Three-time member of House of Representatives and Senatorial candidate of APGA for Anambra South Senatorial District, Hon. Chris Azubogu, in this interview, speaks about the outcome of the primaries in the state and preparation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 elections

The Federal High Court Abuja recently pronounced that you should not parade yourself as candidate on the ground that you didn’t officially resign your membership of the PDP. What are your views?

First of all, the notion that I did not officially resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is wrong because my resignation is in the public domain and it is there for everyone one to verify at this point.

Remember that I was in the PDP and later joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the last gubernatorial election and I officially resigned from those two parties before joining APGA.

I am an experienced politician and I understand what it takes to leave a party and join another and I cannot lose sight of what I am expected to do at any time.

During and before the Senatorial primary election, all the candidates for that ticket knew who their opponents were and throughout the processes that led to the primary election none of them went to court to challenge the membership of the party and the election was held.

Remember that the election was conducted twice and on the second day at the Dora Akunyili Women Development Center I won the primary election scoring a total lawful vote of 116 while the runner up Ben Nwankwo scored 113 and that was it.

Later Nwankwo went to court not to challenge the conduct or outcome of the electoral process but to claim that as at the time of the primary election I was still a member of PDP.

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The question here is that how come that he discovered that I am not a member of the party? After the screening of the aspirants and the eventual clearance, there was room for claims and objections and there was never an attempt to challenge my membership of the party until he had lost.

But the Federal High Court Abuja made a pronouncement granting the prayers of Nwankwo?

That was why I went to the Appeal Court to challenge that pronouncement and in my grounds of appeal I contended that this is a pre-election matter and should not have been extended to the issue of defection.

I approached the Appeal Court to determine whether or not the lower court erred by its ruling and also whether I should vacate my seat at the Federal House of Representatives since I claimed to have left the PDP .

We also sighted similar matters and the decisions reached by the courts on the issue in contest.Azubogu

But some observers are claiming that the venue for the primary election ought not to have been Awka in Anambra Central District but Anambra South Senatorial

District in line with the constitution?

This is funny, is it because I won the primary election? All the aspirants participated in the election and none of them protested about the venue including the aspirant that went to court.

Also officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were there to monitor the election as well as the law enforcement agencies. The party officials vested with the task of conducting the primary election were there and it was agreed that the election would be held in Awka.

Reasons for that are not far-fetched in view of the security challenges in Anambra South Senatorial District. My Senatorial District has in the last two years been under attacks by suspected gunmen with the killings and you want the party and the aspirants and also the delegates to go there.

Someone ought to have gone to court to say it is against the constitution to conduct the primary election outside the Senatorial District but no one did.

Don’t you think that at the end of the general election this matter would continue to linger while the tenure runs?

I cannot answer that because that would be going beyond where we are now. When we get to the bridge we will now figure out how to cross it.

I am the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance for Anambra South Senatorial District and duly nominated by the party in a free fair and credible process and I am busy reaching out to my people ahead of the election so I don’t have that time to begin to think of the level the matter will get to.

Your party appears to be losing mileage because the time for campaign is being used for litigations?

It doesn’t follow that way. We have been campaigning and going from community to community and the court matter is not enough to distract us from being focused on the election.

The people of Anambra South Senatorial District are no strangers to me and they know very well that my three terms at the National Assembly speak for me hence while someone has gone to court the projects that I attracted and still attracting are doing the job of campaigning.

Don’t you think that something is happening remotely may be in or outside APGA?

Well you never can tell. If someone or some people are remotely sponsoring the court matter, that is the person’s cup of tea, because they are bound to fail. Our people are well informed and enlightened that they cannot be fooled by the antics of enemies of democracy and the electoral process.

I know that true to the nature of the kind of people that play politics in the area it would not be out of place for some desperate politicians to attempt such a thing because they are not on ground and they know that they cannot win.

As a matter of fact I have no time going about looking for them or the perceived enemies who hide their face behind some impostors to try to distract me and my party. They should come out openly and take up the fight rather than using moles and I don’t want to believe that the plaintiff in this matter is being used for such a plot. The law makes it clear to those that have the right to go to court on issues like this and when someone or some people choose to do this from the back door it becomes shameful.

There is this fear that the coming election may be scuttled due to some reasons?

What are the reasons? We know about insecurity in the country but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through the Chairman has assured Nigerians that the election would hold and the body also gave room for possible run off so they are ready. Those flying the kite of the election being scuttled are those who are not prepared for it and instead of accepting defeat.

They chose to discourage the process from going on.

Nigeria cannot continue this way because it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good. The country is improving by every election conducted and we have been making our mistakes and learning our lessons. So the prospects of going back to the Stone Age cannot work. In the last elections in Anambra and Osun states you all saw what happened and it was free and fair despite the security challenges.

In the South-East it is also being alleged that the activities of the gunmen are being sponsored by some people to discourage voters from coming out on that day?

These are postulations and apprehensions from people and this is done to frighten people. But Nigerians have had enough of these rumors and drums of war and they are not affected by that.

Yes, facilities of INEC are being attacked and that is where the fears are being entertained by a section of the public, but in the end we shall still go to the polls to elect our leaders and it will surely come to pass. (Sunday Telegraph)