Umenzekwe commends Tinubu for endorsement of Ukachukwu, Ekwunife, says APC ready to take Anambra

Hon Modestus Umenzekwe (Onwa Achina) a staunch member and Chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in this interview with CYRIACUS NNAJI, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his endorsement of the duo of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu and Senator Uche Ekwunife as APC flag-bearers in the state.

There is this controversy whether Tinubu has endorsed Soludo or Ukachukwu, but now he has shown where he belongs by handing the APC flag and telling Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu to go and get me Anambra State. What is your take?

Thank you so much. This recent development, that is much cherished by party faithful and Anambrarians, has vindicated me. Our last interview touched extensively on this, by this I mean the issue of handing flag to Ukachukwu and I remember by that time we have not settled the issue of who becomes the Deputy, when people where hammering on that.

I recalled in my last interview, I said we have settled down for Iyom, Senator Uche Ekwunife, which I described as a formidable and winning team. So we waited to have that proper combination, and that is what the president waited for. And today he has performed the official function of handing our great party flag to Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu (Ikukuoma Ndigbo) and Senator Ekwunife, which I, myself has described as a victory flag. I said it has vindicated me because endorsement of Ukachukwu was never an item on the agenda during the visit of the president to Anambra, and people were wasting time, and wasting energy discussing it, I never discussed it, until you asked me in my last interview, because there was no nexus, there was no nexus at all.

And I made it clear that the president has the right to visit the 36 states of the Federation, including the FCT, with or without invitation depending on why, because the 36 states including Abuja are under his domain. But we should be able to separate state visit from political visit, he went to Anambra on official visit.

He went to Anambra on official assignment of commissioning projects, executed and completed by the governor, and at that event people started bringing distractions, I called it distractions, but I commend the president because he was clever enough to avoid those things. He acted like the political giant he is. After that he went back to Abuja and continued his routine official work, not until we settled down for the Deputy Governorship candidate. And as God would have it he has graciously done that, and last time, you asked me about our strategies to win Anambra, this is another strategy.

He made it loud and clear, go and get me Anambra State. And the duo of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu and Senator Ekwunife, supported by the entire Anambrarians, will get Anambra under a very free, fair and credible election.

When he said go and get me Anambra, what did he mean, is it to go and get it anyhow?

The president didn’t say go and get me Anambra anyhow, people are just manufacturing that word,

But we know the president doesn’t mince words, he is known for take it, grab it and run away with it, is that the case in this instance?

We are talking about Anambra State Governorship Election, whenever you are going for exam, you get prepared for first class, we are aiming for first class, there is no room for second class in an election. So that is what the president is insinuating. Get me First Class, as you used to tell your children, get me first position. Nigerians are fond of adding unnecessary semantics which are neither here nor there. He made an emphatic statement to show that he is a party man and he supports his candidate.

Now, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu has gotten the mandate and he has gotten the endorsement of the president, how can he leverage on these to deliver Anambra State to APC?

He has started even well by making sure that, you know in every family there are grievances, by working in tandem with the state working Committee of the party, the National Executive Council of the Party, led by former Governor, Alhaji Umah Abdullahi Ganduje, and that is why the high-powered reconciliation Committee headed by high Chief Jonbosco Onunkwo, have been set up to reconcile all aggrieved members, and that process is ongoing, and is yielding very wonderful result. Aside that, Ukachukwu has been engaging critical stakeholders in Anambra State. He has been making powerful consultations, different support groups and all that. If you have opportunity to stay where he has hosted meetings with all these groups, you would know that the man has grassroots touch.

Despite the fact that he has his own structure, which I call Ikemba, but is known as Ikemba front or so, he has come in to mobilize every sector, he is engaging with captains of industry, academic professionals, the youths, the women, the men, he is going to mobilize all the party faithful, so it is a whole lot of engagements and discussions going on, because as I said, it is not going to be a tea party. The election is not going to be a tea party, the campaign is not going to be a tea party, because like they say, it is not easy to win an incumbent governor or president, it is not all that easy, however APC did it in 2015, when I said APC will spring surprises, and they indeed sprang surprises and emerged, they are going to spring surprises again for Ukachukwu to emerge.

Are there other things you would like Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, Ikukuoma and APC to do, to ensure Victory on November 8 Governorship Election in Anambra State?

The next thing I am going to say, which I have said before, is to commend Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu and commend the State Working Committee for supporting in selecting a wonderful Deputy Governorship candidate, Senator Ifekaolaedo, Iyom, Uche Lilian Ekwunife, a grassroots mobilizer, she has the social and political capital to do this fight as I said before. Her approach to life especially as it regards the downtrodden is top-notch, and that will attract victory to us, so the combination is wonderful. And she is a devout Christian, a woman with heart of gold. I don’t know who would ever say they don’t like the woman, so by the grace of God the combination is a formidable and winning team.

And do you think Prince Ukachukwu has the financial muscle to challenge the incumbent, no matter how you look at it, money is involved?

I am not in his pocket, but I know Ukachukwu as a manager of a conglomerate, and besides, all party members are with him, so all of us are going to contribute, it is not what he is going to do alone, all of us both high and low, are going to contribute to assist him to achieve this goal.

And mind you, money is not everything, those he has helped in life, those he has helped, to become somebody in the society, are ready, willing and able to assist him in bankrolling the expenses that go with such an election.