Anambra State is missing connectivity for not being on national grid—Umenzekwe

In this interview with Hon (Chief) Modestus Umenzekwe, a Chieftain of the Ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in his office in Lagos, he  speaks on national issues and ended by saying that Anambra State is missing connectivity since for being absent from the national grid. Excerpt:

Chief this is 2025, we just started the year, people are still planning what to do and what not to do. Chief let’s look at the 2025 budget briefly.  We learnt that the president just jerked up the budget with the addition of N4trillion, as a stakeholder and chieftain of the ruling party, what do you think prompted this action, in those days we used to talk about supplementary budget, suddenly we are seeing this upward review from the same executive that brought the budget to the Assembly, with all the hullabaloo of budget patching and padding, what went wrong?

First of all, lets thank God that we have been able to make it as a nation, to 2025, and God has been so gracious to us to have kept this country as one, He has been gracious to keep the Federal Executive Council intact and the National Assembly intact. It is a thing of joy. We should all give glory to God.

Coming to your question, I just came back from travel; all I can tell you is that we have the members of the National Assembly in place to look at some of these things, so whether the budget is jerked up or down is not the issue, the issue is the intention. Like I told you in one of my interviews, I do not know President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a rascally person or being careless. He is a very meticulous and a seasoned leader who knows when to cut his onions.  I believe he has written to the National Assembly and given them the reasons, and they are looking into it, why not wait for the National Assembly to come out with the conclusion on that? In as much as I disagree with you on hullabaloo of padding and all that; the word padding, where did you get it from? Who padded it, are you saying the President padded it, are you saying the National Assembly padded the budget, what are you insinuating?

These paddings usually emanate from ministries and agencies, so it is even the National Assembly that detects all these things.

Fine, well, I am not at the National Assembly but I have told you my mind, and all of us must be very careful the way we analyze issues

Tongues wagged, many called it lack of coordination, lack of preparation, lack of synergy, improperly analyzing the financial system before sending the budget to the National Assembly, I hope there was nothing like that.

Before I answer your question, tell me where they have a perfect human being or perfect system or analyst. You see talking is easy, when you are not there; you are bound to say anything because there is freedom of speech that is the bedrock of democracy. So talking is cheap. When you go there you know what is going on.

But chief my final word on this budget, we have seen a situation where billions were budgeted, it happened at the time of President Muhammadu Buhari, billions were said to be budgeted for the state house clinic, but you get there, there was no Paracetamol, then the former first lady raised alarm

Mr. Man, Muhammadu Buhari has served this country and I wouldn’t want us to start rubbishing him; he is resting, let us allow him to rest. Let’s concentrate on what is before us.

The National Assembly just resumed sitting after close to two months holiday out of M12 months calendar, when there are issues in the nation requiring their attention, what is your take?

Are you asking the leadership of the National Assembly? You see, that question should be thrown to the leadership of the National Assembly. And more so, it shouldn’t bother us, the most important thing is, are they doing their job? For me, it doesn’t matter the number of hours, the question should be, are you doing the job? Are you meeting up with the requirements of the day or the season?

And their salaries are…

They are human beings, are they not human beings?

We discovered that some Nigerians are already singing songs of second term for the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Chief, as a critical stakeholder and chieftain of your great party, don’t you think it is too early for such call?

Gentleman, we are in a democracy and people see politics from different angles, and each person is coming into the exercise the way he or she sees it. So if somebody is saying President Tinubu should continue after 2027, it is not too early and it is not too late. In as much as he has not said that he will contest, but if Nigerians are now calling on him to contest 2027, that in itself has vindicated me because I said, as time goes on, while implementing his policies of the Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigerians before that time will start calling on him to contest 2027 election if he so wish, so there is nothing bad about it.

I think what they are saying is that Tinubu is doing well…

But you have said it now that people are singing his slogans, asking him to contest, how else do you want to assess him? You said it now; it didn’t come from my mouth. You should depend on those reasons they gave you suggesting he is doing well. You people like twisting issues to quote somebody out of contest. You said Nigerians are already singing his praises; that means he is doing well.

