By Chukwudi Nweje
Mascot Uzor Kalu is the governorship candidate of the Action Peoples Party (APP) in Abia State. In this interview with newsmen, he speaks on the Abia Charter of Equity and his readiness for the March 11 election.
You have toured all the wards in the state in the course of your campaign; what was your experience?
It has not been easy but we are pushing and God has been on our side. So, we are happy with where we are today. The rousing reception accorded us in the places we went to is evidence that the people are yearning for change and that change is what we are pushing for. That change is what we expect. We have gone round the entire Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC) wards of the state and presently we are going round the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) wards.
Are you pleased with what you saw during the ward tour?
Well, the ward tour was not really meant to form a political impression. It was for us to pass our political message to people, to tell them there’s a better alternative, and based on that direction, we delivered and we did well, and we believe that we have been able to mobilize and galvanize a lot of support for our political party. We are very optimistic of being a political party that will change the narrative in Abia State.
Recently, you considered the option of a merger of political parties in order to ensure that the governorship position returns to Abia North Senatorial District in line with the Abia Chatter of Equity. What’s your position on that at the moment?
I still stand on the Chatter of Equity. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu cannot on one hand request for chatter of equity by being part of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) G5 on a national issue, requesting that the presidency should be ceded to the South, and where it is not ceded to the South, the national chairmanship should be ceded to the South. He is requesting for equity but when it comes to the state, he wants to neglect the equity that also brought him to power.
I can tell you that there was no Abia North son who ran for governorship or was on the ticket of a major political party in 2015 when he became governor. What that means is that all Abia North either voted for him or voted for Alex Otti. In the same vein, we heard from the leadership of his party that they went around asking for a second term in 2019, with an assurance to the people that the governorship seat will rotate back to Abia North.
So, Governor Ikpeazu cannot be asking for equity as a member of the PDP G5 and does not bring the same equity to the table, when it comes to the governorship seat. I don’t know how we want to examine that because I believe that since he is also standing for equity, which is just, he should also fight for the same equity in the state.
What form is the merger you are mulling going to take in order to retain the power sharing arrangement in Abia?
Whether merger or no merger, let nobody take Abia North for granted. For the fact that Abia North has been quiet does not mean that it should be taken for granted. Abia North will speak with one voice. What I do know is that we had our different opinions and different interests in Abia North as regards the presidential election. But on this issue of rotational governorship, Abia North will not play with that. So, we will speak with one voice.
What’s your message to the people of Abia as they get ready for the governorship election?
Abians should hold on, I have heard their cry. We as a party have also heard their cry and I want to tell you that I am the only one among the candidates, who has the solution to their cry and I will provide the solution. I will govern with my conscience; I will govern the right way, and by giving the right direction. I will change things and bring the economy of the state back to the top among states in Nigeria. We will make things happen; we will make a lot of changes. So, my message to Abians is: I’ve heard your cry, please come out and vote for the party with elephant as its the logo for the good of Abia.
We want to change things for the better and we’re coming with passion to work. Therefore, we will roll up our sleeves from day one to rebuild the state. I am not coming to learn on the job, but will get down to the real business of governance from day one by bringing my wealth of experience in both the public and private sectors to bear on the governance of the state. I will deploy all my energy, intellect, sagacity and emotional capacity to rebuild the state and rekindle hope in our people.
We will pay premium to education by giving equal opportunities to the children of both the rich and the poor. We will provide free and compulsory education to primary and secondary school levels. We also intend to create 10,000 jobs each year and by so doing, address the restiveness amongst the youths. We will dedicate funding to build roads in both urban and rural areas, revamp moribund industries.
We intend to enter into public private partnership (PPP) with multilateral agencies to create jobs particularly for our discontent youths who have been abandoned to their fate. We believe that when there are jobs, it would have multiplier effect of income generation, which would further boost tax, enhance revenue for government and ultimately accelerate growth and development.
So, you’re going to the election with a whole lot of optimism?
Well, you can never say it’s going to happen this way, but we do hope that we put in the hard work and pray and hope that the hard work pays off. Nobody can claim victory of any election, all we can do is put in our hard work. As it stands today, even as I speak to you right now, nobody can claim victory because a lot of people have not made up their minds. They will make their minds after the presidential election, so we are still keeping faith and focusing on our message and the things we are doing and we are optimistic that we will cross the finish line on the D-Day.
Are you still open to merger before the election?
I’m open to merger if the merger is about people coming to join us. I fit into the profile of what Abia people are looking for. They are looking for a young and experienced governor and I fit into that profile. I can’t be the one going to merge with other political parties, but I am open to other political parties merging with my party because I fit into the profile of what the majority of Abians are yearning for.
