House of Representatives member, Sunday Cyriacus Umeha representing Udi-Ezeagu Federal Constituency of Enugu State insists that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is living up to the expectation of the entire people of the Southeast geopolitical zone of the country. The lawmaker, who recently dumped the opposition Labour Party (LP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), tells ADAMU ABUH why he took the decision. Excerpts:
What informed your sudden interest in APC instead of Labour Party (LP)?
Generally speaking, APC prior to 2023 might not be all that interesting to many. But since the assumption of office of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there are very far-reaching decisions and policies that this administration has brought in. And those things appear to be the cornerstone upon which many now troop into APC. So, APC currently under the reign of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done very well by my own objective assessment.
I said so because firstly, you look at the boldness and courage of the president to have declared the removal of fuel subsidies the very first day he took over as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Many people in the past concurred with the fact that the fuel subsidy thing was a scam, but no government took the bold step to deal with it. But he did not waste time, he made a decision.
Secondly, if you look at the APC under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, another remarkable achievement generally is the issue of tax reform. You see, that’s a very big and influential policy of the government, trying to unify the tax regime. And he did that through the introduction of about four bills in the National Assembly. Those bills have been considered. A lot of reviews were made, amendments were made, public opinions were reflected, and at the end of the day the House passed the bills.
And if you also look at the security aspect, if you had followed the last APC National Summit, you would have seen the two years’ account of the performance of this current regime. And one of the key presentations there was made by the National Security Adviser. When you look at the security indices of Nigeria prior to 2023 and where we are post-2023, you will see that Nigeria has made a lot of impact in the security sector.
Yes, I agree with you to some extent that it might not be a bed of roses for us at the moment, but if there is no pain, there may be no gain. The regime is doing well and I can say that the party has shown a clear indication that they truly came to serve the people of Nigeria and that we are headed to a place that at the end of the day, we will all be very happy with. So, that’s my assessment of that.
What’s your take on President Tinubu’s performance, particularly with regard to the South East zone?
It goes ahead to reaffirm the personality of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a detribalised Nigerian, as a pan-Nigerian, as a Nigerian that believes in the unity of the country. For those that have followed him very well or have read about him, you know that this is not the first time he is showing this type of attitude of all-inclusiveness. When he was the governor of Lagos State, he brought into his administration people outside the Southwest enclave. He had many southeasterners in his administration, some serving as SSAs and in different capacities. He also had others from the northern part of the country. And that showed the unity in his posture, the unity in his administration.
So, coming on board as the president of Nigeria, I’m not surprised seeing him trying to carry everybody along because there was a time in this country where a particular president described the Southeast as a dot in a circle. But today, the Southeast is now a home for this administration. You can see the president visiting Imo State, though that is an APC state, but he capped it off by his visit to Enugu, an opposition state. Recently, he visited Anambra State and that shows a sense of inclusion, a sense of understanding. It shows the disposition of Mr. President to carry the people along. Also, it gives a special feeling to the people of the Southeast, the Igbo, that truly the APC government is their government; because if you look at the achievements of the APC government within these two years, particularly in the Southeast region, you will marvel. For example, the South East Development Commission has been established. This was a bill that was introduced about the 7th or 8th Assembly. It has never seen the light of the day. But just within one to two years in the 10th Assembly, the president assented to it to tell you that actually he has a place in his heart for the people of the Southeast.
Look at the continuous developmental projects going on in the Southeast: The Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway; the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway; the Second Niger Bridge; the second access way to the Second Niger Bridge; the interchange going on in Eke Obinagu, that’s along Enugu-Abakaliki Express road; and the Makurdi-Obollo-Afor-Opi-9th Mile Road.
So, when you look at all these projects, we are talking about what a man has done within two years. We are not talking about four years. We are not talking about eight years. We are saying that in a space of two years, this is what he has done for the people of the Southeast, the Igbo.
Before now, we have been crying that Igbo are marginalised. But today, the APC government is giving Igbo that sense of belonging, showing them truly you are a part and parcel of Nigeria and you own equal rights with other parts of Nigeria. So far, I give a lot of kudos and applause to this administration.
What really informed your decision to move to the APC?
It’s not far-fetched. What I am telling you now was among the reasons. But principally, the leadership crisis in the Labour Party was the major reason I decided to look for another destination, another home. The LP at the moment has no less than three factions or divisions in its national leadership rank: You have the ones led by Julius Abure; you have the other one led by Senator Nenadi Usman; you have the one led by Lamidi Apapa.
