The Action Alliance (AA) governorship candidate in Imo state in the last general election, Chief Uche Nwosu, says agitation for 2023 is a huge distraction. In this interview with Bode Olagoke, Nwosu speaks on issues of economy, security, governance and says the South-east zone should first work with other zones before demanding for 2023 presidency.
Soon after the last general elections, posters for 2023 are everywhere and there are agitations for zoning, what do you make out of this agitations in 2019?
For me, it’s too early to start that. I think people should just kill this issue of 2023 and allow Mr President to be focused and finish his second tenure in 2023. It’s not in the best interest of the country for anybody to start talking about 2023 now.
The president should be given all necessary support for good governance to move the country forward. When we come close to 2023, we will know where we are going. But for now, every support should go to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Many are realigning claiming the APC and PDP by 2023 might not be able to give Nigerians the right political direction?
I do not share in that idea because Nigeria is a complex country. We heard similar thing before but it didn’t work out. Apart from the emergence of the APC, and I feel the ruling party will still take the day because going by existing structures it does not seem as if anything better than the APC has emerged at the national level.
Do you regret contesting Imo state governorship election on the platform of AA?
There is no regret at all. It was injustice that moved me to the AA. When I won the party’s primaries and I was denied the ticket, which was given to someone who came to the party less than three months going to the primaries. I have no regret because I still have my support for the leadership of APC and its presidential candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari, and also those who joined me to the AA – they are very much dear to me. Remember that I contested under AA but we had what we called a perfect alliance with the APC. So, I’m APC and I am AA.
When you say you are APC and AA, are you planning to return to the APC in no distant time?
I’m still in court for now. And we are still having perfect alliance. If by tomorrow I’m declared the winner of the case, I will not see myself as the governor of AA or governor of APC, I will be governor of entire political parties in Imo state. So, for now, my alliance will be for APC and AA. These are the two parties that gave me their support in Imo state.
The 2020 budget has been highly criticized by the opposition, and even APC members. What is your take about the N10.33trn budget for 2020?
People should not just criticize but should study the budget before they draw conclusion. The president had taken his time with his cabinet members, made some consultations before he came up with that budget.
For me, the budget is a welcome one and it would conclude most of the things that were not concluded in the 2019 budget. Most of the things you saw in the budget were ongoing projects, so you don’t abandon one and start another. I think I’m in love with this budget.
But where I have some reservation is on the issue of education. There should have been more allocation for education because education is basic. Were miscreants provided for by way of education they would perhaps not have gone into crimes. I saw something like N40 billion, it should have been higher.
The Ministry of Works, under Babatunde Fashola, should have had more because take Abuja- Kaduna road project, it’s almost N100 billion and yet the budget for works is around N200bn. So, when you look at it, you will see that what was allocated to works was inadequate. I think Mr President should submit supplementary budget for Works.
I would have loved Mr President to directly supervise the office of the Ministry of Youths and Sports. My concern is the youth. If we have enough for the youths, we will not be experiencing all these social media fake news. It is only when the youths are not busy that they spend hours on social media, typing, sharing and forwarding fake news. If they are busy, they won’t have time for social media. I think Mr President should also increase the budget for Ministry of Youths and Sports.
Another area I’m so happy about is the area of humanitarian services. I’m so happy with the creation of that ministry, because it has to do with the less-privileged; it has to do with the downtrodden in the society. But my advice to the Honourable Minister for Humanitarian Affairs is let her focus more on creativity in IDP camps.
The humanitarian ministry should be able to impact knowledge in the IDP camps. And the ministry should be quick response to situations and incidences. Mr President should pay close attention to that ministry because it will turn the lives of the downtrodden in the society.
Also, we have the issue of transportation. The rail transportation is a good one because we must have an alternative to road transport. Yes, most people cannot afford to fly, so rail comes handy and should be one of the vocal points of this administration. So that if we are able to link the South-east, South-west, South-south and the North by rail, then movement will become easy.
Do you see the budget transforming Nigeria’s economy in the next four years?
Yes. Perfectly, it will. But there is need for supplementary budgets in some of the areas that I just mentioned.
How will you access this government from the president to his cabinet members?
I think it is too early to start comparing the last four years with the next four years. With what I could see in the budget, I believe that Mr President would do well. And also on this issue of some of the works that have started, both on the rail sector and construction of roads and so many things that have started, he’s putting things in the right direction.
We will not judge from the present few months, let us judge from the last four years and compare it to what he is going to do in the next four years. I know if he was able to do well in the last four years, then, Mr President will automatically do very, very well in the next four years.
As a politician from the South-east you can see the level of agitations for the region to produce Nigeria’s president in 2023, do you share this same view?
I don’t believe in shouting for presidency now. Even the South-east which is agitating to produce the president in 2023, how far have they gone to reach out to the other zones? You don’t sit in South-east and be asking for president or you sit in Anambra or Enugu or Abia or Imo or Ebonyi and say it is our turn. What is the relationship between South-east and the North? What is the relationship between South-east and the South-west? What is the relationship between South-east and South-south? That is what they should be talking about.
I wouldn’t want to venture into the issue of 2023 until Mr President completes his tenure but for those who are agitating for president, let me repeat, we need to work with our brothers from other zones.
But if you look at the political structures since 1999, every zone that had produced president was conceded to not necessarily because they worked with other zones. In 1999, the North conceded to the South-west and General Olusegun Obasanjo emerged. In 2007, Obasanjo looked at the North and gave it to late Umaru Yar’Adua and later Goodluck Jonathan took over. The same way Mr President emerged when people said okay, it is the turn of the North.
Don’t you think agitating may believe that the other zone should extend that olive branch to the South-east?
The South-east should not make so much noise now. As it is now, we have the president who has three years plus to stay in office and nothing has come from the Villa that this person has been adopted or this position has been zoned to South-west or South-east.
People are just saying that the North says they will not handover power, South-south says they will take power, South-west says they will take power, North-east says they will take power, this is based on rumour and hearsay.
When the time for that comes then we will know where it is going to but for now, I think we should just mellow down in South-east, work for the development of the region and wait for 2023. If we start fighting now, there are lot of things we need to put in place in the South-east which we won’t be able.
There are other things we need to go and talk about. 2023 is still far. By the time we move closer to 2023, automatically, God knows the best for South-east.
