Chief George Moghalu is one of the political leaders from the Southeast on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He was National Secretary of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and current National Auditor of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He contested the last governorship election in Anambra State but lost the party ticket. In this interview with Tony Akowe, Moghalu speaks on some burning national issues. Excerpts
THE President has reconstituted his cabinet and there is anger in the Southeast that the President did not assign any juicy ministry to any of the ministers from that area. Are you comfortable with this?
What is incontrovertible is that Mr. President gave ministerial slot to every state in the Southeast and even appointed two from Anambra State. But I have always argued and disagreed with people on this issue of juicy political appointment. There is nothing like juicy ministry as far as I am concerned because all the ministries take the memoranda to the Federal Executive Council. There is no senior minister at council level. I am satisfied with the portfolios Mr. President gave to the ministers from the Southeast. The highest ministerial position in America, with the model we are coping today, is the Secretary of State. We have Minister of Foreign Affairs from the Southeast yet we are still complaining. What is unimportant about Minister of Science and Technology in a country thinking about tomorrow? We have Labour and Employment, Minister of State for Education and another for environment. We have challenges of erosion left, right and centre and we have been given a minister to look after it, yet we are complaining. Since it is not for anybody’s personal pocket, I don’t see anything juicy about the ministries.
Were you surprised by the names of those who got back to the cabinet and those left out by the president?
Why should it surprise me when the president knows what he wants? These are people he has worked with, so it is about who he wants to work with, not about what I think about them. The decision did not surprise me at all.
Your name featured prominently as a possible minister before the announcement. At what point was your name removed from the list?
We should know that appointment of ministers is the prerogative of Mr. President and he determines who he wants to give at any given time. Yes, people may speculate, but if I am not appointed, to God be the glory because it is not yet the appointed time. Why should I ask what happened that I did not make the list at last when it is not my father’s job? Anybody who claims that I should be feeling hurt don’t know me very well. In fact, Mr. President did not promise me any ministerial slot only to disappoint me later. I can make contribution in a democratic government without being a minister. There are many ways to serve fatherland and it must not be ministers that are only 43 persons out of a population of close to 200 million people. People can serve at various levels and they must not be ministers before they contribute. Sincerely speaking, I am very happy with the president that he found Anambra State worthy to produce two ministers. I am very grateful and I am sure that is the feeling of every Anambrian.
Apart from the statutory ministerial appointments, do you expect more political appointments to the Southeast from the president?
Very sure and why not; however, I am not making any appeal to the president because I don’t believe he is not carrying the Southeast along in terms of appointments. However, besides political appointments, I expect the president to complete the ongoing road projects in the zone. The second Niger Bridge, the repair works on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt road, the Aba-Ikote Ekpene and Umuahia-Uyo roads. I expect that the projects that have to do with the Southeast in the current budget should be accommodated and executed.
There are claims that APC is collapsing on the hands of the National Chairman and national leadership of the party.
There is no iota of truth that the party is collapsing on the head of our national chairman and the national leadership. Although I was not part of the meeting with the Governors Forum because I was burying my uncle in my village, the speculation that the party is collapsing on our heads is not true.
What do you think of the faceoff between Adams Oshiomhole and his state governor on one hand and Odigie-Oyegun on the other hand?
I honestly don’t have details as to what is happening in their state with regards to the disagreement. But the good news is that there is beginning to be relative peace now. I have always said that politics is about human beings and interest and once interests clash, there must be disagreement. It is a matter of those disagreeing to ask the pertinent question whether the disagreement is necessary and whether they can resolve it. As for Oyegun, I don’t also believe there is any rift between them. There may be disagreements on procedures. Both of them are from the same state, both are credible leaders that have demonstrated capacity for work and I can only pray for them to continue exhibiting leadership qualities to serve as example to many. If there was crisis, I would have waded into it as somebody that has worked closely with both of them.
There has also been allegation of members of the NWC collecting bribe from aspirants during the primaries for 2019 general elections?
Well, I am not aware of any money exchanging hands during the primaries during the primaries for general elections. If anybody has evidence, let them share it but don’t forget that most of the nominations are done in their local areas.
What do you think of the traveling embargo IPOB placed on Igbo political leaders?
