Governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the forthcoming election in Imo State, Senator Athan Achonu, tells CHIDIEBUBE OKEOMA about some of the challenges facing the state and his plans to tackle them if he wins the November 11 gov polls
Why do you think Imo people should vote for you on November 11?
Imo people should vote for me because I am the best candidate. I have the best plans for the recovery of the state. My party also has the best manifesto. It is my plan to industrialise Imo State and make it safe. The best approach to making the state safe is to provide multiple jobs for the youth of the state. I have done it as a private citizen and I will do more if elected the governor of the state on November 11.
But many candidates who later became governors at different times in Imo State made promises that were not fulfilled. Why do you think Imo people should vote for you this time?
I have a trademark of integrity and performance. Just look at the things I have done, the Agro-industry I have in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area, and the investments I have attracted to the state. These are things Imo people know about me. I don’t talk about what I can’t do. I have promised to industrialise the state, especially Ohaji Egbema and Oguta areas of the state. I have invested my personal resources in the security of the state, yet the state can’t account for the six Armoured Personnel Carriers I repaired. My antecedents and character are impressive. Imo people trust me because I have done it as a private person and I will do more as a governor. I have the political will and courage to recover the state.
Imo State is expected to be an industrial hub in the country, considering what former governor, Sam Mbakwe, did for the state. Why has the state failed to follow the direction of the late Obowo-born former governor?
Lack of political will is the issue. I will industrialise this state if I become governor. I am saying this with all honesty. Imo State should be an industrial hub. I am interested in making the state the destination for investors and I can’t achieve this without industrialising the state. Oil-producing LGs of Oguta and Ohaji Egbema should be industrialised, and that I will do. I will industrialise the state and conduct local government elections within my first six months in office.
Insecurity has been an issue in the state ahead of the governorship poll next month. Are you not expecting voter apathy based on the feeling of some of the voters that they rather stay indoors than come out to vote and be shot by hoodlums?
Insecurity is a serious issue and the state government is not doing enough to stop it. I am one person who is seriously concerned about the security of the state and I have personally invested multiple millions of naira in it, yet the state government hasn’t been proactive. For example, I invested my resources running into millions in repairing six Armoured Personnel Carriers.
The idea was to use them to secure the six local government areas in the Okigwe zone, but after I finished repairing them, they disappeared. It wasn’t deployed for that purpose. But my government will be different. I will invest hugely in security. My administration will create multiple jobs, revamp the education sector and speedily conduct local government elections within my first six months in office. Once these are done, insecurity will become a thing of the past in the state. When I say it, I will do it because I have the political will to do it.
With the controversy that surrounded elections in the past, are you confident in the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a credible governorship election in Imo State?
The Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Imo State has to go and the rumour is all over the place that the governor handpicked some people and posted them to Owerri. So, we are protesting to INEC to make sure that these people are changed so that we will have a free, fair election in Imo State. Nobody will rig the election. The people are determined to protect their votes. We can’t allow anybody to subvert the will of the people. Imo people desire change and it is that change they want to effect on November 11 through the ballot.
How confident are you in the heads of security agencies in the state to supervise a transparent election?
The same thing goes for those sets. Most of them have been working with the governor for years. They need to be redeployed. We need a level playing ground here. We want the institutions of democracy and all agencies empowered by the law to conduct the election to be neutral and highly professional. Imo people want to choose who leads them. The suffering is too much. The desire for a change of baton in the helms of affairs is echoing loud. Bad governance has bedevilled the state and it is time for the Labour Party to take over the state and make things alright.
Are you worried about the number of uncollected PVCs in the state?
I am worried. What I hear now is more troubling than the announcement. INEC is planning to distribute the uncollected PVCs through the Presidents-General of Town Unions and you know that the presidents-general are appointees of the governor. So, we will not allow that. We are protesting against it.
A few weeks ago, some security agents were killed at a location close to your country home. Some say it was an act planned to weigh you down as one of the governorship candidates. How will you react to this?
It can never weigh me down because that is what it was intended to achieve. My people know better than that. They know I am going to protect them and their votes. Whoever planned that just wasted people’s lives and they are going to pay for it because I know that security agencies are going to leave no stone unturned, unearth the people behind the attack and those who carried it out.
