How I Knew Labour Party Would Take Over Abia Govt. From PDP – Chairman, Ceekay Igara

How I Knew Labour Party Would Take Over Abia Govt. From PDP – Chairman, Ceekay Igara

Comrade Ceekay Igara is the Chairman of Labour Party in Abia State and doubles as the chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), in the state. In this interview with Faith Ukanwa, he dives into the history of the Labour Party which defeated the Peoples Democratic Party in the last governorship election in the state, and why he was confident that his party was going to take over the leadership of Abia State from the PDP after a 24-year reign.

Please note that this interview was conducted before May 29, 2023 inauguration.

Can We Meet You Sir?
My name is Comrade Ceekay Igara. I am from Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State. By God’s grace, I am the chairman of the Labour Party in Abia State. I’m also the chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Abia State. I was also recently appointed the Chairman of all the 36 states chairmen of Labour Party.

How long you have been in the Labour Party, and how were you able to pilot it to where it is at present in the state?

I want to thank you for that question, because too many people think that Labour Party just came into existence last year. I recall in 2008, I contested for the chairmanship of Ohafia Local Lovernment, under the New Democratic Party (NDP). I was the National Organizing Secretary of NDP; I was also the Secretary of Babangida Campaign Organization as well as World Organizational Security Coalition.
Then it was after that election that by 2009, somebody called Pastor Kingsley Uluocha went to Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, because Uluocha was planning to run for governor of Abia State. According to what I was told, he said that he had followed our trajectory and had seen one young man who believed in principles and did not believe in money politics but believed that the right person should be there.

So that’s what he told them at the national level, so the national chairman then mandated Callistus Okafor who was the South-East chairman to look for me wherever I was. They missed me in Abuja and Cross River because I was hardly in one place due to so many journeys I embarked on. It was at the Modetel Hotel, Owerri, the Imo State capital that they found me; that was in 2009.

They told me that Uluocha said unless I joined the Labour Party, he would not run for governorship, so because they wanted him to run for the position, that I should please join. I gave them one simple condition; and it was that they should come and pay for an office here, and then allow me to set up a structure in the entire south west. They gladly obliged me. So I had to setup Labour Party in Abia State as well as the chapters in Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi and rest of the South East in 2009.

I set up those structures, and we continued from there. And from that time, the only money that I received was the N300,000 naira that was paid as rent for the state office of the party. I started taking care of the party with the little resources I had. So we continued. Uluocha had no money, but I was working with somebody who had principle, who wanted to do something good, until when Stanley Ohajuruka came in, he was the speaker then. He came in and hijacked the entire structure. I said no, you can’t do that because people like us are here. So we started fighting, we went to court. I told him no, you can’t be the governor.

If you wanted to be the governor, let us do it through the due process. So we started going to court, at the end of the day, he lost and ran away. So I continued, we continued nurturing the party, doing the much we could, as far as our capacity and ability could carry, we continued and sustained it. There was nobody who gave us funds, until money started coming just this season, when Dr. Alex Otti came.

You’ve been in Labour Party since 2008, and you’ve been consistent without defecting to any other party, why?

I have this conviction that it is the hand that makes things work. Even in the PDP, APC, APGA; somebody started and nurtured them to where they are right now. And there are some people who create the environment for others to succeed. I want to believe I have such capacity. I want to believe I’m not a ‘follow-follow person.’ I’m somebody who follows my conviction.
So, I believe that Labour Party is a party for the social government, even for people who belong to all classes. I felt it was very necessary for me to give in my best to see to the success. And that I want to thank God that we’ve succeeded.

Secondly, everyone knows how God talks to them; I had the privilege of knowing that Labour Party was going to be used. This story is a story I cannot go deeper in now. There are certain things I cannot say right now, because I want to believe it’s not yet time for me to say them. But I know that God told me to remain in Labour Party. That was why all the offers to join the PDP, and be this in PDP or that in other parties were shunned. This is because I had a direction which was to build a system that can help us deliver this state. So we continued up until now. And I want to believe it hasn’t been too good, neither has it been too badly.

