Chief Chaka Nweze is an All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart in Ebonyi state having served at various levels of the party in the state. In this interview with IKENNA OKONKWO, he says President Muhammadu Buhari should look beyond party lines for his successor.
How do you rate the nation’s economy presently under Buhari?
One may not objectively assess President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in the area of economy if you don’t situate it within the circumstances of the moment. Nigeria is predominantly a mono-cultural economy with a dwindling oil price which started at the inception of this administration. It worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic for which the economy has suffered. However, the federal government has tried to diversify the economy by opening the comatose agricultural sector through effective funding of farmers. Today, they are doing well and the economy is picking up from there. Also, with the recent directive of the president that the finance minister and CBN governor should ensure immediate release of N2.3 trillion to fund the Economic Sustainability plan, there is no doubt that economy would flourish and other sectors would benefit.
The 2023 elections is around the corner. What do you think the president should do regarding his successor?
The president should look beyond party affiliations in choosing his successor when he completes his second term. He should shun sentiments and other forms of distractions and search for a candidate with enviable records of performance in office especially in the areas of infrastructure, security, among others. He should be mindful of the zoning order which would ultimately foster national cohesion and integration. The subsisting, growing clamour for an Igbo president would foster national cohesion and unity as the nation needs ‘performers’.
From records, does Nigeria have ‘performers’ with the expected magic in 2023?
By my estimation, Governors David Umahi of Ebonyi state and Prof Babagana Zulum of Borno state have shown their capacities in that position. The constitution does not provide for independent candidacy during elections, so the APC has a duty to ensure that both men are presented to Nigerians to sustain the president’s legacies. Therefore, the president should not hesitate to urge Umahi to quickly join the APC from the PDP in order to replicate his infrastructural strides at the national level.
What parameter did you use in arriving at this assertion?
Using what is presently happening in Ebonyi as a test case, the state has been magically turned around by Umahi. Ahough I am not a member of PDP, I boldly say that he has transformed the state beyond the expectations of people in the opposition. Umahi in the saddle will pay attention to infrastructure as he has done in Ebonyi, especially Abakaliki the state capital which has been made the beautiful bride of the South- east zone.
You were a critic of Umahi, but now seems to see things differently. What happened?
I am not singing Umahi’s praises but my conscience would not allow me to hide the phenomenal transformation under the governor as he has suddenly turned Ebonyi into the Dubai of Nigerian with infrastructural strides that would be difficult to see elsewhere. He has completed over eight standard, world class ‘flyovers’ and is on the verge of completing several others.An interesting aspect is that the trans-Saharan Abakaliki-Enugu Highway has a large chunk of flyover projects and this has strategically connected Nigeria with Cameroon, improved trade, investments and other business opportunities in the process. This is the type of infrastructural innovation the country needs to ensure free trade, massive economic transformation, enhance business ties to wriggle it from economic quagmire and become an economic hub sub-regionally, continentally and internationally.
Do you feel the governor can replicate these seeming feats at the national level?
Federal roads are in deplorable conditions but with what is going on in Ebonyi, it is not in doubt that Umahi in the presidency would permanently solve this systematic defect and ensure that other areas such as the power sector are also revamped.
What about Zulum?
Zulum’s feat in the area of security underscores the fact that his combination with Umahi would go a long way in solving the hydra-headed monster of insecurity ravaging the country. Zulum has ensured that though insurgency still rages, Borno is still working with massive infrastructural development adorning the landscape while offering hope and rehabilitation to indigenes displaced. The level of destruction inflicted by the insurgents could have made some governors not to perform as an excuse but Zulum has braced the odds and still ensures that the state keeps moving.
I visited Maiduguri recently and though despondency can still be felt, yet the state still thrives with massive investment in infrastructure, education, health, economic revamping, among other sectors.
