Chief David Onuoha-Bourdex is the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate for Abia North Senatorial election. In this interview OGOCHUKWU ANIOKE, he speaks on the nullification of the March 28, last year’s National Assembly election and the rerun ordered by the Court of Appeal
How do you feel about the rerun election ordered by Court of Appeal for Abia North Senatorial zone?
I feel disappointed because we had a timeline for the things we promised to achieve for our people. But, on the other hand, I feel the temporary setback would restore credibility to the process and legitimacy to us more than if the court had declared us as the winners of the election. It might interest you to know that among the candidates for the Senate seat, we are the party prepared for election. We had a contract with the people and we communicated our manifesto to the people. In my manifesto, which was well documented and given to the voters, we outlined the vision that would drive our senatorial representation. The document is aptly titled the change you deserve is coming; we promised to mainstream the yearnings and aspirations of the people of Abia North Senatorial district in the legislative agenda of the National Assembly. In the course of the electioneering campaign, I told our people that I have dreamt, envisioned and lived my dream of pioneering innovation, wealth creation and raising the bar of economic development in our society. You can therefore imagine our frustration when political jobbers that had no clear-cut vision or mission for the good of our people, used dubious methods to steal the mandate given to me by the good people of Abia North Senatorial district. Of course, I decided to challenge the vote to convince my people that we mean business.
But, what gives you the confidence that you were the choice of the voters, being a new comer to politics?
That is the point I am making; our people have never been allowed the freedom to choose their representatives. I say this without fear of equivocation. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had never won elections in Abia State. It has always been rigging, manipulation, inducement and falsification of results. It was those three evils of imposition, intimidation and impunity that became the undoing of the party in 2015. I saw that the people had become tired and frustrated by these serial abuses of democracy. That was part of the reason why I titled my vision document the change you deserve is coming. It is written in black and white; so we saw the change that was coming and told our people that clearly. We may be new in politics as your question suggested, but we have been around as leaders in various ways. That is how we earned the trust and confidence of the people. Those you call the old faces in politics are those that fouled the system; they are the ones responsible for the alienation of the masses. They are those who see politics and public office as opportunity to plunder, kill and maim. On March 28, the people voted against that trend, but they wanted to falsify the wishes of the people. But, we said no and made our voice strong because we are confident of the support and prayers of the masses. Now they have seen that indeed I possess the vision, the drive and self-actualisation to pioneer that change in Abia North’s political leadership.
Former Governor Orji Kalu has been giving the impression that the election was nullified because of his petition…
If you are looking for those that are good at making impressions, I am not interested. I am only interested in how to change the reality of warped and imposed leadership that had kept our people to the ground. I told you that I set agenda by which the people evaluated my candidacy for the senatorial seat. And what were the salient points on that agenda? I said it loud that we needed to reposition our people and our people to benefit from the polity. As an innovative entrepreneur, I know that we have huge potentials in Arochukwu, Ohafia, Isuikwuato, Bende and Umunneochi to lead the change in urban city development. So, I was able to unfold my vision to the people. How the available resources and potentials in these areas must be tapped through good political leadership with the capacity to interact and collaborate with others in the Senate, to harness and ignite these enormous potentials of our people in the areas of entrepreneurship, agriculture and commerce. So, it was not about impression, we did not want to impress anybody but we set out a compass for social action to uplift the people and create health and happiness in the zone. Did you read the personal attacks the other candidates are hauling on themselves? Both the PDP and PPA candidates are behaving like the sons Eli in the Bible; they are fighting themselves because they have nothing in stock for the good of the people. The rerun election is going to be a referendum on the candidates’ antecedents. The people of Abia North know their sons and daughters. They cannot be deceived by impressions.
But, some people say Abia State has been voting the PDP since 1999 and that your party is not on ground….
When you say some people, you did not say whether they are from the state, in or outside the state. Those people must be referring to the old things that I told earlier the people rejected. You remember how Jesus Christ said that those who came before were robbers and marauders? I am saying that those that held Abia down since 1999 came through the windows and even had to break the roof to grab the mandate. And in 2015, after 16 years of rape and plunder, the people’s eyes were opened and they said enough is enough. They rejected the highway men and settled for the new leadership with focus, humanity and vision. It is with that acute vision that we discovered that all the while our constituency suffered from high-level of weak industrialisation and commercial growth. We pointed out too that while the PDP was busy sharing money, our agricultural sector was relegated to the background, despite the large arable land at our disposal. Moreover, we were bedeviled by poor educational institutions, low social amenities and near absence of federal infrastructure, especially roads and bridges.
With a different party at the centre, do you think you can achieve all that lofty vision and what are your chances in the rerun election?
The political grass is now greener at the national level than before. What I mean by that is that the rejection of the PDP that started from the federal level can only make meaning if it trickles down. I am further strengthened by the rejection which my people handed to the old order. So, by voting for APGA in Abia State, the people have ensured that all things shall become new. You see the same way the PDP was rejected at the centre, our people in their wisdom have decided to vote APGA. We share in the national vision of purity, prudence and patriotism. You can see from the driving philosophy of APGA that the emphasis is on the wellbeing of the people, not in amassing too much money for the promotion of bribery and corruption.
The Nation