What were your experiences in the recently concluded elections?

It was more like anxiety driven. Mind you, we were experimenting with the BVAS. This is the first time the BVAS was being used in a general election and nobody was sure of the outcome. Personally, as a leader of the Labour Party, I was not so sure of what the BVAS was going to give to offer us; I was also not sure of what INEC was going to do. So that, to a large extent raised my anxiety. During the collation I was monitoring the systems even though our candidate, now Governor-elect, Dr Alex had nominated Mr Acho Obioma (Chomen), there were some systems that would have given us what they wanted. I was very conscious of monitoring them. That was why most of the party chairmen ran to me with everything. However, I was full of optimism, why? I was sure Labour Party was going to win. I made the announcement in 2015 if you recall, there was a time I made that announcement, I even went to government house to say that after this present government, Labour Party was coming.

Yes, you had convincingly predicted that Labour party was going to win.

No, no, no. that was not a prediction, I was so sure that Labour party was going to win the election.

So what was your conviction?

That’s what I said; there is a way God talks to each of us. I was quite sure that we were going to win, so that was why I was making sure that it’s going to be the right person that will get the ticket.

So are you saying that it was God who told you?

Of course, yes!

What did he tell you?

He told me that after Okezie Ikpeazu, the Labour Party was going to take over Abia State.

And you believed that?

Of course, yes, I did, because too many things had happened before then. Even when my wife died, God told me; “I am taking her so that you can concentrate on what I want you to do.”
So that was why I gladly held my wife’s hand and prayed for her and said, God, if there is nothing, because of this, let this woman rest in peace. My wife said AMEN and that night she transited. So that is why I announced that day and said, if I don’t have any other person who has gone to heaven, I am sure my wife has gone to heaven. Why I’m saying this is because I was so sure we were going to make it with Labour Party.

What differences would the Labour Party be making in the state?

Labour party is bringing meritocracy into the system. It’s a merit based system we’re going to run.
Two, we are conscious of the fact that there is serious rot into the system, so with that consciousness, we are approaching governance. We are trying to clear the debris; clear the mess, lay the foundations, and build up these foundations. So, Labour Party, like I mentioned earlier are social democrats; these are people who are already suffering. And we are in a hurry to bring palliatives. I don’t know how long you’ve moved round Aba when it rains.

The other day, our governor elect, during the transition committee inauguration, said; “you are free to move around Aba, but if you want to move around Aba, make sure you wear your rain boots.” He was making a rhetorical statement that not many of us understood. And of a truth, assuming we had built Aba, created all the drainages, by now, Aba should have been something different from what it is right now. The governor-elect said he is going to create the ministry for Aba alone. What’s the reason? What’s the rationale? So that Aba will be given the right concentration, the right attention that it deserves. I tell you, if you fix Aba, you have fixed Abia.

So what does Abia really need to be fixed?  Give us infrastructure, good roads, electricity, some many other things that will make life a little easier. These are the infrastructures. When all these things are done, you pay workers’ salary. When you pay workers’ salary, whether you borrow or not, that money will go back to the society and to the system. And it is the exchange of money that engineers activities within the system. Interestingly, that’s what brings back taxes to the government. So when you withhold the resources, when you don’t pay workers’ salary, you are crippling the government and for people to lend you money, they will monitor the activities within the system. Mind you, even the banks, before you apply for a loan, they will see your turn over rate. Some people may not even have seen N20 million yet go to apply for N50 million.

In such scenario the banks would simply decline such request. So, we are coming, that’s why our government would be different. Our governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti, has already spoken. We’re going to have a very small government; merit based government, however, there is still going to be patronages for those who worked with us, it’s obvious it will certainly come. But the A team must be merit-based so that people would have confidence within the system again. There is no confidence in the leadership of all the states. There’s no confidence anymore. So we want to use this to bring back the confidence of the people. Let people trust government. That is what we want to bring back to the government.

How well do you trust Dr Alex Otti to deliver all the promises he made to Abians?

