National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, South East, Dr Ijeomah Arodiogbu, speaks with DANIEL AYANTOYE on the controversy trailing the appointment of the board and management of the South East Development Commission and the insinuation that the Igbo are being marginalised by the President Bola Tinubu administration

You recently wrote a letter to President Bola Tinubu expressing concern over the composition and management of the South East Development Commission. Could you provide an update on the matter?

There is much misplaced information on the South East Development Commission issue. First, the people linked to having sponsored the bill were not those who sponsored it. The bill for establishing the commission was originally sponsored in the 9th Assembly by Senator Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party. The bill went through the 1st and 2nd reading in the 9th Assembly but was not signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari. However, in this 10th Assembly, the late Senator Ifeayin Ubah moved the bill for approval by the National Assembly. He thereafter went with some of the assembly members from the South-East to the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, who was also the Chairman of Progressive Governors, to present the bill officially to him as leader of the zone, so that the governor could appeal to the President to assent to the bill. Governor Uzodinma worked on it and the President signed the bill into law. The President also magnanimously wanted the commission to take off immediately, so he appointed the board and management almost within a few months of signing the bill.

The President made his consultation and made possible input. Then he asked the leaders of the zone to go ahead and consult other stakeholders in the region to have a spread in the board and management of the commission. There was a lot of consultation with all the leaders: myself as the zonal chairman; the APC Deputy National Chairman of the South, Chief Emma Eneukwu, the two governors from the region, the ministers, including the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, and the National Assembly members from the zone were all consulted. I remember that Governor Uzodinma also called the deputy speaker to give his input. We all met and agreed, and we were very careful to comply with the act establishing the commission.

The act states that the chairman of the commission will emerge from the state with the first alphabetical order; by extension, the chairman was zoned to Abia State. Also, the Act states that the Managing Director will come from the state with the next alphabetical order, Anambra State. The other chief executive should come from the other three states. All these provisions were complied with in the list we submitted. In line with that, we nominated Mike Okoye as Managing Director, Prince Obinna Obiekweihe as Executive Director Projects, Senator Anthony Agbo and Dr Daniel Ugwuja as Executive Directors, Corporate Services. For the board, we nominated Hon Emeka Atuma as chairman, and members were Ugochuckwu Agballah, Okey Ezenwa, Chief Hyacinth Ikpor, Donatus Nwankpa and Ifeanyi Agwu. That was very balanced across the southeastern states. We also consulted the other five geopolitical zones for their representation, and they gave us their nominations. The list was submitted with the signatures of Governor Hope Uzodinma; Governor Francis Nwifuru, Chief Emma Eneukwu and mine to the president. Within a month of submission, the president announced the board and members of the board and management of the commission. But less than 12 hours later, there was another list with a report that the first one announced by the president had been rejigged. We checked the list and noticed that a single person from the House of Representatives had inputted five of his aides into it.

How could that have happened without the consent of Governor Hope Uzodinma, the leader of the region?

The House of Reps member did that without Governor Uzodinma’s consent. There are critical infrastructure and areas that we want to spread across all sections of the region, not for a single person to take five of that to his side. It is really unfair. Lots of funds will be committed to the project, and if one man is allowed to take all the positions for himself, then your guess is as good as mine. They also created some positions that are outside the commission’s act, to make some appointments that never existed, with a view to amend the act later. What level of lawlessness is that?

What are the implications of these reported lopsided appointments for the APC in the South East ahead of the next elections?

This will affect the President because a lot of people in the zone are very unhappy. The truth is that we may lose most of our voters. Most of our party supporters are “boiling”. In fact, somebody who contested for House of Representatives in Anambra State was threatening to leave the party, because he was disappointed in what happened. The people are not happy. The major risk that it portends is that the money that will be voted for the commission will be taken by one man, and that is the major target. There will be no accountability because they will all be answerable to one individual. I am very worried about this level of interference. His chief of staff and four other aides, including the chief of staff to a former senate president were given appointment into the SEDC. As a party leader, I want fairness. The leaders have to have input. I think the president was not well-advised. The deputy speaker lied to him that he was not consulted. But one of our leaders said he was with the governor of Imo State when he called the deputy speaker. This level of arrogance or cockiness is not fair at all. It doesn’t appeal to any good reasoning.

Some people have argued that where the appointees come from is not as important as the ability of the commission to fulfill its primary purpose of driving development in the region. Do you agree with this?

