An editor and journalist of renown, Sheddy Ozoene is the Publisher of Abuja-based People& Politics magazine. In 2007, he aspired to represent Udi/Ezeagu federal constituency of Enugu state in the House of Representatives. In this interview, the former Media Adviser to the Delta state governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori  between 1999-2007, bares his mind on a number of issues in Enugu State with our Enugu State Correspondent,  Austin Ogwuda.

Excerpts:

As a member of the PDP Enugu state, how do you assess the party’s chances in the forthcoming general elections.

The chances of the party in Enugu have never been brighter and I have no doubt that it will win resoundingly in both the state and federal elections slated for March 28 and April 11, respectively. The past 8 years of Governor Sullivan Chime have been the most glorious for the party and the state, so the people have every reason to renew their support and confidence in the PDP.

What key issues would you say will define the presidential contest, especially between the two major contestants, President Jonathan and General Buhari.

Both men have presided over the affairs of the country, so it’s all about past performance, not empty sloganeering or the mouthed promise of Eldorado.

Buhari headed the most brutish administration the nation has ever witnessed, stigmatized and jailed a whole generation of political leaders and ran the economy aground so much so that we had to queue for essential commodities like milk. Jonathan on the other hand, has expanded the political space so that dictators like GMB still aspires for public office. Nigeria’s economy has grown to be first in Africa and the future looks bright.

Is it true, as many people say, that Enugu is a one-party state? How strong is the opposition in the state?

Enugu is not a one-party state, even if I don’t blame those who think and say so. The issue is that Governor Chime has so raised the bar of performance that even the opposition queue to applaud him. That is why the incoming governor says that he will inherit oversized shoes. Simply said, the opposition does not exist in Enugu; they only resurface during elections because some people just want to carry flags during electoral contests.

Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has received wide acceptance across the state. What do you attribute his popularity to?

In seeking the ideal candidate to take over from Gov. Chime last year, the state PDP wanted a candidate who would unite the party and sustain the Chime administration’s development strides. They found in Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi a man who can do both. Ugwuanyi is a popular choice with an unblemished record. His candidature has so far, lived up to the billing and he has succeeded in rallying all the political tendencies in the state behind him.

Since his controversial endorsement as PDP candidate for Enugu governorship, Ugwuanyi has acted like a stooge of the outgoing governor, Barrister Sullivan Chime. People now raise issues whether he will ever be his own man…

I disagree with you that his endorsement was controversial. The party has the right to adopt measures that would minimize friction in selecting candidate for public office. The process that produced Ugwuanyi meets all standards in popular democratic practice. To your question: Ugwuanyi is nobody’s stooge. He is the choice of the people but don’t forget that in that PDP family, Sullivan Chime remains the leader and the father-figure of the party in the state.

Ugwuanyi has ran his campaign without unveiling any programmes and policies. What key policies is he hinging his campaign on?

That’s not true. He is perhaps the only candidate that boasts a well-articulated programme in virtually all the key development sectors. Yes, he has adopted the four-point agenda of the outgoing governor, there is no doubt that he has broadened the programme outlines which he intends to build on. The key areas are in employment generation, social services and good governance, rural transformation as well as security and justice for all. I dare say that Ugwuanyi will surpass Chime’s record of performance and even the outgoing governor is proud to proclaim so.

What will the outgoing governor be best remembered for?

Governor Chime has redefined governance at the state level. He has domesticated President Jonathan’s idea of transformation in Enugu state and this has impacted all sectors of life of the people. The most significant for me, is the network of standard gauge roads he built across the state. In doing this, he fulfilled his promise to ensure that every local government headquarters is linked with well paved and asphalted road. It’s remarkable.

The issue of who, between Ayogu Eze and Ugwuanyi, is the authentic PDP candidate is still raging in the Appeal Court. How will this be resolved going into the elections?

As you said, the matter is still subjudice so I won’t comment on it. I will only observe that the Federal High Court has declared that  only one primaries was held in Enugu for the purpose of selecting the governorship candidate. How Ayogu intends to convince the appeal court that there were two, and that the one he organized in one back-yard hotel without party officials is the authentic one, is best known to him. However you look at it, it’s a hard sell.

Enugu is well known for new governors breaking bitterly with their predecessors. Is there any possibility that Ugwuanyi, if elected, will sustain the present level of cooperation with Chime out of government?

Again I disagree that Enugu is worse than others in that regard. First you must look at the character and temperament of the men involved, then and now. Sullivan Chime doesn’t come across as a meddlesome person and he is not overly ambitious or overbearing. On the other hand, Ugwuanyi has shown he is accommodating and devoid of the usual clannishness of some political leaders. To answer your question, the harmony you see today will surely endure.

In the incoming presidential election, the Igbo appear to have put all their eggs in President Jonathan’s basket. What will their future look like, politically, if Buhari wins?

Tufiakwa, Buhari will not win. The whole of Nigeria is protected under the umbrella of Jonathan’s good governance. If the umbrella is removed, it is not only the Igbo that will suffer the harsh realities of Buhari’s reformed dictatorship. It is better imagined, but in any case he has lost severally before so this won’t be anything new to him.

As a journalist, how would you assess the performance of the media in the covering the ongoing electioneering campaigns?

Many people argue that in this particular contest, some sections of the media have either compromised or overstepped their bounds. I disagree. The campaign has been very intense but media practitioners have held tenaciously to the tenets of their practice. Facts are sacred but comments are free. Once you can distinguish between what comes as news and which others come as comments and advertorials, you’ll see the media has not compromised.

There is a raging controversy over the huge indebtedness of the Chime administration which borrowed billions of naira at the twilight of its tenure. How will the next governor survive the financial quagmire?

Can anyone, in all sincerity, describe the Chime administration as profligate? We must be fair to that man. I believe you are talking of the last loan of about 10 or 11 billion or thereabout. Well, I am not a staff of Enugu state government so I cannot speak authoritatively on that, but it will suffice to say that the House of Assembly in its wisdom, approved the loan for the state after considering the need for it. It’s not a loan for Sullivan Chime, but for the state, and what it will be applied to was also well canvassed. The details are in public documents so lets not be too hypothetical.

Don’t you think that Ohaneze has been heavily politicized with factions singing different tunes. Where lies the collective interest of the Ndigbo that they say they represent?

I have never really supported the idea of socio-cultural associations meddling in political issues, but Ohaneze is not the sole culprit. The Afenifere, the Yoruba Council of Elders and even the Oodua Peoples Congress are all getting involved one way or the other. The Arewa Consultative Forum has since become the Northern wing of opposition against Jonathan, so it’s not peculiar to Ohaneze. My quarrel with Ohaneze is that in most cases, they hardly speak with one voice and their position on issues hardly well articulated.