By Modestus Umenzekwe
Choosing the flag-bearer of a political party involves a holistic consideration and evaluation of all the aspirants jostling for the exulted position, their characters, pedigree and ability to carry the vision and mission of the party. Of course this is a herculean task no doubt it comes with its challenges trying to marry varied and competing interests. Yet the most paramount is getting somebody who would carry those vision and mission with undiluted passion in order to ensure victory for the party.
Indeed out of dozens of aspirants showing interests and working assiduously to fly the flag of a party, it is one person that would in the end take the plump position, and when that is done, other co-aspirants would of necessity as party men and women work together with the flag bearer to deliver victory to the party which is the ultimate and in the end everybody would be happy.
Indeed part of the reasons Senator Andy Uba was chosen as the flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the November 2021 Governorship Election in Anambra State, have to do with consideration of what I have enumerated above. Andy Uba by his nature, is cool headed, a gentleman, noiseless, and he is a silent philanthropist; he has made people in government and in politics, even though he has been under advertised. Some of those people he has helped are not coming up to say this man helped us. Apart from that he has the capacity in all ramifications to lead a state and lead a country. He has been in Aso Rock for so many years, helping people and we believe that his in-depth knowledge about this country will come to bear in governance now that he has been given the chance to do so. He has moved the highest number of bills when he was in senate.
Financially he is not poor and he is not rich but he has the capacity to run the election, from my own assessment, he is not a noise a maker. He is known locally and internationally, Andy Ubah is a man we believe that can attract investment to Anambra State. He is such a person that if he is on that seat, he can attract somebody from Borno State; that is the northeast, He can attract somebody from Katsina, north-west, he can go to extreme south-south. Calabar area and the rest of them, he can attract from the southwest; then the southeast is his own area. So he has that network of connections, internationally and locally to move Anambra to the next level.
When you talk of international connection, Uba has travelled with the past president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, all over the world, if there is any agreement or there was any agreement Nigeria has with any government, he is in better position to know, more than any person contesting now. He is very very unassuming, very calm, and very very approachable, and I think all these are what we considered or what the party considered before bring him up as the flag bearer in Anambra State, and I think it is a welcomed development.
Senator Andy Uba it was also who sponsored the New Niger Delta Development Commission Bill. He is a man of many parts whose interest is to improve the lives of people always; he is a humanitarian homo sapiens per excellence.
Going down memory lane, in 2015 while at the Senate, Distinguished Senator Andy Uba sponsored a new bill to repeal the Niger-Delta Development Commission Act of 2000. The act was a decree of 1998 of Military Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which was later made an act in the year 2000. Since then, activities of the Niger-Delta were hampered by clogs of problems which needed to be repealed for optimum function of the commission. It would be recalled also that it was former President Olusegun Obasanjo through the idea of his then Domestic Special Adviser, Distinguished Senator Andy Uba (MFR) that created the Niger-Delta Development Commission.
The Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC), had continually performed very poorly until the act that it was working with was repealed and succor brought to its table through Distinguished Senator Andy Uba (MFR) who sponsored the bill to repeal and re-enact the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Bill in 2015.
The bill sought to provide oil mineral producing areas, with management and administrative structure for more effectiveness, and to use the funds generated from the federation account to tackle ecological problem which arises from the exploration of oil minerals in the Niger Delta areas.
Amongst other things the bill sought to correct is, the brazen and daylight fraud that goes on in the Commission. Nigerians and Niger-Deltans have seen that it is not the Federal Government that is their problem but people who represent them in the Commission.
The bill also sought to tackle the ecological problems which arise due to exploration of oil minerals and other related environmental pollution witnessed in the region. For the first time over 40 years, through the bill, Ogoni land clean up has commenced. Oil multinationals have started cleaning up the mess and gas flaring they deposited in Niger-Delta region for decades which has caused fishing near impossible for the Niger-Delta inhabitants whose major occupancy is in water.
Scholarships and school facilities have been put in place for the Niger-Delta people by both the Federal Government of Nigeria and multinational oil companies in the region. Thousands of Niger-Deltans have been trained abroad in skills acquisition ranging from welding, fabrications, scaffolding, geological exploration etc through this bill. The bill recommended 13-15% derivative from Federal Government’s accrued allocations to Niger-Delta states and 3% of the annual budget shared amongst the Niger-Delta oil producing states.
Through this incentives, power, telecommunication, agriculture, housing and urban development, healthcare, construction of water ways and jetties, roads, water reticulation and industrialization etc are put in place and everyone in Niger-Delta is feeling the impact of this bill sponsored by our noble son and Niger-Delta is developing rapidly and more peaceful now than ever due to an intellectual work done on the bill by Distinguished Senator Andy Uba (MFR).
Anambarians, the legislative maestro, is an astute parliamentarian who understands the rudiments of good governance, as an advocate for curbing environmental degradations. Anambra state incessant gully erosion will be tackled with vigor, and flooding within the riverine areas of the state will be managed and controlled. Sen. Andy has the political will, sound moral judgement to embark on people oriented programs, projects and policies; he has shown capacity and competence throughout his stay in public and private sector.
Now looking at Senator Andy Uba, you are looking at APC. He is carrying the manifesto of APC. In the history of this country it is only in this APC led administration that we have benefitted most, are we talking about all our roads being touched, being lifted? All the major roads, needless mentioning names, are we talking about the all important Second Niger Bridge? The second Niger Bridge is an everlasting monument, legacy this administration has given us. I still want to thank Mr President for that job. I also want to thank the workaholic Minster of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, and a lot of other things they have done.
It is indeed time Anambra people come together to give massive support to this man with intellectual sagacity to make things work out for Anambra State.
On issue of complaints to the APC election appeal Committee, and consequent court case which have been taken care of now, first of all I want to salute all the eggheads that participated in that primary, all of them, very powerful, very dedicated and core party members. But in every situation even in families and nation there is always a small crack, but that is internal something, I am not talking about internal problem of APC, it is a family matter and that is why we talk about party supremacy, our leaders and super leaders are handling that matter and I think we have come up with very sound decision on that.
Already there is machinery in place to placate and assuage those who feel injured in one way or the other and we need everybody to come on board because the ultimate is victory for the party.
Then on whether the choice of Andy Ubah has assuaged that feeling of marginalization by Anambra South, what many from that part of the state are talking about is equity. There is a group they call Equity Turn by Turn, it is a group in Anambra State in this election headed by Chief Guis Uzoeze, what it is saying is that if this area has done it, this area has done, let this area do it. That does not mean that there is bitterness or rancor, but what they are talking about is what is called balance of convenience in politics and administration so that as we assess the people from the north, how they behaved when they were there and assess people from the central, then lets assess people from the south, that is what they are talking about, not that there is problem, but they are talking of balance of convenience, equity distribution of administrative paraphernalia in Anambra State.
Indeed looking at the array of governorship aspirants in the November election, the election is going to be very fierce, looking at the caliber of the illustrious sons of Anambra State; of course there is no small fish. It has been like that in Anambra State, going back to history. It is a recurrent phenomenon in the political game of Anambra State, it is not the first time, and Anambrarians like it that way, because through that way we throw up a leader that is capable of leading Anambra State.
Chief Umenzekwe wrote through modestusokechukwu661@yahoo.com
