[READ & SHARE] 2015 Guber: How PDP caucus zeroed in on Abia South – Ukpai Agwu Via @iKanzee_RR

Following the controversy raised by the Abia
State’s Equity Charter which zoned the 2015
governorship slot to  Abia South Senatorial
Zone through the ruling Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, Vanguard went to Umuahia, Abia
State to speak with Chief Ukpai Agwu Ukpai,
one time SSA to Gov Theodore Orji on Security,
Transport Commissioner, on the intrigues and
intricacies behind the zoning. Excerpts
HOW was the Abia 2015 governorship zoned
to the South Senatorial District arrived at?
The governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore
Orji, in his wisdom, told us that he is a
product of zoning, and that is why he has to
maintain zoning. Because if there were no
zoning, may be, he wouldn’t have been a
governor. Because he is a beneficiary of
zoning arrangement, he decided to maintain
that.
Now, the essence of zoning is to defuse
political rancour, bickering and political
violence in the state. Abia North was the last
to produce executive governor, which was Orji
Uzor Kalu. Now, the thing moved to Central
which is where we are now, which is Governor
T.A. Orji. It is just clear and fair and
justifiable that the next the governor should
come from South, which means the three
senatorial zones in Abia state have had their
own share of the governorship arrangement.
I wouldn’t know why anybody would like to
challenge such arrangement. After that
suggestion, the PDP Caucus, which is the
highest body in all PDP arrangements in the
state, met here in Umuahia and they rose to
declare that the governorship position has
been zoned to Abia South. Thereafter, PDP
stakeholders met and affirmed the same
position. And the PDP in Abia state as a party
also met and affirmed that the next governor
would come from Abia South.
If the party structure has zoned her
governorship position, I don’t know who will
be challenging that. And we who are the
politicians here believe in the party, you know
party is supreme. Party decision is final. And
a loyal, good party man has to obey the
party’s decision. The party has said the
governorship of Abia state has been zoned to
Abia South.
But some say there was no zoning when
North, Central produced governors. That
contestants also came from other zones. Why
this zoning that bars others?
Yes, we don’t expect everybody to go home
after the decision. It is true that when Orji
Uzor contested, people came out for governor.
But the party stood and said it would go to
the North. The party  zoned it to the North.
The Central, the same thing.
People also came out to contest. After that,
the party said it would go to Central. The
party has also said it must go to South. It
didn’t stop anybody from contesting. If you
say you can challenge the decision of the
party….Remember the party holds the
machinery for election. If you think you can
challenge the party machinery, oh, good and
fair. The governor has not told anybody you
should not contest. But he has told you that
their position is that they will go to South and
pick their candidate.
If zoned to the South, made of Ukwa/Ngwa,
what happens to the Ngwa people in the
Central? Are they not being marginalised?
No, they are not marginalized. The Ngwa in
the Central, their geography is just the central.
We are not doing ethnic politics here. If you
are talking of ethnic politics, that is where you
can talk of marginalisation. But the Ngwa in
the Central belong to Central. And are part
and parcel of this governor that is in the office
right now. So, they cannot claim
marginalisation. The man is representing them
and they are there.
For in instance, I am from Ohafia. I will now
say we have Nkporo, Abiriba and Ohafia-
Ohafia North and South. So, if something is
coming to Ohafia North; and I am in the
South, will I now say I am marginalized? No. If
it goes to the South, will Abiriba say it has
been marginalized? No. By geography, they
belong to the same constituency. There are no
two ways about it. Nobody is being
marginalized.
I saw Gov Orji’s posters rooting to become
senator for Central where Sen Nkechi Nwogu,
an Ngwa represents at the Senate. Now, with
the zoning, what happens to her? She can’t be
senator. She can’t be governor.
No, she is free to contest the position that is
zoned to them which is where she is. The
governor says she can contest whatever
position she wants. People have asked the
governor to come out, given the way he has
run his office.
He has impressed everybody from the South,
in fact the entire Abia. And people from the
Central are saying, “We will give you our
support through prayers…to lead our
senatorial zone.” Because has impressed
everybody and they asked him to come out
and contest.
And anybody is free to also contest the office.
This is democracy. It’s government of the
people by the people and for the people.
Anybody you like you vote.
If the zoning formula works, what about the
Senatorial and Rep positions as I have heard
that Chukwumerije who has been there for
about eight years wants to go back?
Why we are not bothered by all these other
positions is that the executive, which is the
governorship, is the man who holds the
leadership of the state. To think of it, since
the creation of Abia state, an Ngwa man has
not been governor. And the only way we can
make them feel they are part of Abia is to give
them the opportunity to produce governor.
Both military appointments or in this
democracy, they have not been able to
produce one. And the only way it can be done
is to support them to produce a governor. And
it is by so doing that we can have a violent
free political environment in Abia state. We
don’t enjoy all this political violence, burning
down houses, killing, maiming and all sorts. If
this is well packaged and arranged, everywhere
will be calm.
This arrangement now will be part of the
political tradition of Abia state government.
At any particular time there is election, you
know which zone it will go. All parties go that
zone and shop for their governorship
candidate.
Why we are talking about this legislators’
thing, well, they don’t form or they don’t
control except their various constituencies. If
your constituency, which is a very minor group
decides in your area that you it can go one
hundred times because you have represented
them very well, so be it. But this is what we
have together.
And that is why we have decided to focus and
put attention on how do we produce a
governor without rancour in Abia state.