As the leadership tussle in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) deepens the party’s acting National Chairman, Chief Martin Agbaso, is optimistic that the party will bounce back stronger and win Anambra State governorship election. He spoke to reporters in Owerri. Okey Maduforo was there.
Excerpts.
With the leadership crisis rocking APGA, is Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, qualified to obtain form for the party’s primaries in the state?
This question is the most absurd. I clearly stated that we are going to ensure internal democracy.
This internal democracy is such that every member of APGA, status notwithstanding; position in life not withstanding, is free to participate in our primaries.
We are not going to shut people or anybody out. And it is wrong to say that what made Willie Obiano relevant is his own former chairman. There is nothing likes that. He is the leader of the party and all members of APGA are under his leadership and he is our only governor.
So there is no way that you can shut him out of it or out of this process and nobody can; it is not possible. And Oye did not make him relevant.
It is not because of Victor Oye as you said. That is why I think it is very absurd. What made him relevant is because he is the governor of Anambra State on the platform of APGA and he is a governor that has done immensely well. That is what you should address and not Victor Oye. Did Oye elect him governor? So Victor Oye is not in this equation. Willie Obiano is a member of APGA.
You earlier said that should APGA lose Anambra election, it would mean the end of the party?
I know and understand the dynamics of electioneering and its processes. What matters is the party that has done well. APGA as political party is basically a movement in the South East. There is hardly anybody even those people of South East extraction who are in other political parties would tell you that they are APGAs. So I do not see how APGA cannot win the governorship election in Anambra State. The party is great and immensely popular.
Our governor has done very well and we know what needs to be done to win the election.
We are going to campaign very vigorously and we are going to make sure that APGA votes are not hijacked by any person. That however does not mean that we do not have other aspirants in APGA for the November 2017 governorship election in Anambra State.
Everybody will be duly subjected to the process and we are going to put forward our best foot and whoever that person is going to win.
Since the leadership tussle started at the courts has Obiano approached you or have you spoken to him?
APGA is one big family and at the end of the day we are going to make up. Everything will be fine. There will be no victor no vanquished and we are all going to get it right.
You earlier talked about APGA fielding young candidates in Imo State for the 2019 general elections; how about the age barrier?
There are regulatory age requirements for elections. Once you meet those criteria in line with the country’s constitution and party’s constitution there will not be any problem.
What I mean essentially is for us to have young and innovative minds into the polity of Imo State. We need fresh ideas that are capable of propelling our dear state to greater heights. The same is the case with all the states in the federation.
How do you intend to spread the tentacles of APGA across the country?
At the onset of this our democratic dispensation, the Peoples Democratic Party was not the majority party in power and it all started like any other party. Same is the case with the APC or ANPP, even CPC came and other political parties came.
The process is very dynamic and there are no short ways to achieving the greatness of a political party. So APGA has developed a formula that will ensure that we move from one state to about seven states in the coming general election in 2019. We are very determined to do it. We know what needs to be done as I said earlier and we have men and women that we shall use to achieve this.
We are going to showcase what APGA is all about; we are going to show the world that APGA is that party the ordinary person use to rely on. This is a very wealthy country. This is a country that is richly endowed with abundant human and material resources.
There is no reason people should be hungry in this country?
There is no reason for a woman to watch her children hungry and cry to sleep. There is no reason what so ever for a man to watch his children play at home because he cannot afford their school fees.
It is unfortunate that this is a country where people die of malaria. Malaria is disease that you can cure with N1,000.00. So what stands between the life of Nigerians and death is N1,000.00 and this is absolutely unacceptable to me and unacceptable to us in APGA. There are things that can be done to salvage these problems, the answer is yes. That is the massage we are going to take to Nigerian people.
The divisions that we have in this country are going to be relevant. The message of hope is the same and the message of hunger is the same. Message of good governance is the same and the message of accountability and security is the same; just like health infrastructure, road infrastructure and all that.
The way it affects the man in Taraba is the way it affects the man in Enugu and that is the way it affects the man Michita.
We are yet to know the time table of APGA for Anambra governorship election.
The chairmen of PDP and APC invited you to unveil their timetable for primaries and we shall also make it known to you. We have already written INEC and we have given them dates for our convention date for our Congresses and primaries and they will all be published.
I make bold to say it that our party is in the DNA of Anambra people. The average Anambra person belongs to APGA. Yes of course, they may surgeon in PDP or APC but each come for sure.
Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB had announced that there would be no election in Anambra State.
People have asked this question in the last three days and this has also been asked a thousand times. Whatever statement issued by IPOB will not be different from statements by several groups across Nigeria. Why is everybody holding on to this one mad by IPOB? Every Nigerian has the right to express his views as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. That you have expressed your opinion does not mean that you should be crucified. That is our basic constitutional right to express your views as citizens of this country.
As we approach the November 18, 2017 governorship election a lot of things will change. Had it been you raised this question several months back I would not have been in the position to answer it because I was not the chairman of APGA then. But my being chairman a lot will change. And I guarantee you there will be nothing to fear about.
Are you making efforts to bring all former members back to APGA?
Many people have left our party due to lack of internal democracy in the system.
We have people like former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, who held our party forth and kept it relevant for eight years and also handed over to an APGA Governor at the end of his tenure. I have been talking with him and I will still meet with him again on the need for him to return to our party, APGA, where he belongs. We also have Sen. Uche Ekwunife, who is now in APC and I want to assure you that they will all return to APGA.
I have been talking with them and our talks are yielding fruits. We also have Sen. Chris Anyanwu, who also won elections on the platform of APGA.
We cannot allow APGA to die because it was in this compound in this house that the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu told me, Mr. Peter Obi and Sir Victor Umeh that we should not let this political party, APGA, to die.
Yes at some point I left APGA due to what was happening as it where but you cannot throw away the dirty birth water with the baby. We are back in APGA and we are determined to restore the glory of APGA and all factions across Nigeria would end up in one peaceful umbrella.
