Chief David Onuoha is a chieftain of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and its senatorial candidate for Abia North Constituency in this year’s general election. In this interview with SUNNY NWANKWO, Onuoha who has just defected from the PDP explained why he left the party and his agenda for the people of Abia North, if elected to represent the constituency.
Why did you dump the PDP for APGA?
My reasons are very simple. As we all know, there is no internal democracy in the PDP; they don’t practice it. If the just-concluded primaries are anything to go by, we were promised a level-playing field and on the eve of the primaries, everything changed. Governor Theodore Orji gave instructions to the delegates, saying they should vote for a particular person. The returning officer was changed to favour the anointed candidate and it was obvious from everything that happened that there was no level-playing ground and that we were cheated. At that moment, I decided that I could not continue pretend that everything was right. That’s why I moved to APGA. I’m not the only one; other aspirants also moved to achieve that which we have set out in the first place to achieve and that is to bring leadership, innovation and change to a famished people.
What are your chances of winning, considering your opponents?
It is for the people to determine. As far as I am concerned, my opponents are no threat. You have to look at where somebody is coming from to tell where they are going to. You have to also look at peoples antecedents to know what they can do and what they cannot do. The PDP is hoping to rig this election; that’s the only way they can install their candidate and I don’t think that is going to be possible now. In a free and fair election, I’m the clear favourite; there is no way the PDP candidate can win.
What do you intend to do for the people of Abia North and the state at large?
It is about impacting positively on the lives of the people; bringing about dividends of democracy that the people can feel in their lives. I want to make sure that the people I represent will know that I am representing them; see that somebody is representing them, and feel that somebody is representing them. In 1995 when people were still sleeping, I had a vision; to bring about Bourdex telecoms and that outing changed the way business was done in the former eastern region. I impacted on the lives of our people then, by making it easier for them to communicate with their loved ones and business partners at home and abroad from the comfort of their homes. Remember that was the time they said telephone was not for the poor. People travelled from their locations to Lagos, just to make international calls. But, I broke that jinx by providing telephone to share their joy and their grief with their loved ones and to communicate with their business partners. So, it takes vision to be able to do anything.
I have a lot of things that I wish to do for Abia North to help impact on the lives of our people, in terms of job creation and making life more comfortable for them. That is part of what I have set out and hope to do for the people of Abia North as the Senator representing the area, by the grace of God.
What is your unique selling point?
I am coming from a private sector background. I am not your everyday politician. I am not one of your usual suspects and I want people to believe in me, invest in me and then watch to see what I can do.
Another thing is that my main opponent, Mao Ohabunwa of the PDP, has been there twice. You cannot point to anything that he has done. So, I think the people should consider trying another person; somebody with a different orientation. There is no harm in trying something new and I promise you that they will regret it.
I want people even many years after we have gone to say, once upon a time, there was a man called Bourdex. He came, did this and did that all in the interest of the people that he once led or represented.
