absence of representation
The job of a legislator is to represent his constituency. But when there is vacancy in doing so, the constituency loses, especially on presence of government in that area. It is not good for the people of that constituency. With Anambra Central currently not having a senator, whatever interest that may have favoured us in the district will be completely omitted.
I do not see why the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is wasting time in doing its job of filling the slot.
The vacuum at the National Assembly for Anambra Central is totally the handiwork of INEC. I have already told my lawyers to study the law and go to court and obtain an injunction mandating INEC to conduct the Anambra Central Senatorial District election. The commission should conduct the election within the provisions of the constitution. It should also conduct a credible election.
Before the recent High Court order mandating INEC to include the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the list of political parties for the exercise, INEC had announced that only those candidates that took part in the annulled election would take part. So what they meant was that political parties such as PDP and All Progressives Congress (APC) that are shopping for new candidates will not participate. That is unacceptable.
INEC should know that it has no right to decide for any political party who would be its candidate. Similar issues came up in other states. What INEC said in the case of Anambra is a complete contradiction to what the courts said in other states.
It is wrong to imagine that the PDP and the APC will be excluded in any national election for whatever reason. That law against them should be expunged completely. The fundamental human right has given me as a citizen the right to contest in any election and you cannot tell me not to contest in an election when I am qualified to do so.
As I said before, I have briefed my legal team to go to court and compel INEC to conduct the election. I am doing that because I am from Anambra Central. I am being denied the right to be represented at the National Assembly.
Once I obtain the court order, INEC is bound to comply or the commission would be charged for contempt of that order.
Maxi Okwu’s defection
We the APGA stakeholders raised a lot of issues that must be looked into and presented before the party’s reconciliation committee.
We made it clear that our party needs to be redeemed from its present situation. But what are we observing now? The party is fast descending the hills in a terrific momentum. That is exactly what is happening now.
Before now, Maxi Okwu had a validly conducted convention and all those demands were completely ignored.
But for him to go and say that he has come to the party with his supporters, including myself, is very funny.
I am the authentic leader of APGA National Stakeholders’ Forum. My people held a meeting and suspended Okwu. As it stands now, he is on his own, and does not have the support of our people.
There was a communique signed by 12 members on behalf of the Forum. In it, we said we had unanimously disassociated the APGA Stakeholders’ Forum from the said reconciliation for obvious reasons; that Okwu did not consult the relevant stakeholders since his actions are self-serving.
It was also said that any reconciliatory effort without my blessing as the national leader will not yield any positive result.
The Forum also expressed its support for and confidence in me and the governorship aspirant, Chike Obidigbo, for our sincere commitments towards the unity of APGA as a national party and the overall interest of Nigeria.
Obi’s interest in the Senate
If that happens, which I am sure will happen, it will be the greatest gift of age. Peter Obi, when he was a governor, performed very well in Anambra.
When he came into the saddle as governor, he promised to construct 100 kilometres of roads every year in Anambra, but he ended up constructing 400 kilometres in two years.
He was leader of South East Governors’ Forum (SEGF) for a long time. That was a position that was supposed to be rotated among the governors, but they told him to continue.
Again, almost all these governors are in the Senate. His friends all over the country are in the Senate across all political parties. If he goes to the Senate with his method of leadership and wealth of experience, it will be to the best interest of not only Anambra Central, but the entire South East in general.
Obi using and dumping APGA
Peter Obi is not a machine, but a human being who can change his position in line with the prevailing circumstances. It is only machines that can remain constant in what they do. Yes he said he would not leave APGA for another political party. But he later joined the PDP. He said he would not contest any elective position, today he is going for the Senate seat. These had to do with the situation he found himself at that point. It is only a machine that can remain constant at all times and not human being.
He was pressured to go to the Senate by many people, including myself. I told him to go to the Senate and do what is workable and that he is created by God for a purpose. Many of his friends in the Senate said “come with your fantastic ideas”. One morning, he called me and said “I will serve my people in the Senate”.
So those who are saying that he is not a man of his own words or that he does not keep to whatever he said are only being funny. He changed his mind because he saw people suffering and he wanted to help. Those of them that are against him will even gain from his membership of the Senate.
Between Obi and Victor Umeh
Obi is not interested in Victor Umeh contesting for Senate or not. He is also not bothered with what Umeh is doing. It is Umeh that has been going about saying that Obi is this or that. But Obi does not care about all that nonsense. What Umeh should do is to withdraw from the contest. So whatever Umeh is saying, he is only giving Obi more credibility. He had better withdraw from the race because it is a no-win situation for him.
