Returnee member of the House of Representatives  and the sole Reps-elect of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the South-East geo-political zone, Rep Charles Odedo (Idemili Federal Constituency, Anambra State), in this interview shares his experience at the polls and his agenda for the next four years among others. Excerpts:

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

How do you rate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of the 2011 polls?

This INEC, to me, is by far the better than what we used to have. You can imagine that on the first day the election started without the result sheets and within five hours the Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, responded by postponing the elections.

I salute his courage because it shows that he is a man of integrity and he told Nigerians that they were not with the result sheets. And when they returned the following Saturday, they came up with result sheets even though there were a few problems of not having enough ballot papers in some areas.

Compared to the 2007 elections, what was your election experience like in 2011?

It was fairly pleasant, though it wasn’t like that at the onset due to all kinds of things coming out of the camps of my opponents. However, I tried to stick to issues. In my booklet, My Stewardship, I chronicled my stewardship in the National Assembly since joining them in the last two and half years. It showed that I fulfilled my campaign promise of having at least one project in each of the 17 constituting communities in the constituency.

Also, in my grassroots-based programme, I empowered at least five persons from each community. Essentially, my message during my campaign was that the electorate should consider positively what I achieved in just two and half years and then give me a chance to continue. I have no doubt the message became very popular judging by the overwhelming number of votes I got, that was in excess of 26, 000 votes. I won overwhelmingly in more than 90 per cent of the communities.

Did you observe lapses that deserve to be corrected?
Quite a few of them. It includes the operations of INEC on the days of election. You say repeatedly that accreditation is going to start by 8 am, whereas it started at about 11.15 am like my centre where I accredited and voted. I also learnt that at some centres it started even later, yet the commission’s chairman had assured the nation after the initial postponement that they were better prepared and that all relevant materials would come 24 hours earlier for a smoother process.

So, this is one area that INEC has to look at. The other aspect is the general security in the areas where elections were taking place. It was evidently and  largely left to the electorate such that where the electorate did not comport themselves well there were instances of manipulation, harassment and open intimidation. And not having enough security strained and rattled the people.

I have therefore advocated in the National Assembly that there should be staggered election. By staggered election I mean that all the elections should not take place in one day so that INEC can focus their manpower on just the relevant areas and then have enough manpower, in terms security men and staff to do a very good job. That’s basically the three main areas of concern.

What do you make of the emerging trend where voters base their decision on personal antecedents more than on party identity?

I think it’s a good trend if only the electorate will just look at performance because one is actually elected to perform. It is not about sentiments of coming from this party or that party. Though party is important, especially if you have a disciplined party that compels its members to perform. So, I like the trend particularly for those of us that were seeking re_election, it is important to look at the records and ask what you have done.

I have a  summary of what my manifesto is and I’m drawing up the details. In the last two and half years that I have been in the house, I have put at least one project in each community. Now that I am going back, I promise to multiply everything I have done by 12.

How do you intend to achieve your objectives?
I have set a very high standard, I know I will be able to achieve that because I have become a ranking member and I’ll be in a better position to achieve that and of course, I will later proceed to the Senate.
With Dr Chris Ngige in the Senate, don’t you think there may be a clash of interest?

No, we know that he is a material for the Presidency, and I believe sincerely that before I finish my tenure as a member of the House of Reps, that Onwa (Ngige) will become the governor of Anambra again. It might even be sooner than you think. When that happens as I believe it will  happen very soon, he would like his followers especially those that are doing very well to step in and up.

What are your plans to attract Federal presence to your constituency?

We are contending with an unfriendly state government in Anambra. Let me be specific, there is no tertiary institution in my constituency, the campus of Anambra State University that was to be cited at Alor was mysteriously removed by the state government even when the site clearing and some structures had taken off.

I want the governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi to have a re-think that the Federal Constituency that has the largest voting population as you well know, Idemili North registered most number in the whole state, more than 170,000. It is even qualified to be an urban area.