Michael Nnachi is the current Senator for the Ebonyi South Senatorial Zone, and he will run in the 2023 elections against incumbent Governor David Umahi, Linus Okorie, and Ifeanyi Eleje, among others. He speaks with EDWARD NNACHI, about part-time legislature, his performance, local government system, and other issues
Under Umahi’s administration, the local government system is allegedly a shadow of itself in the state, and development at the council level is being stifled. Do you mind suggesting how to once more make LG administration viable again in the state?
There have been Supreme Court judgments affirming the independence and autonomy of the LGAs as the third tier of government and not an appendage of the state governors. But governors who are so fixated on the expansion of their power frontiers don’t want to hear that. The way to end such impunity in Ebonyi is for the people to vote out any candidate of the APC planted to be a surrogate. Ebonyi people should take a stand and return the LGAs to their constitutional standing and honour by making sure Ebonyi, the traditional PDP state, remains such after Umahi leaves office. Let us make it happen on March 11, 2023, when the state will choose its next governor.
What’s your thought on part-time legislature for House of Assembly members, members of the House of Representatives, and senators in the country, as being canvassed in some quarters?
So far, I can’t recall any group or groups bringing such a position as a bill to the National Assembly to effect any such change. Whenever we get such a bill, I am sure we will consider it on its merits.
Before going to the Senate, I had been an accomplished quantity surveyor of repute. I have been in private practise since after my National Youth Service and I’m a core person in the private sector, which also applies to many NASS members. For me, I am not afraid of becoming a part-time National Assembly legislator if that is what Nigerians want, so long as it is backed by law. The NASS doesn’t belong to anybody, but to Nigeria. Therefore, whatever Nigerians want rules the day.
Umahi recently said the PDP has no structure in Ebonyi State. Aren’t you worried about the incumbency factor of the Umahi-APC?
What sets structure apart from people? Ebonyi PDP has the people of Ebonyi because it is the only party that can free them from their current enslavement.
Again, did Umahi win any election on any APC structure? If PDP has no structure, how did he and the rest who migrated to APC get to power? Anyone who says that is like a child who claims his parents did not exist.
Since 1999, Ebonyi has been a PDP state. It was the PDP that made him and his people move over to the APC. Everything they boast of today is attributable to the PDP. They would have no personality to scorn the party (PDP) that made them.
There have been reports about the damage or destruction of billboards and campaign materials of opposition politicians in the state by agents of the state government. How does this make you feel?
It makes me and the rest of Nigerians confirm that the government in Ebonyi runs a dictatorship where opposition politics has become a crime. It is clear and unambiguous that Umahi and his followers are the most intolerant political breeds and have the wrong democratic culture.
It appears the ban on political campaigns in schools, markets, parks, and other public places by the Umahi government is taking its toll on opposition elements in the state, as there seems to be a lull on their part, even to the point of not campaigning. Is it true the ban is the reason why your party (the PDP) has not commenced campaigns in the state?
That is not a major problem. There are many ways to reach the electorate. We are not crude or violent and would not resort to brigandage or confronting them. This wrong style of politics will expire on May 29, 2023.
After the election, the governor becomes a lame duck in office. He can ban anything he wants to ban, but the people of Ebonyi that love their freedom from his “cell” will still side-step those bans and vote PDP.
Some analysts say the Ebonyi Shopping Mall is a “white elephant” project, questioning its economic benefits for the masses. What’s your take on this, sir?
First of all, who owns that mall? The EFCC will resolve that soon. It is a matter of six months, and the world will know the facts. That will be the starting point.
Umahi has repeatedly alleged that he personally drafted you to become a senator and that without him you couldn’t have been one. For the first time, tell Nigerians what happened.
I only laugh whenever I hear that.
First of all, Umahi is not Nnamdi Azikiwe, who won independence for Nigeria and paved the way for us to engage in politics to lead our country. He is not Herbert Macaulay, who formed the first political party in Nigeria. He was not on the team that created the PDP in 1998.
So, what caused this arrogance? I was in politics long before I met or knew him. If Umahi or anyone claims to have made me, and I would not have been without him, he should have picked an illiterate wheelbarrow pusher in the market and made him or her senator. If Umahi can take credit for making me, which is still not right, he possibly took interest in me because he saw qualities in me that impressed him. I was a made-man by God’s grace before I met Umahi. I had a glowing professional practice, which he can never deny. People who were governors before him brought him to be the state PDP chairman and created the opportunity to make him a deputy governor. They staked their confidence and resources on making him governor. Or did he make himself all those? If people made him, why is it news that he made someone else? And to those that made Umahi, including Governor Martin Elechi, did he ever show them any appreciation?
God made Umahi what he is by using people. God made me a senator, also using people.
What are your plans for Ebonyi South to change the rising unemployment narrative in the zone if you are re-elected senator?
First of all, I am a legislator, and my prime constitutional role is to make laws for a better Nigeria. Nigeria’s uniqueness necessitates that every elected or appointed public official contribute to the development of the society in ways other than through lawmaking.
I place it on record that the peculiar nature of job scarcity makes it impossible to cancel out that pain overnight. It would take concerted and sustained effort to overcome unemployment. But that doesn’t mean we should all stand around doing nothing. That is why I have played various roles in making sure that the people of my senatorial district are not left out in the effort to keep the younger ones gainfully busy. With the job openings known to me and my push, I know I have created the opportunity for over 20 of our younger ones to get employed in government agencies.
Next to that, I pushed so hard to ensure that the College of Education allocated to the state by the federal government is located in my zone. That college in Isu, Onicha LGA, is a pool for employment, and with the local content quota and policy, hundreds of people from my constituency will be employed here by the time it comes into optimal operation. These will range from top professionals to the lowest-paid unskilled workers.
There are allegations that you have not done well since you came on board. What is your reaction?
I am happy you describe the position as an allegation. It is a mere allegation and should always remain so because the facts on the ground are totally at variance with such allegations. Meanwhile, whoever makes the claim is not abreast of the reality on the ground in my constituency. There is not one of the five councils in my constituency that I have not impacted positively.
No leader does everything or provides everything the people need, but on a general scale, there is no senator that ever represented Ebonyi South, and given the peculiarities Nigeria faces, that did as much as myself in four years. I say this and wait to be challenged. All the LGAs bear me witness that I didn’t leave out any, not with the “wars” I fought in Abuja, even against Governor Umahi, who wanted the new College of Education allocated to the state somewhere, to make sure that it came to Onicha. Will the LGA ever deny my impact? It is not possible because they are aware of my insistence that made that possible. I have constructed roads, provided water, healthcare facilities, provided light, empowered people in skill acquisition, and much more.
Regarding road infrastructure, I attracted and completed the Iyi Onuu road Itim Edda, Isu Amanator road, Isu Onicha, Amaeze-Amaeke road Ishiagu, Ivo LGA, Nde Chima road Amoso Edda, Iyi Offia road Itim Edda, and Ugwuegu road Afikpo. We made a credible and verifiable impact in ensuring that the construction of the Owutu-Oso federal road is not dropped by getting budgetary allocation for it. The work is still on right now. Construction is still ongoing on the Iyi Onuu road in Ishiagu, Ivo LGA.