The truth Is that, in our environment, geographical spread is very important. The people we nominated originally are far more qualified than the people appointed now. Of course, someone who has worked all his life as an aide to a member of House of Representatives cannot be as qualified as somebody who has been all around. We nominated highly qualified people in education and other sectors. We considered all that before making the nomination. So, it is not a case of being more qualified. No! These people are less qualified; they were picked because they are serving one man. How do I expect accountability from such? I believe the best thing to do is to go back to the original list which was done with consultation of all the people not the deputy speakers’ list. He can look for where to put his aides if he is tired of them, not include them in a commission that Is meant to serve the people. We need a lot of assistance in the South East with all the issues of bad road, water and insecurity. We cannot put the South East Development Commission in the pocket of one man. It is not fair. We appreciate that it is at the discretion of the president to appoint who he wants, but I know that he wouldn’t want to put the commission in the pocket of one man.

There are perceptions that President Tinubu’s administration is repeating the lopsided appointments of the Buhari era. Do you agree with this sentiment?

I don’t agree with that. My focus now is on the South East Development Commission and I believe that within a short period, other appointments will be released and my geographical zone will be adequately accommodated.

Do you think the South East has been well captured in other appointments made by the president?

Well, we can’t stop asking for more. We are Oliver Twist. We will appreciate more.

There have been controversies on some appointments made by the president at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University. What is your view on that?

I followed the issues keenly but an Igbo traditional song says in English: “O king, don’t base your judgement on what you heard from one side. My king, if you listen to two sides, you will be able to give a more balanced judgement and people will love you for that.” The president appointed a council with all the powers to represent the president in the university. The council advertised for two positions, the registrar and the vice-chancellor. There were a lot of people with different opinions. For instance, the Nigerian medical and dental consultants said that they were marginalised because the adverts stated that a consultant’s fellowship is not equivalent to Ph.D. I am a medical doctor with Ph.D and I know that a fellowship is not the same as a Ph.D. There is also a government white paper that says that a fellowship is not the same as a Ph.D. So, some people went to court to challenge that advert, conversing that fellowship is equivalent to Ph.D.A fellowship is to fine-tune your skills in a particular area as a medical doctor. Over time, we medical doctors have been given a soft landing on how to get a Ph.D from a fellowship. I think it is a two-year programme or so. Now, some people have gone to court to challenge that position, and the industrial court gave a ruling that a Ph.D is different from a fellowship.

For someone to be appointed as vice-chancellor of a university, he will need to have a Ph.D because he will be empowered to confer that Ph.D on some people. You can’t give what you don’t have. So, the industrial court ruled that the council should go ahead with the appointment process as advertised. The council chairman went ahead with the decision based on the court’s ruling and appointed a registrar and vice-chancellor. But after all the issues, it was posted on social media that they had been sacked. What kind of situation is that? There was no panel of enquiries set up by the council to invite the person involved for defense.

Nnamdi Kanu has been in detention undergoing trial for years. Why is it difficult for the South East leaders to lobby the president for his release, despite widespread calls from stakeholders?

I have been reading a number of articles on the social media. I know the issue is before the court. I don’t want to delve into a matter that is already in the court. But I know that efforts are being made and the president is giving it a listening ear.

Some people believe there is a deliberate attack on the South East, accusing Igbo leaders in the APC of being complicit due to their silence. What is your take on this?

I don’t think anybody is attacking Igbos. The Igbos are very peculiar and outstanding people. Some things could attract some level of misunderstanding by people, but I don’t think anybody is attacking them. I think that we, the Igbos, should focus on what we are doing best. We are business people. We should focus strongly on building a great regional economy. With the good work that Governor Hope Uzodinma is doing, if our waterways grids are good, we will be able to receive our goods as importers and create enough energy to drive our industries and of course, security. That is what we need the most. I believe that a lot of consultations are going on in that direction, and the South East Development Commission is actually created to assist in those areas. We don’t depend so much on politics but on policies that will enable us to thrive in our God-given talent. We are talented people and we are not pretending about it. We are hardworking people; everywhere we go, we make something out of the environment. We are only pleading with our brothers who have some grievances against the system to interrogate issues better, and we need further negotiation with the administration. That is our responsibility, not that we are complicit or that we are selling out on our people, no.We believe that negotiation is key and that is our role.