How do you see the removal of the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa and the emergence of the First Female Speaker in Lagos State?

Well politics is dynamic, I can’t say for sure what prompted his removal, but then, the Lagos State House of Assembly has their own modus operandi, just like every other State of Assembly in Nigeria, and Lagos as a state has what is called Governance Advisory Council, that looks into all these things. I have not taken time to know why he was removed but I told you I travelled for a long time and came back and met the news. So I am still putting my ears on the ground but I know that in most cases, Lagos is very meticulous in handling those things, there must be a reason. I know that the governor cannot make mistake, the governance advisory council cannot make mistake, and the eggheads in the State House of Assembly cannot make mistake, that is the much I can tell you now.

From the grapevine there were still insinuations making the rounds that his removal is not unconnected with the muted idea of Seyi Tinubu, son of the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, aspiring to be governor of Lagos State, and that any likely obstacle must be removed, which Obasa was one, allegedly.

I can’t marry the two; there is no nexus, unless you are telling me that there is a nexus there. What are you insinuating?

The insinuation here is that Seyi Tinubu the son of the president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is alleged to have interest to contest the governorship of Lagos, and when things like that start happening politicking can take different dimensions, it is also assumed that whatever, whoever that might appear as obstacle, which Obasa allegedly is one, must be bulldozed away, but that is a topic for another day.

Well I don’t want to go into the internal issues of Lagos State. I am from Anambra State but Lagos is a state where we are making a living like every other Nigerian, and that is why I keep saying that Lagos is a mini Nigeria, where I have been calling on the National Assembly to give Lagos a special status in the budget as propounded in the eightieth assembly by the wife of the president when she was there, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. So I don’t want to go into this internal issue because I don’t know how they make their thing. However, in governance, that president Tinubu is in Aso Rock does not stop the son from contesting if he so wish. After all in Kwara, Olusola Saraki was governor and eventually his son became a governor, when George Bush (Snr) of America was President, two of his sons were governors. So what is the hullabaloo about it? If Seyi wants to contest the election so be it, is it not election? The ballot boxes will be there, people will be there, people will vote whoever they want to vote, so it is his right to contest whether his father is president or not. I don’t see that ambition as something that would cause problem in Lagos State, because there are examples all over the world where such thing has happened. I have never seen Seyi Tinubu, I have never met him, we never discussed, but I am saying out of experience and my capacity in political analysis, he is free to contest like every other person, we shouldn’t create problems, that is why I told you, there is no nexus as far as I am concerned between the Obasa removal and Seyi Tinubu, if it is true that he has an ambition, I don’t know.

Now the way things are going in this country, is there nothing the young politicians can learn from their predecessors, let’s take for example the former Lagos State governor, His Excellency, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) who incidentally served the nation as a two time Minister, what can they learn from him and those like him?

Well Fashola the much I know was former Chief of Staff to the former Governor of Lagos State, who is the current President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR. And I know he performed wonders in that office. He later became the governor of Lagos State, for eight years, and opened up Lagos, he cleared all the mess on our roads. For the first time in the history of the nation, he imploded a building inside Marina without hurting a fly. A dilapidated building, everybody was apprehensive but he imploded that building, it was one of his landmark signature achievements.

And a lot of things he did in Lagos; he made Lagosians to follow the law. From there he became the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, for four years, three giant ministries under him, before they were unbundled, and he maintained the Ministry of Works and Housing, where he performed wonders again. I am sure Nigerians would never forget that man in a hurry. The south easterners and Ndigbo as far as I am concerned would never forget that man in a hurry, because he helped Former President Muhammadu Buhari to drop a signature project in the south east, the Second Niger Bridge.