All these three divisions claim to be the authentic national leaders of the party. And if truly you are serious with the business of why you are here in the National Assembly, because we are principally elected to represent our people and to see how best we can use the instrumentality of legislation and governance to bring development to our place, then you have to think twice. So, the crisis has continued unabated. Every effort made collectively and individually to see whether this thing can be resolved so that we can coexist as a family proved abortive. You witnessed the mass defection from the party to other political parties. Some of us who are leaders in the party decided to wait to see if we can solve the problem, but the problem continued to exacerbate. At one point, I said, well, the major reason I am here is to represent my people. Let me look for alternatives. So, I had to go to them. We discussed as a family from ward level to local government, then to the larger constituency. We sat for several months discussing this. And at the end of the day, they came up with a decision that we’re going to APC.
And I can also tell you that the reason we chose APC is not different from the progressive and developmental strides of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We all decided to key into his Renewed Hope Agenda. Since we know that this agenda has immense benefits to the people of the Southeast, we decided to key in to see how we can leverage these developmental strides to bring development to the people of Udi and Ezeagu – who are in dire need of good roads, who are in dire need of access to good water, who are in dire need of good primary health care, who are in dire need of educational facilities, who are in dire need of empowerment opportunities, employment opportunities, and so many other things. And the only way for us to get those things is to be part of this central government.
So, apart from that, I also believe that Enugu State, being the capital of the southeastern states, should be within the centre circle of decision making in Nigeria. Enugu shouldn’t be outside the centre. If states like Ebonyi and Imo can be in the centre, then what of the soul, the alter ego of that zone, which is Enugu State? So part of our reason is to key the state into the centre of governance in Nigeria, which is very paramount.
Are your constituents happy with your defection?
Yes, it’s obvious. In law we say the fact speaks for itself. I don’t think there has been any defection that has carried the level of support my defection elicited. This is because it was a consultative defection. This is because it was a defection owned by the people. It was the choice made by the people, not by me.
You know I represent largely rural areas. It’s about 85 to 90 per cent rural areas. So, these people are old men and women and young boys in the villages. You see, some of them are not in the mainstream social media and all these things. So the means of communication is outside telephone conversation. You must go down and discuss with them. And all of them are happy. In fact, last Saturday there was a meeting all over the 41 wards of Udi and Ezeagu. The turnout, the way they all embraced that meeting tells you the level of support they have for this decision. So, it’s our decision, it’s not mine. All of them are happy and going forward you will continue to see the examples of their happiness.
You have tried to list some of the things but in concrete terms, what will your membership of the APC do for your people?
The major reason I joined the APC is because my people need the intervention of the government in critical areas. These areas include but are not limited to the following: Infrastructure: We want intervention of the government at the centre in the area of roads. At the moment I can tell you that it’s already gaining the attention of the relevant authorities. I have already tabled it before them. So, I can tell you with every sense of sincerity that that will be done.
Employment: How many of my people are in the civil service? We want a situation where we have access to civil service jobs. When we talk about empowerment, we talk about skill acquisition programmes and training that at the end of the day they will have take-off grants to carry out these businesses without reliance on white collar jobs.
Another area of concern is the health sector. If you come to Ezeagu, you can’t point at any single good hospital in the entirety of Ezeagu Local Government. The same goes to Udi local government. So, we are looking at using this platform, the APC government, to see how we can attract a standard hospital in our constituency.
We are also looking at how we can use this government to ensure that at least every community or every ward in this federal constituency has a functional solar-powered borehole so that they have access to clean water.
So, there are a lot of opportunities that our entrance into APC will bring to our people that were not there before. I can tell you that that’s the best decision and you will start seeing them.
No doubt APC has become a moving train; how attractive do you think the party is to the people of Enugu State?
