National Cake: Ndigbo don’t need to vote Buhari to get their share — Ezeemo

•Says Buhari needs competent people to fight corruption

CHIEF Godwin Ezeemo was the Anambra State governorship candidate  of the Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA in the 2013 polls. In this interview, he explains why President Muhammadu Buhari should constitute a unity government. He also spoke on other issues

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By JohnBosco Agbakwuru

How do you think the Igbo would fare in this dispensation under President Buhari?

I believe they are prepared and  can play the role of opposition in this dispensation.  I said this  because they are seen as not having voted for Buhari. They voted for the All Progressives Congress,APC but the bulk of their votes went to the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP and other parties.  I am interested in seeing what will happen.

I was in Buhari’s  office in Kaduna in 2013 and I saw his character and humble office.

Display of wealth

Ezeemo

That made me to really appreciate the type of person he is. He wasn’t displaying wealth rather he was displaying the confidence that he has the ability to bring everybody together, and I strongly believe he can.

Ndigbo do not need to vote for Buhari to get their share of the national cake. It is their inalienable right to get what is due them. If they don’t get it, then whoever is the president should know that he is not doing well. It is now that Buhari will use his position to bring this nation together for onward march to where we want it to be.

Do you have the same level of confidence in APC governors?

I will not tell you that I have the same level of confidence in the governors but given the fact that Buhari himself has what it takes to make Nigeria work is enough to change their attitude to governance.

Some are of the view that President Buhari should constitute a government of national unity, do you share this view?

I share the view because APC as a party does not own Buhari, rather he is the President of the entire country.  Every ethnic group deserves to be carried along.

Can we know your expectations from this administration?

The availability of power in the country is nothing to write home about. If we have constant power supply, industries will spring up in all nooks and crannies of this nation, jobs will be generated for the people and as such people will not be idle.

Secondly, if there is constant  power  supply, agriculture can take off because we are still struggling in agriculture. Without power, there is no way people can engage in agriculture. Virtually all the industries we have in this country are light industries. We don’t have heavy duty industries. It is when we have heavy duty industries that the light industries can take off because the heavy duty industries will produce all the raw materials needed in the light industries. So, in everything, power is essential. Availability of power will equally bring down the cost of living.  Our hotels are the most expensive in the world and the reason is that they power the hotels with generators. It is a big problem. I am telling you this out of experience because I am an industrialist and I know the problems I go through.

Also, the government should be inclusive. Everybody should be given a place, whether they voted for APC or not. APC, I believe, is a party that wants to make sure that Nigerians support them and they can only do it by doing what is right.

How do you want the administration to handle the issue of corruption?

This is going to be a very difficult area for the administration. The President cannot be everywhere, even though we see him to be an upright person.

Ability to deliver

What I will suggest is that  he must pick people that can deliver. He should not pick people because they come from a particular geo-political area not minding his or her ability to deliver.   If he picks incompetent persons, they will let him down and he will be blamed for it.

For instance former President Goodluck Jonathan had good intentions for this country but those around him were more interested in what they could get.  And they were doing things with impunity.

He is a good man and could have performed better than he did. President Buhari should therefore exercise caution over who he picks to work with him. If he gets the right people to work with him, we will  be able to fight corruption collectively.