Abia 2023 [Umunneato Agenda]: ‘If PDP Takes Their Ticket To Abia North, Who Will Do The Voting’?- Hon. Ginger Onwusibe | EXCLUSIVE

Immediately after the meeting of Ukwa La Ngwa leaders that held on the 23rd of June 2021 at Ovu Ndi Eze in Isialangwa-North Local Government Area, where they arrived at the decision of Umunneato Axis of Abia Central should produce the next governor of Abia State come 2023, All Facts Newspaper had an exclusive interaction with the honorable member representing Isialangwa North state constituency in Abia State House of Assembly, Honorable Ginger Onwusibe. During the phone interaction, he shared more light on the Umunneato Agenda and other political issues.  The interaction was anchored by Emenike Iroegbu. 

What is your position on the latest decision by Ukwa Ngwa people who are saying that power should reside in Ukwa La Ngwa for the next eight years?

The truth is that equity demands that the old Bende people have done 16 years, its only fair that the old Aba zonal people should also do 16 years, but that’s not in isolation of the fact that there should be proper consultation and negotiation . We also need our old Bende brothers for it, to consider it as sacrifice because Abia central is made up of two device; we have the Ikwuano- Umuahia people under old Bende, you have the Isialangwa north and Isialangwa south and Osisioma people that falls in Ukwa Ngwa side. So am with my people on that position and I’ve been canvassing for it. The governorship that came to Abia central was taken by the Ikwuano –Umuahia people of old Bende divison. So if the governorship is coming back to Abia central again, it’s only equitable that Isialangwa north, Isialangwa south or Osisioma takes a shot. That will bring peace, that will bring balance,

This present senatorial position(Abia central), is supposed to come to Isialangwa north precisely because Osisioma have taken their shot, Umuahia south, have taken their shot, isialangwa south has taken their shot, Umuahia north is presently on the position, so it’s supposed to rotate to Isialangwa north now.But as a fair person, this is my personal opinion not the opinion of my people; We can concede the governorship to Isialangwa people and concede back the senate to Umuahia people. So now this can be fair. Our people cannot take both the governorship and senate at the same time. But the position of our people in the meeting is that the governor should consider handing over to Umunneato people ,

considering the fact that we have not experienced anything like that before, that is what we are saying, we are also saying that it will not be done in isolation of our old Bende brothers . We have to carry them along and we have to negotiate with them.

There is an opinion that the rotation of the governorship position had been on the basis of senatorial zones and not on the basis of old Bende and old Aba zone; that the position went to Abia south last time was on senatorial zone basis? 

It is not true, in 1999, people from old Bende, old Aba division, Abia north senatorial zone, Abia central senatorial zone, people from Abia south senatorial zone, all contested that position. Orji Uzor Kalu contested, Mazi Nduaguibe contested, Vincent Ogbulafor contested. It was not on the basis of senatorial zone . Our people, the Ukwa Ngwa people have been agitating. In 2003 that was when you have the Otuonu story, Otuonu’s story was purely an Ukwa-ngwa thing, it was not on senatorial basis. In 2007 too, all these other people contested. The contest was not based on senatorial zone. There is no time in the history of Abia state power has been conceded. No time. Even the last 2015 governorship election, Alex Otti contested from Abia north, Uche Ogah contested.

Interjection … But Alex Otti is from Isialangwa south (Abia Central)

Alex Otti is from Abia north. It is not true that he is from Abia central. Alex Otti is an Aro man. He is from Abia north, we cannot be deceived by that. Has he gotten any post from our place? That is the question. He has not won any ward or any unit in Isialangwa, so he is not from our place, he cannot come and take our slots. When he won his tribunal case, he went to Aro and celebrated it. He didn’t celebrate in our place. At no point in time has power been conceded. Power can always be struggled for in this state. Ikpeazu is not a product of power concession. Ikpeazu is a product of power struggle.

You are fully aware that at that particular time, a lot of people from Abia north who believed in the position of T. A. Orji, that power should shift to Abia south, and a whole lot of people supported Ikpeazu from Abia north and central:

Why didn’t they allow all people from Abia south to contest only? Why did Alex Otti contest? The issue is clear, yes we have 3 senatorial zones, no doubt about that but we have two cultural traditional divide. Let me give you a story; When Orji Uzor kalu won governorship in 1999, Vincent Ogbulafor took him to court. Old Bende people summoned two of them, and told them that they are brothers, the old Bende people said he should go and withdraw the matter. And he went and withdrew the matter. So this cultural divide cannot be ruled out.

What will you tell other senatorial zones, let’s say Abia north to convince them that they should support your agitation?

