Anambra people will vote for PPA–Ezeemo

Being the complete text of an interview granted by Mr. Godwin Ezeemo to The Sun reporter, Willy Eya

Mr Godwin Ezeemo is the Progressive People Alliance (PPA) candidate in the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State. He is one of the candidates to watch when Anambra people file out to vote for Governor Peter Obi’s successor. As the election approaches, the philanthropist and accomplished entrepreneur is getting more confident that he would win the race to Awka Government House. In this interview, he speaks on a wide range of issues. Excerpts:

What informed your decision to move to the PPA?

I remember that I told you before that if the primary election in the All Progressives Congress (APC) had been conducted under a free and fair atmosphere that I would not have thought of joining another party. But right from inception, one could find out that the APC at all levels never wanted the primaries to hold.

For that reason, they took time to disqualify me, to entertain petition coming from all manner of places and eventually they disqualified me. But I came out with an answer to their disqualification and they now allowed me to go for the primaries and that was about 24 hours to the primaries. I had no time at all to campaign or talk to anybody. I was in Abuja on the Friday night preceding the primaries and that was when they gave me the clearance paper to participate in the primaries.

I left Abuja on Saturday and arrived Anambra and I had only Saturday and Monday to get myself ready. So what could I have done within the timeframe within which they cleared me! On the primaries proper, I want to tell you that it was a sham. Nothing happened. Hoodlums from Imo, Edo, Benue and Abia were imported to Anambra and they manned every ward and polling station. They came to Anambra with a specific instruction to deliver Senator Chris Ngige at all cost and they made this known to us. Some of them confessed that they were told that I am on ground but that some powers that be do not need me. So, based on that specific instruction, they did exactly what they did and they succeeded.

Some of the wards where the primaries were held actually, I won Ngige with a very big margin. But I can tell you that as soon as they get this into the collation centre, a written result would be brandished and the ones they brought back which is the actual result would be taken away from them. At the collation centre again, they refused all my agents to come in. Out of the 21 Local Governments, it was only two agents that were allowed into the collation centres. So based on all of these, it was clear to me and my supporters that it was not free, fair and credible. I had to make effort to get into the collation centre and sat down to observe. Through my agents, after they had declared Ngige as the winner with the fake result, I said I wanted to talk to them. What I wanted to say, they did not know but the chairman, Shekarau and Osita Izunaso said no, they do not want me to talk.

They said that if I was allowed to talk, I would spoil a lot of things. I made effort three times to talk and they refused and that was when I concluded that these people were too crude. They do not understand the whole idea of democracy and free speech and I had to walk away. That is my reason for joining my new party, the Progressive People Alliance (PPA).

But from inception, was joining the PPA your plan B?

Yes, I had a plan B because like I told you, right from the onset, the signs of what would happen were clear to me. The reception I was being given made it clear to me that I was not actually wanted in the APC. At that point, I had to start thinking, assuming things come to the worst, do I just have to bury my goal of rendering service to Anambra people. I have a vision to better the lives of Anambra people and I would not just allow few people to frustrate that dream. It was based on that urge to serve the people that I took that decision.

What were your reasons for choosing the PPA out of all the registered political parties in Nigeria?

I decided to join the PPA because it is a party that has a good stronghold in Anambra State. It has been used by a couple of aspirants to vie for various positions including the governorship seat of the state. The PPA has a structure in Anambra State and it is better than so many other parties in Anambra State. With the PPA, I can assure you that I will win the next election in Anambra.

So, how did you emerge the candidate of the PPA having joined them few days to the primaries?

It was through a well organized internal primaries witnessed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that I emerged the PPA candidate. I was the popular choice.

But realistically, how do you think the PPA will be able to win the forthcoming election in Anambra considering the strength of other parties?

I have made this point clear in various occasions. The stage where Anambra State is now in terms of political development and consciousness of the people has gone beyond the issue of party. Anambra people now have got to a stage where it is the credibility of the candidate that they are interested in. The party does not so much matter to them even though you still need the party to reach out to the people and win elections. In the past, it used to be the party but all that has changed. The people are more concerned about identifying with a candidate that has got what it takes to govern the state. This is because for the last 22 years, they have had people of different political parties and they know what they have got in terms of democracy dividends. Most candidates would always come with great promises but at the end of the day, nothing happens. So, the people have got to a stage that they now ask questions.

A couple of people I have met in the course of this political process were courageous to ask- what do you do. They wanted to know my background and who I am. They wanted to know where I was coming from and what I have in terms of ability to lead the people of Anambra State. They were clear that they were not interested in the so-called moneybags or people with dubious characters to lead Anambra State. It made me to know that the people are now interested to know more about the candidate who they would vote for. It is no more the issue of which party he belongs to. In the PPA, most of my supporters came from the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). I financed most of the candidates who won elections on the platform of the ACN. For the past six years, I have been financing the party. My supporters in that party, what they never had before, I gave it to them. So, it was not difficult for me to get a structure in the PPA because I already had a lot of supporters in ACN who moved to the APC and who are now with me in the PPA. We have already a strong structure to go into the coming election and win the race. You know that the so-called bigger political parties have so many internal problems they are contending with which you do not find in the PPA.

What strategy do you want to use in selling yourself to the people of Anambra State?

I have a couple of strategies. Some of them have been exploited already for the fact that I am a grassroots person. In APC, I was able to touch virtually all the members of the party but for the governorship election proper, I would touch every ward and community in Anambra State. I will tell them what they have not heard or known before. The message would be how to redeem them from the challenges they have faced all these years because of bad leadership.

What specifically do you want to do for the people of Anambra State if you win?

I have a manifesto but there are things that are very important.  I know very well that we are human beings. Every society needs quality education. Every society needs good health. Every society needs constant power supply. There is nothing that would work in Nigeria or even Anambra State until we achieve constant power generation and supply. Every society needs good transportation system. Every society needs good infrastructural facilities and so on. If all these are working in United Kingdom, why not in Nigeria? In effect, what I need to do is to use my wealth of experience and replicate it in Nigeria. Anambra has got immense problems but there are some of them that are more serious than others. Let me take the issue of security first. Security is the major problem that we have.

It has brought about brain drain and capital flight from the state. Everybody is going away from the state because of the problem of security. I would tackle security head on by working towards creating employment. The employment would be from both the government and the private sector. As a government, we would provide the required atmosphere and conducive environment that would attract investors and Anambra people in particular would come back. Once you get the atmosphere right, they would come back to their state to do what they are doing in other places. If Anambra people come home and start investing, there would be work here and there.

On education, the sector has decayed so much and we as a government would like to tackle it head on. My emphasis would not only be on getting certificates. I would lay emphasis on practical education. With your junior WAEC, you can learn a trade and you will be able to do well here. Most of the people that come from abroad that we call engineers here are not engineers but technicians and artisans. They did not go to the University but they have trained on the job and they are experts on it. When they come here, they call them engineers.