IHEDIOHA: NO ROOM FOR CONTRACTUAL POLITICIANS IN PDP
There is no doubt that the Igbos are poised to play more significant roles in the politics of tomorrow. We have had our own fair share watching from the sidelines. We can’t wait for too long to now play deeply at the centre.
Notable politicians from the South-east are moving over to APC and the fear is that it might come to a stage that you might not have a strong for PDP in the region. Does this worry you? What are you talking about? What do you mean by notable politicians? You are talking of business men; don’t mistake business men with politicians. If you are talking of business men and contractors that is a different thing. Their loyalty is hardly constant. You should understand it. They serve their business interest. Let’s talk about politicians and politicians are people like Emeka Ihedioha. People like Ike Ekweremmadu. So, when you talk of politicians we should be able to distinguish between politicians and business men and contractors.
Whatever name you give them their movement to APC has given the impression that APC is making a strong in-road in the South-east.
APC today is the government in power and so people with these tendencies are likely to gravitate towards the man that would give them protection and towards the man that would give them contract and that is their purpose.
The Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha has said that about three of your governors in the South-east would soon join APC. What do you feel about this? What was the response of those governors he referred to in the South-east? Tell me one governor that concurred to his position? That is governor Rochas for you. I don’t know why people take him very seriously. He makes postulations from time to time and talks like that and that is how he administers the state.
But he remains popular in the state.
Is he popular? He has been winning elections. Which election did he win? The first election was a revolt and you know how the second election went. He would tell you better and he has been speaking publicly that he knows how he got to where he is. But let’s live that for another day. I am simply a respecter of the system. I believe in authority so I had to accept our fate as determined by the court well we will make progress.
Come 2019 what is your ambition? The future is pregnant. There are a lot of political evolutions going on right now in the country. My situation and my ambition would be defined by the desires of my people at the appropriate point in time. Right now we are concentrating on building our party into a formidable opposition to respond to the misgovernance in Imo State. What is your position on the suggestion that the PDP might have to float a new mega party to confront APC? Like I said, there is a lot of uncertainties in the political space and I believe the actions of the party would be determined by the events that are fast unfolding. Our concentration right now is on putting our house together and also reaching out to other parties that share the same ideas with us to further democracy in Nigeria. Those are our immediate concerns and we are doing that.