Senator Uche Ekwunife recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview in Awka, she gives reasons for her defection, why she will win the rerun election for Anambra Senatorial seat among others.
Excerpts: Your move from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has generated debate in the state, what was the motivation?
What happened was that for the past six months I was in the Senate, I was in different courts for PDP petitions; from FCT High Court, Federal High Court, Appeal Court to Supreme Court. I spent the whole six months going from one court to another, everybody was like claiming to be the candidate of the party. When we did our primaries, the national committee that came to do the primaries did our own primaries but when I emerged as the candidate, other people started declaring themselves as candidates of the party and they went to court.
So, when the election was nullified, I thought that they would have used that opportunity to reconcile all the factions and it appeared that the problem was not abating at all. I made every effort for reconciliation to happen but it was impossible. I was the one that wrote with my letterhead; I sent letter to the party notifying them of the nullification of my election and requesting for fresh primaries to be conducted by the party.
Different people with different stories, I actually do not want to criticize the party but at the same time, I felt that with that nullification, the party should have been proactive enough to put the house in order. Because there are certain things candidates or members can do, and I believe that there are certain obligation the leadership of the party should carry. When we had stakeholders meeting in Awka with the state chairman of the party, all other members came and at least two of those that took me to court came and I saw the vehemence. One of them said, if the they didn’t nullify the election that he would have nullified it in the Supreme Court. And I said it was like King Solomon that was adjudicating between the case of two women claiming ownership of a baby. One told the king not to kill the child that when the child grows, he should know the mother and the other one said cut the child into halves. Of course, you now know who won that election.
When I took the microphone, I said they should look at our result shit from different wards and polling units and with that you know who ran the election and who has the capacity to win election again for the party. Some of them claiming to be candidates lost in their wards. After making my own contribution, they all thought that everybody should be going to the wards again to talk to them before talking with the delegates in different wards. After that meeting, I left, that was on a Monday or Tuesday I can’t remember but on Wednesday evening, one media person told me there is a publication from my party, I said what publication and she said it’s a paid publication. I sent my email, she scanned the publication for me and behold, the party sent out a publication that they are postponing indefinitely all activities relating to congresses and primaries until Olisa Metuh is released from detention. And on Thursday, the publication was in almost four national newspapers. Even when they cancelled the election, some leaders from South East called me on phone and said that since they have nullified the election and requested for fresh election, why don’t we use this opportunity to play national politics. But I was scared of what people will say, will they say that I was entering another party? So, I said let me continue with my party, but when that publication came out, I had no choice anymore than to move because this is a time bound election; if we do not do primary before Tuesday or Wednesday next week (January 19 and 20), no part will have a candidate anymore. And they said they are postponing indefinitely, giving condition that it will be until Olisa Metuh is released, and who knows when he will be released? At that point I had no choice anymore because I believe that Metuh’s detention has nothing to do with lawful activities of a political party.
And Anambra Central is the most difficult zone today and I’m sure, Bayelsa as a state has 840,000 registered voters, Anambra Central has 720,000 registered voters and is on a flat surface. It’s somewhere you can navigate within minutes.
I know what I passed through during that election. As a woman, to win such election in Anambra State is not a joke. So, that was the last stroke that broke the camel’s back.
Credit: Sun