It gives me joy each time I ply the bridge. In all the six geopolitical zones of this country, the man did wonders, there was even a time he was handling 524 roads throughout the country at the same time; it is a litany of achievements. In fact, he was the hero of the past administration. I must tell you this country is blessed in him, Lagos is blessed in him. And you can see the synergy in Lagos, the relationship past leaders in Lagos have maintained with present Governor. It gives me joy when I see them stay together, talk together, dine and wine.

Then to your question, Fashola remains a role model, and upon all these achievements he remains humble, it didn’t get into his head, that is why you see him delivering lectures here and there, despite the fact that he is a giant lawyer, he doesn’t brag about it. He picks his calls, returns messages, returns emails, a good listener, even if he is not going to do your bidding which is rare, he would listen to you, so he is a role model. And if I am allowed to say, every successive government should, please make use of him one way or the other.

We would also want to you help us to assess the performance of the present Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu, this is the second year of his second term.

I have answered this question last year, where I rolled out the litany of his achievements, and still counting. But when you say, second year of his second tenure, are you throwing away the first term? So it is the totality of his administration we are talking about. I told you Lagos is always blessed with good governors who are decisive, who work according to the tenets of the governance advisory council, there is always continuity. So Lagos is blessed to have Sanwo-Olu on the saddle of this administration, at least every part of Lagos is being opened, bridges, roads, sophisticated infrastructure, red line railway, blue line railway and all that are going on at the same time; we have not talked about different levels of empowerments, women, youths, and all that?

Now everybody is running back to Lagos, as the most secured state in this country, is it not enough to say that the young man is doing well? If he is able to contain the damages experienced as a result of EndSARS because I pitied him, just the way His Excellency, Babatunde Raji Fashola was able to contain Ebola during his own time and nipped it in the bud. I mean you need to give the young man kudos and to tell him to ride on.

Chief the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai for sometimes now, he has not rested, do you think he was injured within the party, do you think the outpouring is as a result of unmet dreams within the party or can we say APC is in crisis?

I didn’t hear from him, but APC is not in crisis, APC is one family and would continue to be one family.

The electioneering campaign for the off cycle Governorship Election in Anambra is coming closer, one would like to know, I think I have asked this question before, that time it was still far but right now it is getting closer, now without minding whose ox is gored, what kind of character, or personality, because it is going to be a very bid work, so what kind of character is APC looking for in the person they want to hand over the flag.

I told you that I will come out with a Dozier on this Anambra election, but let me in passing for now answer your question by telling you that APC is looking for a game changer, an honest person, with proven track record of integrity, a person that has the capacity, a well groomed seasoned politician who has verifiable means of livelihood, a cool-headed man who is well accepted not just in Anambra but in the whole country. That is the person we are looking for, and let’s hold it at that.

For a long time Anambra State has not been on the national grid as you usually call it, national grid, what are those things Anambra State is missing for not been in the national grid, Anambra State not being at the centre politically?

I have told you I am coming out with a Dozier on Anambra, but note, they are missing connectivity, that is much I can tell you, and when we go into next week I will substantiate it in a better language. I just came in, you bump into me, but next week you come back for that but they are missing connectivity and that connectivity, it carries a lot of things.

People look up to you for direction, so each time you speak to the public, Nigerians watch out for your message, what is your message for your people this time, more especially the youth?

My advice to Nigerians especially the youths is one, to be godly. Because when you are godly you have a settled mind, when you are godly every other thing would be added onto you, when you are godly you would not go near to crime, when you are godly you would have patience, because the patient dog eats the fattest bone. Let us also be patient with the government, the same thing even with sub nationals, knowing fully well that they are working. They are trying their best; we pray for them, criticize them constructively and generally let us not run this country down, let us not present Nigeria as a very bad country before the entire world because we don’t have another country than this Nigeria.

Let us, above all, protect the image of this country. God has given us this country, do not destroy it, if anybody has done wrong, you call the person to order, but don’t condemn the whole country before the whole world, it is very bad. And above all let us love one another, which is the summary of the total injunctions given to us by the almighty God in the holy bible.