Power shift imminent in Igbo states – APC Chieftain
The current movement of prominent Igbo politicians from across the political spectrum to the All Progressive Congress, APC, has been cited as a pointer to an imminent power shift in the South East states such as Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra.
An APC chieftain in Abia State, Chief Engr. Chambalin Okechukwu Adiaso, said in an exclusive interview with newsmen that the on-going mass movement of eminent Igbo political leaders from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to the APC was an endorsement of the administration of the President Muhammadu Buhari.
Chief Adiaso stated that with the recent joining of the APC by Senator Ken Nnamani, a former Senate President, the floodgate of political re-alignment had been thrown open and the result would be a sweeping victory for the APC in the 2019 general elections. “If there is an election today, the APC will sweep the entire eastern part of the country,” Adiaso predicted.
According to the APC stalwart, the history of political alignments in the country had always favoured an affiliation of South Eastern and Northern politicians, especially with respect to producing the president of the country. He said that he was not surprised, therefore, to see a mass movement of Igbos to the APC, being the ruling party at the federal level.
Chief Adiaso said that blackmail by members of the PDP that the APC Federal Government was not benefitting the common man in the country had failed, adding that the false story that the APC administration was a northern government had equally been debunked as political awareness had spread to the electorate in the grassroots.
He commended the Buhari administration for working hard to stabilize the economy as the stepping stone to setting the country on the path to economic breakthrough, noting that his three-point economic agenda was on course despite the current recession. He said that recession was not made in Nigeria, pointing out that Britain and even the United States of America once went through recession.
Adiaso said: “Buhari is a disciplined man who loves Nigeria from the depth of his heart. He is not the typical politician. I think Nigerians, and indeed Igbos, are lucky to have Buhari as President. He is a true Nigerian.
“Since he became president, there has been nothing like bomb blasts in Abuja. The dreaded Sambisa forest, where Boko Haram held sway, has been secured by our armed forces and he has not relented in the fight against corruption.”
According to the APC chieftain, the Buhari administration had refused to be distracted in the fight against the scourge of corruption. “The Buhari I know does not care whose ox is gored. But he is still mindful of the need to respect the rule of law as a fundamental principle of democratic governance.”
Speaking on the recent statement credited to former President Olusegun Obasanjo that he was going to support the Igbos to produce the next president of Nigeria after Buhari, Chief Adiaso said he would be glad to see that happen. He, however, noted that the Igbos would first have to support Buhari and then allow events to unfold. He cautioned: “Remember, Buhari is entitled to eight- year tenure as a president. Nobody can come to challenge a man who has achieved so much for Nigeria.”
He said further: “Let us support Buhari because we will soon get there. The emergence of President Buhari and vice President Yemi Osinbajo is the best thing that has happened to Nigeria. Let’s ask God to give them more life. We don’t need to attack them. The Bible says ‘we should respect our leaders’ I believe God that Nigeria will soon be the country of our dream.”
Coming to his state, Abia, known as “God’s Own State,” he said he believed that time had come when God would hear the cry of the people. “God will soon bring a leader in Abia State; not a ruler. This is what is needed now that there is no security; but tyranny. Abians should beckon on God to come and rescue his people,” he said.
Chief Adiaso thanked the Acting President, Prof Osinbajo for coming to Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, to launch the Micro, Small and Medium enterprises Clinic, the first of its kind in the region.
He said that the PDP government refused to do what they ought to have done in Aba. “I am happy we welcomed the Acting President; this will boost our manufacturing industry. But, the issue on the ground is whether the state government has done enough in the area of infrastructure,” he queried.
He said further: “The coming of the Acting president to Aba will open the eyes of Aba business community that have been blind for too long. The revenue coming from Aba which is like Lagos should have been enough to develop the city to take care of the lapses and yet the roads are still in a deplorable condition. Are we going to work on the roads when the rains have come? This is painful, but the Acting President’s visit is a wake-up call.”
On the deplorable state of the Port Harcourt Road in Aba, Chief Adiaso lambasted the state government for hiding under the pretext that the road was classified as a Federal road. He asked: “What about those state governors who rehabilitated all the roads in their domain without minding whether they are Federal or not? The law is perfectly clear on this. These things are supposed to be done in the interest of the common man. The government can repair the road and reclaim the money. This is the situation in Enugu, Anambra and other states where there are visionary leaders not rulers.”
