We’ve strategy to win the incumbent in the forthcoming Governorship Election in Anambra State—Umenzekwe

A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Honourable Chief Modestus Umenzekwe (Onwa Achina) in this interview made it clear that APC has put strategy in place to win the forthcoming Governorship Election in Anambra State. Excerpts:

Chief the Anambra State Guber Election is coming up on the 8th of November, as a Chieftain of APC in Anambra State, what is your assessment, and what are the chances of APC in this election?

As far back as 2014, I made a clear statement that APC will spring surprises, and coming to 2015, APC surprised everybody and won the 2015 election. Then coming to Edo Guber Election, I made the same statement and APC won with landslide. Today in Anambra State, the same success is going to be recorded come November 8. The other day, we had the mother of all rallies at Onitsha where the who is who in Nigeria came down to herald and to make unequivocal statement, to show that APC has come to stay in Anambra State with Prince Dr Nicholas Ukachukwu and Senator Ekwunife Ticket which is a very perfect combination that will ensure victory for APC come November 8, 2025.

Recently we saw defections, South East is now dominated by APC, do you think this will have influence or impact on the chances of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu and Senator Ekwunife in the election?

It has already boosted their chances, it is a good omen, the opposition is already jittery, they are running helter skelter, so the defection is very good, and our wish is for the entire South East to become APC.

Chief some people in certain quarters have expressed fears that the ruling party Government is deploying security personnel to intimate opposition, how true is that sir?

Look, elections have guidelines, and there are electoral laws, the federal government does not implement electoral laws which is being controlled by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. So when somebody is afraid he would make excuses in order to have soft landing when he or she loses.

Individually how can you rate Ukachukwu and Senator Ekwunife, and how do you think these individual characteristics and capacities would make impact in this election?

You see they have something in common which is capacity to deliver, capacity to mobilize, they have listening ears, they are go getters, when you look at their track records. Uche Ekwunife has shown capacity, she is known for her endless empowerment and protection for the downtrodden. Ukachukwu himself is a well known industrialist, a developer, an employer of labour, a businessman who has a lot of businesses in Nigeria and Anambra State. So the combination of the two is a perfect match to take us to the promise land.

Chief, Soludo, the incumbent, is there, I plied some of the roads he is constructing recently which show good job even though some roads are still deplorable, do you think it is going to be a very easy road to victory for APC come November 8?

For me, I am a very very objective person, in one of my interviews I said it that the election is going to be a very tough battle, that Soludo must be on his toes, and Ukachukwu must be on his toes. So building roads is not the only indicator of a successful governance. There are other indicators that must be considered. However, I must continue to acknowledge that the battle is a tough one, but we have strategised to outsmart the incumbent.

Sometimes we tend to ignore some players in the system, we tend to focus on the so-called big parties, we forget the smaller parties can spring surprises. For example, in certain election year in Imo State, the focus was on PDP, APGA and one other party, but the voters said no, and voted Ohakim, so don’t you think, sir, that other parties in Anambra State can spring surprises in this election?

Yes, you made a point there, we are not taken them for granted, APC is not taking other parties for granted. We know that YPP is there, Labour is there, PDP is there, no, we are not taking them for granted at all. The pressure is simultaneous, the same pressure we are applying to win APGA is the same pressure we are applying to win other parties, so we are not taking them for granted, you made a very valid point, we are not taking them for granted.

Now your advice to the political umpire overseeing this election, I know that APGA is already basking in the euphoria as the ruling party in the state, APC is basking in the euphoria that they have federal might, what is your advice to the electoral umpire so that there would be hitch free Guber Election in Anambra State?

My advice to the electoral umpire is to conduct free, fair and credible election, that is the only panacea to the whole affair, whether party A or party B is bragging, let the electoral umpire conduct free, fair and credible election, and that is the only thing that will ensure victory for APC.