Dr. Alex Otti is an individual; now his government is everybody. It is our responsibility to always remind him as a government; ‘Your Excellency, when you went to Obingwa, you promised to do this; we’re just bringing it to your notice.’ We need to be reminding him. We also don’t need to bother him so much with demands. Why people fail is when people keep demanding, brothers and sisters, friends and in-laws. Everybody, coming to those in authority, asking for one favour or the other, even when you know you that you don’t merit it. Such things, I want to believe, may not be seen in our government. Yes, we will reach everybody. If the roads are fine, the hospitals are working, the electricity is fixed and the other amenities can reach everybody, I think we should be more comfortable with that, and the economy is booming, if this is achieved under this leadership, I think we’ve done very well.

Are you not scared of Alex Otti failing; because of the many expectations Abians have placed on him?

Well, I’m not scared. He is not a magician, he is not God. If you recall, during my last interface with the press, I said Abians should pray for him, because I know, it’s only God that gives wisdom. God can engender a lot of activities within an environment to make him succeed while he is passionate about what he is going to do. So, as far as I’m concerned, I am not afraid if he will fail because failure, like I said to him is not an option.

I’m very sure he will succeed, and we will help him succeed – both the party and Abians. Like I told you, he made it clear during the transition committee inauguration that he was coming here to work for everyone – APC, PDP, Labour and Abians as a whole. Because of his kind of person, he will like to entrench a degree of unity, create that kind of synergy, that kind of atmosphere, so that those in YPP, PDP will not see him as being antagonistic. But that does not mean that we’re going to take any of those people who ruined this state. What we’re going to look at is; you have capacity and ability to deliver. We look at capacity, competence, principles and also experience. Those are some of the things we have, that are able to guide our decision in terms of selecting. I’m sure he is aware of this.

What is the level of defection into Labour Party at the moment and how have you been managing it?
Even today, I’ve received several people here, who want to defect or who have already defected. But the only parameter is that, the party said “hold on, on registration of new membership, let’s manage the old people. But I’m sure before May 29, we will open the books again for registration. One thing we don’t want to encourage is the situation where the good, the bad and the ugly, all will gather here, and as they ruined APC, as they also mismanaged PDP and other parties, they will not come here and mismanage Labour Party. That is the reason why the governor elect, is conscious of that development. When we made this call he knew it was in good fate. He is somebody who respects hierarchy.

Your last words to Abians.

Abians, I want to thank you once again, for electing us, for giving us your trust and this mandate. I know it hasn’t been easy with us as Abians. We don’t have basic infrastructures, we don’t have basic amenities, if you go to other states, there are some few things you see, and when you see them, you come here you don’t see them, you get angry. I want to thank you for your degree of patience, I also want to thank you for the confidence you have in Dr Alex Otti and the Labour Party. I assure you today, that we will never let you down. And all your Labour will not be in vain. Dr Alex Otti’s government is going to work for our political goodwill.

His government is going to uplift the standard of living of our people here. For us as a party, we’re here to give him all the necessary support he needs, to make sure he delivers and succeeds. But I want to also ask us, let us lower our expectations, because we are coming to rebuild a foundation that has been destroyed. And we’re also going to be very strict, in order that we can conserve some money, before we start building the idea. There are too many things we’re going to do. We’re going to be too restrictive now, because we need to gather some funds in order to pay.

We have promised that we’re going to pay all arrears before December. That one will, to a large extent, give our economy, a serious boost. Once that is done, every other thing will fall in place, therefore, I encourage you to continue to pray for us, continue to support us. Don’t belong to the group that wants to pull everybody down.

Dr. Alex is our governor now, if you continue to pull him down, you will distract him. He may not concentrate to do anything. And I’m pleading with Abians to encourage their parents, brothers, fathers, mothers, in-laws, those who want to go to court for unnecessary things, let them, as a matter of interest, think twice before they engage in this massive distraction they’re going to create, which will ultimately, hinder what we’re going to do. But I think, with their prayers, support Abians have come to experience a new paradise.