How do you and your political party intend to ensure that security agencies protect your votes on election day?
The police and Army are determined, and the Civil Defence officers are determined. They are Nigerians. Do you think they are stupid? They are intelligent people; most of them are Igbo as well. Even the non-Igbo are angry. They are seeing the blood spilling. Look at the security agents that were knocked out like chickens. So, this should not continue. It is because of bad governance and nothing else, and it is a stand-alone election; only three states in the entire Nigeria are having governorship elections. So, the whole South-East securities agents will be concentrated here to protect the people’s votes and their rights to vote. It is going to be free and fair elections.
How will you react to the claim that aspirants you contested against in the Labour Party primary are not supporting your governorship bid?
It is everywhere; it is also in the APC. The APC and half of the APC aspirants are not with the governor. The PDP is also splitting down to the middle. Anything you have in this election, there is always a crisis. They are disgruntled elements, and you cannot help it. You just do what you can. You will see that those kicking against the party are those sent by opponents to come and destabilise the party. You can imagine what has been happening in the court, bad propaganda to the LP, which is not working. Anyway, the people know better. Everything is working in our favour. It is working against the incumbent governor because they believe he is the one financing the crisis in the LP. They believe the man (the governor) knows he is not coming back so it gives them a lot of courage.
Do you think the LP has any chance in the election considering that the APC controls the Federal Government and Imo State?
I do not understand. This state is not an APC state. This place is an LP state. So, I have even thought about it, and it is clear that this is an LP state. The LP is the most popular political party in Imo State, and it has the best, the most prepared, and the most result-oriented person as its candidate.
The governor said 4,000 youths of the state would be employed in Europe in December. What is your take on this?
You are a journalist; you are the one to answer this question. Did you not hear what Arise Television analysts said on this issue? They were shocked, even the European Union has denied it. That is what you should be telling the public. Do you think Imolites, as sophisticated and intelligent as we are, can buy that rubbish? It is a pity, and that will show you that the man (governor) has lost. He does not know what to say any longer. Anyway, you cannot give what you do not have.
What are your plans for the youths of the state?
Everything is about the youth. It is the youth that owns everything. The jobs I am going to create are for them. The educational system I am going to overhaul is for them. From the third position, we are now at 24th (position). That is a shock and a shame. On the collapse of health facilities in the state, you know I have built, completed, and equipped 26 out of 27 health centres in Imo State and they are not being utilised. Most of them have been overgrown by bush. Since the inception of the APC government, I have completed most of them. They have abandoned them, but I will revive all of them as soon as I become the governor.
The governor has constantly alleged that the insecurity in the state is sponsored by the opposition figureheads. How will you react to this?
You know who the opposition figureheads are, you can imagine if any of them is capable of unleashing violence. A former militatnt leader in Niger-Delta came on national television and said that he was engaged by the state government to protect the state. With that, you know who is behind insecurity in the state.
Do you think that the agitation for a Sovereign State of Biafra is also fuelling insecurity in the state?
To a certain extent, I will say yes. People do not understand. The Indigenous People of Biafra is a more organised movement, but all these things (worsened insecurity) happened when there was a jailbreak in Imo State. You can imagine this jailbreak took place within the headquarters of the DSS; the police headquarters is there, and the Government House is there. The bridge commander lives in that area. Then these people attacked the prison for two hours and nobody came. Does it not tell you something? As far as I am concerned, the government knows what they are doing. Police stations were burnt, and up till now, they have not fixed them.
The government should explain to us what is going on so we can understand. They are the ones who should explain these things to us because it is confusing. I have even offered to repair police stations, but the government has not given me any support. I even used my own resources when I did not collect any security vote to fix nine Armoured Personnel Carriers belonging to the Nigeria Police and up till now, I did not see them on the road in Okigwe Zone. They need some explanation to do. They owe the citizens the obligation of letting them know what they are doing or what they are up to. Something is fishy. Are we not Nigerians anymore?
What are your plans for the women?
We are giving women 45 per cent. Women have seen hell. They have suffered. They are bearing the brunt of all these insecurities. It is their children that are slaughtered, their houses are being burnt and it is the men who are causing these things. Let us put more women into leadership. Let us see if things will get better. So, we are giving them 45 per cent.