By  BEN AGANDE
After serving as the national secretary of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, Chief George Moghalu contested the governorship election of Anambra State in 2003 but lost. He defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  but left shortly after and returned to ANPP. Moghalu is contesting to go to the Senate to represent Anambra South Senatorial District in the April elections.

George Moghalu

In this interview, he speaks on a variety of issues as well as his chances in the elections. Excerpts:

You contested the governorship of Anambra State in 2007. Now, you are contesting the senatorial seat. What do you have to offer that makes you think people will vote for you?

When people say I wanted to be governor and now I want to go to the Senate, what we should bear in mind is that all is about service. It is all about presenting oneself for service in the state. I have always told my friends that I am qualified to be a councillor and I am also qualified to be the president of Nigeria. In any situation I find myself, as long as it has to do with serving my people, I don’t look at the position as being of importance. For me, be it president, be it senator, governor or councillor, the issue is service.

Coming to the question as to what I have to offer; I find it difficult to criticise people as a matter of personal policy. But, as a people, we deserve more than we are getting now. We need to have a better representation. In the past 12 years, I do not think that we have the best that we should. I believe very strongly that we have not received our money’s worth, especially the people of my constituency.

Today, there is practically no federal presence in my senatorial zone. We have security challenges; we have issues of erosion, we have issues of power and if you go to Anambra State, the greatest concentration of industries is in my senatorial zone.  We are more affected with the challenge of power. Until these issues are brought to the front burner; until the Federal Government is made to understand and appreciate these challenges, we would not be able to do anything. I feel, like most people in my senatorial zone feel, that we have not been adequately represented.

How do you hope to confront the challenge of PDP since ANPP is not seen to be very strong in Anambra State?

It is more of my person and who I am. The party is an institution, a platform upon which an individual’s ambition can be realised. There is a limit to what a party can do. It is more of the person of the candidate sometimes. I am going into this election anchored principally on my credibility as a person. I don’t rule out the fact that I am going to market the party alongside myself during electioneering. But, the people also know the contestants in the various parties, so, the major selling point is me.

It is not the strength of the party, so to speak, but it is a matter of who and who are contesting. What can they bring? Who are they and what are their character traits? To what extent, can they be trusted? To what extent can they subsume their personal interests for group interests? These are issues people are asking questions about and these are things I am taking to markets, to the villages. I am presenting myself to the people so that through me they can vote for my party.

In the past elections, people condemned the electoral umpire for its perceived biased stand. Has anything changed with the electoral umpire?

So far, so good, because you have to look at the credibility of the individuals who are running the show now. Look at what they are saying and doing and juxtapose it with what was obtainable in the past. These are men who have built their reputation over the years and I am sure they will not want it destroyed over a pot of porridge.

Their commitment towards getting  the registration process to be properly done to the extent that we have a credible voter register,  which some of us believe is the beginning point of any credible election. There is every indication that the voter register would be trusted and relied upon to produce a credible election not the type that we had in the past that had names of Mike Tyson and even the late Harry Marshal in them.

In your quest to come to the Senate, apart from your party, ANPP, being against the formidable PDP, you are also up against formidable opponents like Dr. Andy Uba, Hon. Chuma Nzeribe and others. How do you intend to face these challenges?

When you talk with them, they also tell you that they are up against a formidable candidate in me. The truth is that we are all going to buy from the same market. We are all going to ask Anambra north people to choose. For me, it is a matter of presenting yourself to the people for assessment and the people will decide. So long as the people’s votes will count, the decision lies in their hands. They have the final say on who will represent them.

Some people have accused members of the National Assembly of allocating to themselves huge salaries at the expense of the Nigerian people. Are you attracted by this so-called jumbo pay?

I have always said that our democracy is very expensive and we have a large government and we should do everything to reduce the size of government and the cost implication. To be honest with you, I do not know how much a senator is paid because it has been shrouded in secrecy.

The whole thing is about the story being bandied about, so I expect that the National Assembly members should come out and tell Nigerians exactly how much they earn so that they can be exonerated or condemned depending on the information available. But the truth is that our democracy is expensive and the government is too large. We must do everything to reduce the size of governance and the cost implication. We have to look at the salary of the lawmakers being commensurate with what is obtainable in the international community. Government is too attractive and that is why people want to kill themselves to get into government. We must reduce this attraction.

What would be your preoccupation if and when you get to the Senate?

My preoccupation would be to represent the people of my constituency in a most profound way to justify the confidence they would be investing in me. Until we come to a point where we appreciate that any position we are elected to be a sacred trust, we will not making any headway.

Has the appointment of Professor Jega boosted your confidence in the electoral process bearing in mind the rigging that trailed past elections?

So far, so good. This time everybody is conscious. It is a matter of vote, stay there for your vote to be counted. Rigging election is a collective effort. To strengthen election and make it credible is also a collective effort. The voters have a role to play, the politicians have a role to play and when all of us are agreed that we must do it credibly, the security agencies also have a role to play.

Once you guarantee the neutrality of the electoral umpire and the security agencies, then the votes will count. I believe very strongly that every body has a role to play. And, until all of us are ready to play by the rules, there would be problems. This do-or- die mentality will derail the Nigerian democracy. If we are sincere about service, there are things you cannot do. And, until we get to that stage, we are all joking.