What embargo are you talking about? Such thing, if there is any, sounds very unreasonable. Based on what authority and wisdom would they place such embargo? What have the Igbo political leaders done individually or collectively to warrant such unreasonable embargo? For me, it does not add up and if they are placing such embargo based on the assumption that they did not fight Igbo course, I will ask them what Igbo course they are talking about? I don’t see any course the Igbo political leaders are supposed to fight for that they are not fighting.
What is the best approach to fight a course in a democracy other than by argument, negotiation, consultation, convincing people and lobbying. I want to be told how they expected us to fight that we are not fighting otherwise, I would tell them that I don’t understand what they are talking about. If they expect us to do what Ayo Fayose did in Ekiti as governor, giving the herdsmen ultimatum, I will tell them that it is not reasonable. The most important thing is that we are in a democracy where every decision is by consultation and convincing people because it is a matter of number.
We agreed to do it by consensus before we entered into democratic process. Whatever we want to do must be a function of number. We must convince people to see it from our prism. What we need to do as people is to continue to negotiate and expand our horizon. We must reach out to as many people as possible so that we can fight our collective interest. We must unify ourselves, pursue a singular agenda and be honest about it. These are the realities I think we should be talking about.
Did the attack on Ike Ekweremadu give you any concern?
Of course it gave me serious concern and I was not happy about it. It is not right to any right thinking person, no matter the way one wants to look at it. The action is condemnable and it is not the right way to go. Okay, let us assume that the way to go now is to beat and tear the dresses of Igbo political leaders abroad, what will it change, how will it better our lots as a people and how will it improve our condition as a people? For me, the way to go is to bring our leaders to question and get them to account by rejecting them at the polls. If they claim the leaders have not done a lot, what specifics do they want from them? It is true that I may not be holding any elective or appointive position today to make impact, but the point remains that there is little or nothing those occupying the positions could do. The option left for us is to get members of the State Houses of Assemblies to pass laws that are of peoples’ interest and get the executives to implement them.
You just said there is little those occupying elective and appointive positions can do. How best do you think this issue of performance can be addressed?
We have to organise ourselves into pressure groups to present an agenda of common interest to the federal government. We have to negotiate with other political interests and blocks as the way to go in a democracy not members of IPOB beating up Igbo political leaders abroad. If they think that the political leaders are not doing it well, they should teach them how to do it and encourage them.
As a result of the attack on Ekweremadu, are you uncomfortable with the idea of traveling outside the country?
Why should I feel uncomfortable or afraid of travelling outside the country? It is also wrong to think that if they could attack a PDP member, it may be worse for some of us in the APC.
The Ruga issue has been a controversial one. Are you satisfied with the way Southeast governors and stakeholders have handled the policy.
It goes beyond the way they have handled the policy. The governors who are the chief executives of various states know that Ruga is not compulsory. The choice of having Ruga is optional and government has come clear on that matter. Those who want it should go for it and get it. It is for the chief executives of our various states to liaise with the State Assemblies and those we elected to represent us to look at our interest. If we think that it is okay with us, we can pass it and go for it, otherwise, we stop it. It is optional not compulsory that we must do it.
Are you comfortable with the suggestion by the governor of Kaduna that APC may sacrifice zoning in the 2023 presidency?
I don’t want to think about 2023 now because it is still a very long time. The reality is that we will cross the bridge when we get to the river. If the Southeast wants the presidency of Nigeria, we must work for it. Power is not given, it is taken. We work for it by consultation, uniting ourselves together, identifying the need and our desire to get it. Though it looks as if we don’t have an Igbo political figure to coordinate our affairs however at the appointed time, God will speak. Our biggest problem is excluding God out of this equations and calculations. I am one person who believes that God’s will must be done and if it is His will, nobody can stop it.
What is your impression on the embarrassment the 80 internet fraudsters of Igbo extraction gave to the region?
It is not about their ethnic nationalities because if you look at it that way, what about the names on those on the death list in Saudi Arabia over drugs? The point is that fraud is fraud just as drug dealing is drug dealing while crime is crime. It is not about tribe or religion. Nigerians are not fraudulent and that we have fraudulent people does not make every Nigerian a fraudster. The point here is that I feel embarrassed that Nigerians are getting involved in things that should not be, especially outside this country because it paints a lot of negative picture on every Nigerian. It dents the integrity of our green passport. I feel embarrassed as a Nigerian not as an Igboman. Crime is crime and it has no ethnic or religious coloration.
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