There are insinuations that President Bola Tinubu’s son may be the APC flagbearer in Lagos. Do you think the Igbo community in Lagos will support him, considering the issue of tribalism?

The Igbo people are not tribalistic. In the last election, it wasn’t about Igbo against any people. No. We don’t play that game. The truth is that Igbo people in Lagos are doing their business and working very hard. About the president’s son running for governorship, he has not told anybody that he wanted to run for governorship. There is no public declaration and when he does, I think this question will be better directed to my colleague from the South West, (Isaac) Kekemeke. Meanwhile, I think the young man has worked hard for the party and this administration. During the presidential election campaign, he was practically everywhere. So, I don’t think being the president’s son should be a disadvantage to him. I am not campaigning for him because I am not going to vote in Lagos but my assessment and based on our common friends, is positive.

There are reports that opposition parties are planning a merger to challenge President Tinubu. Do you see them defeating APC in 2027?

I don’t see them defeating APC in 2027. I read about those merger talks by some of the parties but those parties are already crumbling. The PDP is almost non-existent and almost all the legislators of the Labour Party have defected to APC. Even the only governor they have, in the last local government election, moved all the state chairmen to Zenith Labour Party which is a very clear indication that he is not with the LP anymore. All these things are moving towards the advantage of APC. I don’t see them putting any force together to take power from APC.

How will you react to the report that the APC and President Tinubu are fueling crisis in some of these major opposition parties, especially the PDP?

What do you expect them to say? They are just saying what is natural which is to blame the next man for your problems. You are not looking at solving your internal problem but to pass the blame. It is a blame game and an excuse for failure. The people are seeing good leadership in President Tinubu and that is why they are joining us. The problem in PDP is bound to happen but I don’t think it is just about the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. The FCT minister is doing a great job in FCT and that is clear to everybody. Whatever is happening in River State is not my call to discuss and I don’t see how that has become the mandate of President Bola TInubu. We are not expecting anything different from what is happening in Labour Party because we know that their presidential candidate was loaned player for the match, and the player does not have the capacity to give back to the platform. So, their people are disgruntled and that is not Tinubu’s problem but theirs. In the laws of migration, there is a push factor and a pull factor. If the pull factor is stronger than the push factor, people will move. That is what is happening.

People will not agree with you that President Tinubu is doing well because of the current hardship. How do you address their perception?

A reformist is not a person who the people clap for because reforms come with some stringent measures. Some of us who have studied the system from 1999 till date know that President Tinubu’s administration is doing everything necessary to save Nigeria. All reforms he is introducing are very important, otherwise the country would have been down. If you check all development indicators, you will see that he is doing so well. Yes, prices of commodities are up, but the indices are there that this would propel development and will be leveled up over time. I asked a nephew from the U.S, that from the stories you are hearing, have you seen anybody eating from the dustbin? We know things are not easy, but these measures are a must. It is like a plane that is taking off and you are told to tighten your seatbelt because there will be turbulence, but when you get to the altitude, things will stabilise and that is the situation. The political class knows. Yes, we understand that the populace may not be aware of what is going on and some opposition are lying to them about the situation. Let them (opposition) proffer solutions to this administration. Any different approach in this circumstance from what President Tinubu is doing would collapse our economy.

The Anambra State governorship election is scheduled for November 2025. The APC lost the state during the last election. Do you believe your party will perform better this time around?

We believe that we are going to win Anambra state. We believe that in 2025, the state government house will be occupied by an APC member, and the flag of our party will be up in the state. We believe very strongly.

In the last election, we had our misgivings. The aspirants did not come together to support the people because there was no adequate reconciliation after the primary. That is not going to happen this time. We have allowed all the aspirants to converse, consult, and have a free and fair primary election. Then, above all, I believe that the people were very much expectant of the performance of a professor of economics, who speaks very good grammar. But the Anambra people have seen that it is not grammar that runs the government. They have seen that in all areas of performance, the current administration in has failed woefully, and the governor has not been able to manage his relationship with all the critical stakeholders in the state. He’s quarreling with the traditional rulers, market women, and trade organisations. He is quarreling with the church and everybody because he believes he knows it all and he doesn’t take anybody’s advice. But you can’t intimidate Anambra people, because there is a billionaire in every family. So, you cannot buy them with money. What they need from you is respect and good governance. So, any candidate who files for the election will beat Professor Soludo, I can tell you that for free. (Sunday PUNCH)