Senator Nkechi Justina Nwaogu, the
immediate past senator that represented Abia Central District in this
interview, speaks on the issues and contentions within the former ruling party,
the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Senator Nwaogu’s political trajectory has
been phenomenal. She started off from the All Peoples Party, APP where she
served as national treasurer and subsequently won election on the platform of
the party to the House of Representatives in 2003. She moved from the party to
the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP while still a member of the House and used
the PDP platform to overwhelm two senators in the 2007 election, Senators Chris
Adighije and Bob Nwanunu.
Senator Nwaogu won re-election to
the Senate in 2011 and made an unsuccessful bid for the governorship ticket of
the PDP in 2015. Following her loss, she recently defected to the ruling All
Progressives Congress, APC. She spoke on her political journey in an interview.
Excerpts:
By Ugochukwu Alaribe
Why did you dump the PDP for the APC
when the former retained power in your state, Abia?
I left the PDP because, as a
political party, it was supposed to act like one, not a dictatorial party. PDP
was supposed to act in the best interest of every member. It is no longer news
that my former party lost focus and up to the time I left, they have failed to
realize that they lost focus.
There was too much impunity. PDP
lost the election because of impunity arising from the imposition of
candidates. I felt that my association with PDP was no longer necessary because
the party could no longer fulfil my political aspiration. My political
aspiration is to add value to my constituency, improving the lives of our
people. PDP lost the ideology for which I joined them. This is why I had to
leave because they lost all these virtue for which I was happy to join them.
Your supporters had expected this
decision in view of what happened to your governorship ambition in the PDP, why
did it take this long?
•Sen Nwaogu: I’m in APC to assist
the party bring change to Nigeria
I thought my former party would have
realized the mistakes they made. A lot of Nigerians reposed their political and
economic well being on my former party and when they made these grave mistakes,
I expected them to realize and accept their mistakes and through public
announcement and ask for forgiveness as well as find ways to rebuild and reorganize
the party and the ideals it was known for. But rather than retrace their steps,
they believed that they will always have their way. Yes, my supporters had
expected me to abandon the party, but it is not just the moment that something
happens that you react to it. I waited this long to give them time to retrace
their ugly footsteps which brought such humiliation on the party during the
polls, but I saw no remorse and rethinking.
I saw nothing in the future towards
reorganizing themselves and expunging these bad things and people within the
party that caused their political downfall. These are the reasons why I left at
this time because when salt fails to test like salt; then it will no longer be
called salt.
But some Nigerians believe there is
no much difference between the PDP and the APC?
I don’t believe this; it is untrue.
A typical example is when I attended President Buhari’s inauguration; there was
no fanfare and the usual display of uniforms by party members. If it were my
former party, it would have been a funfair of financial wastages by making
uniforms where its cost will be quadrupled by party leaders at the expense of
the nation.
I saw nothing like such waste during
Buhari’s inauguration. There were prudent celebrations. As someone who has a
financial background, I said to myself that the APC is really conscious of the
financial leakages in the nation’s purse, and this is why it handled the
ceremony in such a prudent manner.
Don’t you think that it would have
been better if you left the PDP earlier?
No, I don’t have any regret not
joining the APC earlier. I believe that everything that happens in one’s life
is for a purpose. For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, I believe it was
the way it was destined for me.
This is a period of reflection over
what has happened, if I had jumped into another party, I know I would have
beaten the former governor in the senatorial election. If somebody who didn’t
do much could beat him at his polling unit and ward in the election, then;
there is no doubt that I would have won by a landslide and returned to the
Senate.
What will the people expect from you
since that you have become a member of the APC which is now the ruling party at
the centre?
I’m in APC to assist the party bring
change to Nigeria; a change in attitude and change in the way we do things.
Change has already started from my political ward; you saw what happened in my
political ward and local government; the level of reception by the people on
the day I formally declared for the party. We will be change agents for party,
Abia State and Nigeria. I am happy to be a participant in the change process.
I’m going to be a fisher of men, women and resources into the APC.
You appear to have much confidence
in President Muhammadu Buhari, how confident are you that he won’t fail
Nigerians?
My confidence is that he’s been
somebody who has been tried and tested at some point and found diligent and
also found acceptable. We believe that he is the same person that has come
here. Since after he left the military, look at his lifestyle, he is very close
to not having a blemish.
If you look at his lifestyle, you
will see that he is a person who is very progressive in nature who would want
to give even his life for the country because for him to have tried to be the
President for four times shows he had been lamenting in his heart about the
state of affairs in this country.
He has been crying being aware that
as a person, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), he could not affect lives as much as
he can now that he is at the head of that change Nigerians desire. So I have
confidence that he is not going to derail despite the fact that this is a
democratic set up where people of different backgrounds, different interests
are coming together all in the name of politics. I’m sure that Nigerians are
praying for him to be focused and to put at the back of his mind those things
he has promised Nigerians that he will do, and that is living an open life,
running an open administration, doing something that will be for the benefit of
the people.
If he is able to use good advice to
plug a lot of wastages in the system, I can assure you there will be enough
money to go around, to touch lives. There will be a revival in the private
sector which is a great engine of economic development of any nation
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