INTERVIew
Prince Ozobu: Gov. Mbah’s entry into APC will fast-track economic development in the South-East.
It started as a rumour. And following events in the political arena in the last few weeks and days, the rumour may soon become a reality. And what is the rumour all about?
When asked to comment on the rumoured plan of the Governor of Enugu state Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the cab driver who conveyed this Reporter from Enugu Airport to the City centre on Saturday, October 11, was emphatic that all was set for Dr. Mbah to dump the PDP on whose platform he contested and won the 2023 governorship election, and join the APC.
The foggy picture on the ground became a bit clear later during this interview with a chieftain of the APC in the state, Prince Richard Ozobu.
While commending Gov. Mbah for his numerous impactful interventions in all sectors of the state economy especially in the areas of education, health, agriculture, and road infrastructure, Prince Ozobu said it was high time the governor left the PDP, and got connected to the national grid; a symbolic way of confirming his planned defection to APC.
According to Prince Ozobu, Governor Mbah’s anticipated defection to the APC would strengthen the party not only in Enugu state, but also the South East zone. He is optimistic that Gov. Mbah’s defection to APC would translate to a corresponding federal government’s presence in the area in terms of the distribution of the proverbial dividends of democracy, and appointments to federal boards and parastatals.
Prince Ozobu was also thumbs up over the recent dissolution of the Barrister Ugochukwu Agballah -led Enugu executive of the APC by the National Working Committee(NWC) of the party.
In his opinion, the former Agballah executive overstepped its boundary in a way that drastically affected the growth of the party in the state, and needed to be shown the way out.
Prince Ozobu, a US-trained chartered accountant-turned politician – a foundation member of the PDP – who later defected to the APC many years ago, spoke with MIKE UBANI.
EXCERPTS
What’s your reaction to the sack of Barrister Ugochukwu Agballah, as the Enugu state chairman of the APC?
THE entire executive of Enugu state APC was dissolved by the APC National Working Committee (NWC), and so it was not only Agballah that was affected by the dissolution. The NWC of the party has every right to dissolve the Agballah-led executive.
Was there a crisis in the APC Enugu state chapter prior to the dissolution of the executive?
Of course, there are several issues that have combined to affect the growth of the party in the state, and I think the NWC dissolved the Enugu executive in other to get those issues sorted out.
What are some of those issues?
I understand that there was a split in the state chapter of the party, with one group contesting in court the validity of the Agballah-led executive. I was also informed about the order of a court restraining Agballah and members of his executive from parading themselves as state officers of the party, until the determination of the substantive suit.
Also, one should not forget the erratic behaviour of the former Agballah-led executive, and by that I mean the arbitrary suspension and expulsion of some key members of the party in the state, including but not limited to the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the former Senate President Ken Nnamani. Many of us were disturbed by Agballah’s decision to either suspend or expel our members without following due process.
Where you blind when you supported Agballah to the hilt to become the state chairman of the party?
No, No, I wasn’t blind, rather in my judgment, I thought that he was the best person at that time to superintendent over the affairs of the party. Remember that was four years ago. After he became chairman, he failed to follow the rules and regulations of the party. I am sure that if he had played to the rules and regulations of APC, that would have resulted to the party’s growth and expansion in the state. The party had since he became chairman performed poorly in national, state and local government elections. Recall that in the last local government election in the state, the APC boycotted the election, and I asked myself why.
Are you aware that Agballah is protesting over the dissolution of the state executive?
Yes, I am aware. It’s his business to protest, but where will that lead him to? Why should he challenge the decision of the NWC?
With Agballah gone, and a caretaker committee appointed with Dr. Ben Nwoye, as chairman, do you think the APC would win substantial votes in the state in future elections, especially the 2027 general elections?
What we are expecting really- and many people are interested in that expectation – and I wish it’s a positive one – is that the Governor of Enugu state, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, and his entire executive, would join the APC. And it’s on record that Gov. Mbah is the best performing governor in the country. You can see how he has positively touched various sectors of the economy, especially education, health, agriculture transportation and road infrastructure. He has even paid outstanding pensions and gratuities of retired workers; something his predecessors couldn’t do. I can testify to his commendable development of Enugu since he became governor in the past two years.
So, APC is expecting Gov. Mbah to defect to the party, and thereafter win the state for the party In 2027 electorally speaking?
Enugu people are appreciative of Gov. Mbah’s developmental strides in the state, and if he joins APC as we expect him to do, the people will certainly vote APC and it’s candidates in the next general elections.
A lot of people are urging Gov. Mbah to join APC. The reason is that we want to connect the South-East zone to the national grid in terms of political activities, and benefits from the distribution of dividends of democracy.
We have an APC governments in Ebonyi and Imo states, and one may ask whether these two states are not enough to attract federal presence in the zone. Do we have to wait until Gov. Mbah joins APC before the federal government looks the way of South East in terms of developing the area?
No,No. That’s not what I mean. Even before Bola Tinubu became President, the then Buhari-led government had brought development to the South-East. All I am saying is that if Gov. Mbah joins APC, you would have added one more voice, and a stronger one for that matter to thedemand for additional federal government presence in this zone.
Also, Enugu APC in particular, and South-East zone in general, would be better organized and more focused in growing the party.
How do you react to a situation where many people who got elected on the platform of the PDP decamped to another party. Don’t you think they are not grateful to the PDP?
As a foundation member of the PDP – one of those who appended their signatures to the formation of PDP in 1999, I know what the problems of the PDP are. For your information, there were five separate groups that formed the PDP – not just the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme Group. One of those groups which I was a member, was known as the National Summit – led at that time by now late Graham Douglas. The National Summit was made up of key politicians from the South-East and South-South. And soon after it’s formation, the PDP started shifting from the ideals and aspirations of its founding fathers. And I blame Atiku Abubakar for the present decay in the PDP – a party on the verge of dismemberment – (this is a subject of discussion for another day). So, I don’t blame anybody who had left the PDP or plans to leave it.
What do you think Gov: Mbah will bring to the table if he decamps to APC?
Mbah is a performing governor, and he is well recognised across the country for his superlative performance. If he joins the APC, Enugu and the entire South-East would properly be connected to the centre where decisions are taken on who gets what from the federal government, how and when. It will be easier for him not only to consolidate and expand the frontiers of development in Enugu state, but also working with his colleagues, attract critical enablers that could lead to rapid economic growth of the South-East zone.
indeed, Gov. Mbah will be an asset to Enugu APC, as well as the South-East zone.
