Chief George Moghalu is the National Auditor of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with TAIWO AMODU, he justifies the recent endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari for a fresh mandate in 2019 by the leaders of the ruling party from the South-East zone amid growing agitation in the polity that the incumbent president should refrain from seeking a second term in office.
THE South-East APC recently endorsed President Buhari for second term during its visit to the Presidential Villa. What informed that endorsement?
The actual meeting where we endorsed him was at our meeting in the South-East. That was where we took the unanimous decision to endorse him. We endorsed him as a consequence of our feeling of satisfaction in terms of his performance and what he is doing for us today in the South-East, coupled with the fact that our political future as a people is brighter or is more guaranteed under the Buhari presidency, if we must be honest with ourselves.
But is the position taken by APC leaders from the zone in sync with the feelings of the average Igbo man?
Well, we are talking about politics. It is a matter of individual interest; it is a matter of group interest. We looked at it dispassionately; we look at it from all perspectives. In terms of performance, he is doing well and I can give you simple indices that we used. PDP was in government for 16 years, we had the major challenge of Enugu-Onitsha expressroad, nothing was done; Enugu-Port Harcourt expressroad, nothing was done on it. The Third Niger Bridge became a political issue throughout that period. In every four years, they hold flagging-off ceremony but nothing happened. So, this time round, we looked at it and said, ‘okay, the man is doing those things that we need, those things that concern us, that are of direct impact on the lives of the average person.’ We said it is a matter of group interest and we said if this man is doing this for us, why don’t we encourage him to remain? So that at least, if nothing else, this project he has started will be completed. Today, the Second Niger Bridge is ongoing—there is work going on there; it is no more a mere flag off—there is actual construction going on. We have also seen that provision has been made for that project in the budget: budgets of 2017 and 2018.
Now, speaking politically, by the time President Buhari would have completed his eight years, every zone in this country would have touched the Presidency of this country except the South-East. So, it is more in our political interest that he completes his eight years so that we can have the opportunity to take a shot at the Presidency of this country. We will be morally justified to take a shot. Any other person that we support now will want to do eight years and it isn’t in our political interest. So it is about political reality and economic reality. It isn’t about me as a person; it is about the interest of the people.
Don’t you think that judgment was hasty, considering the fact that even Buhari’s geopolitical zone; the North-West zone hasn’t endorsed him?
No, it isn’t about their interest; it is about what they want and they already have it. We are looking at our interest; it isn’t about North-West or North-East or South-South. We are talking about South-East; we are talking about our interest, the interest of our people. We are talking about addressing our challenges. I thought we are being selfish by mentioning these singular projects. There is every conscious effort to turn the economy around. Today, we see the revolution in agriculture; we see the revolution in the mining sector. We see the conscious efforts being made to address issue of insecurity. It is about all these things put together but it is also about what concerns us more as a people. So, it is about our interest, not about the North-West. Whatever the North-West wants to do, that’s their agenda.
Do you think Buhari has been fair to the South-East in terms of distribution of appointments and putting the people of the zone in the mainstream of this administration?
The point here is that it isn’t about isolation or no isolation. The point is, where were we coming from? We had 16 years of PDP administration; what do we have to show for it? We had our sons and daughters around the table. I have said this time and time again that it was in this country that we had the Secretary to Government of the Federation. Our daughter-in-law was Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. We had the Deputy Senate President; we had the Deputy Speaker. We had the chairman of the House Committee on Works and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Works. For crying out loud, not one kilometre of road was patched in the South-East. I am talking about the reality on the ground and how it affects our people.
You are so much confident that there will be a change in attitude in the manner your people are being treated?
Yes, there will certainly be an improvement on the situation on the ground now. I am very confident about that; there is going to be improvement on what the situation is today, which I think is far better than what we had in the past.
You just talked about improvement in the economy. What do you make of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s statement to Buhari?
It depends on how you look at it. The party has given its position on the letter by President Obasanjo. The Presidency has also given its position. So, for me, it isn’t necessary to start commenting on it, because I am bound and I agree with what the party said and what the Presidency has said.
But why would the party be silent on Chief Obasanjo’s call on President Buhari not to seek a second term?
The issue of second term is a matter of individual right. That I am sitting in this office is because I want to sit here. If I decide not to sit in this office, I walk out and go. All I need is a sheet of paper and I resign and go. So, it is a matter of choice. If the president decides to run for an election, it is his personal right and he should be allowed to exercise his right.
But against the backdrop of upsurge in the indictment of his administration, will the party not be taking a risk to fly him as its presidential candidate?
The party is available for every of its member who wants to run for Presidency. Everybody is free to run. It is about the people. It isn’t about an individual. It is about members of the party meeting at a convention and saying it is Mr. A or Mr. B that will run for the election. It is consequent upon those who make themselves available to run.
But the insinuation on ground is that once Buhari shows interest, considering the fact that he even has the right of first refusal, others might, in a way, be scared off the race?
You have answered the question; he has the right of first refusal. Again, anybody who wants to be president of this country shouldn’t be scared of another person’s interest. It isn’t a tea party; we are talking about the Presidency of Nigeria, the biggest black nation in the world.
Nigerians have talked about a disconnect between the APC’s national working committee and the president and their submission is that the former has failed to make itself available for interventions that it should make when the government it put in place is derailing. What is your take?
Is the party complaining? It isn’t to my knowledge. What fact is available on the ground? I am not aware of any disconnect. We should move from the realm of insinuation to the realm of practicality. For me, insinuations don’t hold water. People should confront us with facts and we can reply with verifiable facts.
Your party faithful are itching to see that a national convention is convened to conduct election to elect new set of national officers. How do you react to media reports that the national working committee, which you belong to, is scheming for tenure elongation?
As far as I am concerned, it is a rumour, because I haven’t attended any meeting where it is being discussed.
But if that is what the Presidency wants, will you buy into it?
Well, how will I know? It is mere speculation; nobody has discussed it with me. I am not aware of any of such move; more so, you should not lose sight of the fact that a political party is a dynamic organisation. It is peopled by persons.
The party just constituted a committee to do a post-mortem and unravel why it lost the Anambra governorship election. You are from that state, what do you think contributed to APC’s defeat?
I am sure the committee will reach out to me, being a key player in the process and once they do that, I will give them my views. For now, if I start talking about my views it means there is no reason for the committee.
That election was described as an eye-opener for APC: that it isn’t wanted in the South-East. Do you nurse that fear?
APC is on ground in the South-East. There may be lot of issues; when it has to do with elections, a lot of issues are taken into account.
Can you speak in specific terms on those issues?
When the committee finishes its work, certainly the party will have more information with regards to what happened and how to avoid it and I think that actually is the reason why the national leadership of the party put that committee in place. It is for the party to be guided.
Lastly, can you mount a platform in the South-East in 2019 to campaign for Buhari, considering the lack of trust and disdain for the APC from that part of the country?
Certainly yes, I will. Anybody who knows me knows that I don’t start what I cannot complete. If I don’t believe in APC, if I am not satisfied with what president Buhari is doing, I won’t be saying what I am saying now.
The post Nothing to show for 16 years of PDP —Moghalu appeared first on Tribune.
Nothing to show for 16 years of PDP —Moghalu
CLICK HERE TO READ FULL CONTENT
Brought to you by: RIDBAY | WEBSITE DESIGN & DIGITAL MARKETING