My brother some of them who understands are supporting it, many of them are supporting it but the underlying factor is that power is not given, it is a struggle, majority will always have their way, minority will have their say, that is it. Note and underline that I said that our agitation cannot be on the isolation of our old Bende brothers. We must negotiate with them, we must negotiate with Ikwuano-Umuahia people and ensure that whatever is their own stake we concede it to them. We must negotiate with our Abia south, Abia north brothers so that it will not be as if we are coming for the governorship alone, because we as a people cannot do it alone, we are only 3 local governments. Its something that if we want to achieve it, we must achieve it based on serious consultation and negotiation.

During that meeting, was it unanimously agreed that the umunneato axis of the Ukwa La Ngwa people should be supported for that election?

Yes. The Ukwa people spoke and said they have conceded to Umunneato people, Aba people spoke and said yes they have conceded to Umunneato people, Obingwa people spoke and said yes they have conceded to Umunneato people. In 2014, I Ginger Onwusibe, organized Umunneato-Ngwa people, we rolled out drums at Ngwa high school, the aim of that rally was to say that the Umunneato -Ngwa people are conceding to Abia south people. I have the pictures of that event. We made it clear that we are not going to contest governorship, that our brothers from Abia south should contest and that we are conceding senate to Ikwuano-Umuahia people. I was the Chairman of the planning committee. So what we simply asked our brothers yesterday is what we did for you people in 2014, it is time for you people to do it back to us. We also asked them to do a rally and announce it that they are supporting power to shift to Umunneato.

Professor Greg Ibe made a statement that during the last election, that a delegation from Ukwa La Ngwa, the Ezes, visited Abia north and there was an agreement that if they support Okezie Ikpeazu to remain in power, that they will support them in 2023 as regards the governorship. What is your take on that?

I’ll answer it in two ways; first one is am not aware of that, the second one is if there was such agreement, did they support the governor? Did PDP win election in Abia north ? if there was such agreement, Greg is from Isiukwuato, didn’t we fail in Isiukwuato? If there was such agreement, tell us where PDP, where the governor won election in any of the local governments in Abia north. He only won in Ohafia and that sends a wrong signal. Put everything together, we failed in Abia north, so if there was such an agreement, they didn’t keep it.

There are opinions viewing the decisions of Ukwa La Ngwa as though the Ukwa keep being alienated from the political structure that what they do is always support the Ngwa and they themselves do not get support to become anything. They feel that if there should be any decision for that axis to have governorship that Ukwa should take a shot at it. Whats your take on that?

The Ukwa people were in that meeting yesterday, and they supported it with their whole heart. Ukwa is not marginalized. Ukwa is currently holding the Chairmanship position of the ruling party, it’s not a small position. That is why we are saying that it should be negotiated. For instance if an Umunneato person becomes the governor, he is not to be the deputy governor. Deputy governor can’t come from Abia north, if deputy governor comes from Abia north, speaker comes from Abia south. And they can lobby for it. Speaker is also not a small position, speaker is a head of an arm of government, it’s not a small position. What is possible is what any politician can look for.

Let me tell you two things that are possible; an Abia north man can be governor with a combination of Ngwa people; an Ngwa man will be deputy. An Ukwa man can be speaker with the combination of the Ngwa people, an Umuahia man can be senator again. All these things are questions of voting, you cannot go and start to do something that is impossible. If an Ukwa man wants to be governor now, presently, he needs to work harder than an Umunneato person. Yes none is going to be easy. For an Umunneato person to be governor, it’s not going to be easy. The same way for an Abia north person to be governor. Abia north is almost an APC zone, if PDP takes their ticket to Abia north, who will do the voting?

Our people resolved yesterday that no Umunneato person should gain deputy governor. It’s a resolution we did yesterday, and when Martin went and took deputy governor, we practicalized it by telling our people not to vote for APC and nobody voted for APC including his unit,. When he saw failing in his unit, he went and scattered the unit. APC is not in Abia central, APC is not in Abia south. What is in Abia south and Abia central is APGA, that is what you can say is in those local governments. In Abia north PDP will be struggling there. So if PDP takes their ticket to Abia north and give governorship then you will expect me to come and start using my supporters to come and support him.

All these are party issues, even if your party gives a ticket to an Abia north man other party structures are supposed to rally around him:

Sure, but Charity begins at home. You have to show us your strength first. Party will consider where it’s going to win election from. If Ikpeazu was not able to be getting 80,000 votes from Obingwa he couldn’t have won. So you must show us where that 80,000 votes will come from for PDP so that we can start considering them. Nobody wants to fail, am a practical politician. People want to get governorship, we can’t get it alone, we must move our team to Umuahia and negotiate with them. We must move our team to Ikwuano, we must move our team to Bende, Arochukwu, we must move our team to all those places and negotiate and discuss with them and say this is what we have for you. If we do it like we can do it, we can’t get it.