My dear, it’s happening like a miracle but it’s not a miracle. I know yes, it’s the handwork of God but God is doing it through people. If you look at the high level of defections going on in Enugu State and when I talk about these defections they are defections from LP to APC, defections from ruling PDP in the state to APC and it’s not happening in just a particular zone. You go to Igbo-Eze South, go to Nsukka Local Government, go to Igbo-Etiti, go to Udenu, go to Uzo-Uwani, go to Ezeagu, go to Udi, go to Oji River, go to Aninri, go to Nkanu East, Nkanu West, Enugu North, Enugu East, Enugu South, on a daily basis APC is busy receiving people who are coming in. And when I talk about people, I’m not talking about only the grassroots, the masses; I’m talking about people of worth. Mine is one of them. You have the likes of Ubanna, Ojinaka; a lot of people trooping in. If you go to Nsukka axis, there are a lot of them like Emeka Abba and so many people.
In fact, I don’t know what is going on, but I can tell you that today, APC seems to be the beautiful bride in Enugu State. Everybody is yearning to have APC. So, I think some of us are even coming late. But I thank God that I have joined. So, APC is more than attractive and the reason is not far-fetched. It is because of the leadership style of the leader of the party in Enugu State. And that is Chief Uche Nnaji Nwakaibie. I’ve never seen a leader who is so humane, who is so humble, who has listening ears and who has empathy for the people like him. He is a leader who brings himself down to the grassroots level to listen to them.
Today, apart from the great impact he’s making as the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, people have come to embrace his leadership style in the state, and it’s now something that other people are envious about. So, Uche is doing fantastically. I can also give credit to the chairman of the party in the state, Ugochukwu Agballa. You know, the way he has been so committed, so resolute, outspoken, I think people are really happy with the way they are going.
I can tell you, I don’t know how it will happen, but I can tell you that in 2027, I see APC taking over the Lion Building. But I don’t know how it will happen. But the way things are going, if it continues that way, then I can tell you the end will be very glorious.
In the face of ongoing realignments, how will you access the gains and otherwise of your new party, the APC?
In this realignment, APC Enugu seems to be the most beneficial, not only in terms of number, not only in terms of quality of people entering into the party, not only in terms of the strategic positioning of the APC in Enugu State, but also in terms of infrastructure and in terms of inclusion in governance.
For example, for the first time we are having a son of the soil as the Chief of Naval Staff. It is a win-win for APC Enugu State. Also, the ongoing construction of Makurdi-Obollo Afor-Opi-9th Mile Road is a win for the APC. The Eke Obinagu Interchange, that is Enugu-Ebonyi Road, is also a win-win. You talk about the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway; you talk about Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway. From every ramification, in fact, there was also a project that the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation also attracted to Enugu, and that is the solar power assembling plant at Ugbawka in his hometown. I had the privilege to be part of the team that went for the flag off of that project. And it’s a multi-billion naira ongoing project courtesy of the APC government.
Also, look at the inclusion of our two sons, Ugochukwu Agballa and Toby Okechukwu in the South East Development Commission. Also, look at making Enugu the headquarters of the South East Development Commission. There are many other things that the APC government is doing in Enugu State. And that’s why people are trooping into APC in Enugu; people are seeing those things. They have seen that Enugu is at the epicentre of benefits when it comes to talking about this administration. So, everybody wants to be part of it. Or do we talk about our sons that have been given a sense of belonging? Look at the DG of Raw Materials Research Institute; look at the young man that is the representative of Enugu in the RAMFAC. There are numerous of them. I can also tell you reliably that in a few days to come, you may also be hearing about other indigenes of Enugu State who will be appointed members of juicy boards in Nigeria. So, it’s all about win-win for APC in Enugu State. And it will continue to be.
Now that Enugu State is gradually moving to the ruling party, what do you think the people of the state stand to gain, especially in the future?
What we want to gain in the future is a government that is people-driven, people-friendly. A government that will feel the pulse of the people. A government that will liberate Enugu State. A government that will turn around the infrastructural face of Enugu State. A government that will revamp industries in Enugu State because we are looking at the industrialisation of Enugu. The only way we can create employment is to industrialise.
How many industries do we have in Enugu State? What effort are we making to create industries in Enugu State? It is only when these industries are created that employment opportunities will be generated.
So, I look up to a lot of good things from APC. And honestly, the way the whole thing is going, it shows that truly, our belief in APC will not fail us rather it will benefit us a lot. So, I see Enugu at the end of the day being one of the most benefiting states in terms of APC governance in Nigeria. I will look up to taking over the Lion Building as a ruling party in Enugu State. You know, I keep telling you how it will happen, I don’t know. But surely it will come to pass. That will be a fantastic place to be.