The member-elect for Ogbaru Federal Constituency in Anambra State, Afam Ogene, who is a member of the Labour Party, tells IKENNA OBIANERI about his journey to victory, how he defeated a three-term member and his plans when the 10th National Assembly is inaugurated.
What motivated you to re-contest the House of Representatives seat?
I knew I had something to offer. I was a member of the House between 2011 and 2015, and when the opportunity came for me to present myself, I did. If you listened to the ‘New Nigeria’ message of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, when he left the Peoples Democratic Party, as someone who has worked with him when he was the governor of Anambra State –I was a member of the House then – I felt I should join him in pushing that narrative for us to redirect our country to the path of good governance. The only way I could spread the message was to take it to the people at the grass roots, and that inspired my interest to contest.
Many people believed Obi didn’t assist people to rise when he was governor and that his former aides didn’t even align with his ambition, what do you make of that?
That is not true, what people call discipleship in that context is making people godfathers, and Obi is not the kind of person that will make demands of people who follow him. If you look at his campaign, people who worked with him played effective roles, while some worked quietly.
You defeated an incumbent member who has served three terms, what do you think made you win?
I did not defeat him. Democracy is about choice and once you have more than one person running, then a choice will be made and one person is bound to win. In 2011, to the glory of God, I won an election which he participated in but he bounced back in 2015. This time, it has pleased God and the good people of Ogbaru to return me to the House of Representatives. So, it is nothing unusual.
Do you think the Obidient movement aided your victory because the All Progressives Grand Alliance is the dominant party in your state?
Of course, there are many positive outcomes from it. I won election in 2011 when there was no such movement, but that is not to take anything away from the movement. I was part of those who took Obi’s message upon themselves and I spread it in my little corner, so if the people bought into the message and rewarded us with votes, why not. The Obidient movement and its message helped a great deal in propelling us to victory. At the beginning, the talk was that we did not have structure or finances, but structure is not a building, it is people who believe in a cause. That was why till date, many weeks after the declaration of the presidential election result, the same people still hold on tenaciously to their belief that they voted for Obi as the president and they invest their hope in the judiciary.
What should your constituents expect to benefit from your representation?
Personally, I may not be able to do much, but as a member of the Labour Party, I can assure you that there will be a great change in the way we sponsor bills and motions in the House of Reps. I can assure you that with the number of people from the Labour Party, we will always stand on the side of the people and it will be a marked difference from what we have had in other Assemblies where it seemed we were running some kind of ‘get on the bandwagon’ democracy. This time round, we will speak as a caucus in the interest of the people. You can hold on to that and ask me in a few months if we had kept faith with that promise.
Your party is currently enmeshed in crisis, don’t you think this might affect you?
No, the Labour Party is not in crisis. We only have differences and it is a family affair, which is being resolved amicably.
What are the priority areas you will want to sponsor bills on?
Once inaugurated, you are representing your constituency, your state, your region and ultimately the Nigerian people. However, Ogbaru needs federal presence, like a higher institution. In terms of infrastructure, we have a huge challenge; going from Onitsha through Atani-Osamala-Ogbuigbele Road is the easiest and fastest route to get to Rivers State and the road construction was started by Peter Obi as governor, but unfortunately, the work remained where he stopped. He worked in collaboration with the Federal Government. That will be a priority project for me.
Your election was inconclusive and there had to be a supplementary election, why was that?
It’s always like that when you are trying to break into the circle of governance. The ‘establishment’ people will always resist such an attempt. In my first coming in 2011, I was the editor of a national magazine, so I didn’t have the war chest or political connection and I had never contested an election. The election also went into a supplementary election before I was eventually declared the winner. This time round, I was contesting against the candidate of the PDP, a third-timer, a very senior member in the House of Representatives, who of course, was well placed to win the election. Besides, the APC was the next behemoth and then the ruling party in my state, APGA. Since I left the party in 2014, it has not won any election in Ogbaru, so, this time round, the governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, and his team wanted to capture Ogbaru at all cost. I put the issues before the people and asked if we were going to allow ourselves to be ‘captured’ by the machinery of state. Those two factors played a huge role in dragging the election into a stalemate. In all, to God’s glory, we won.
Why is the Ogbaru constituency usually controversial during elections?
There are huge votes in Ogbaru. The Okpoko area, which is the urban area in Ogbaru, has a huge population and every politician will be interested in getting the votes. However, I am in talks with the candidates. We are brothers, and at the end of the day, the interest of the people is at stake. I am grateful to the APGA candidate; our conversations have been positive. Although people have the statutory right to seek redress at the tribunal, the position of the majority of the Ogbaru people is that they wish that we move on.
Is it true that the major political parties induced the voters for the supplementary election?
Yes, but my victory can only be to God. That is why we need strong legislation against vote-buying and it is one of the things I will be championing.
Many people see the legislature as posing a huge financial burden to the country, what do you make of calls for part-time legislature?
This debate has been ongoing. Remember that we have tried the parliamentary system before we started this presidential system, and the current presidential system does not give room for the part-time legislature people are craving. You can’t have your cake and eat it. If you run a part-time legislature under the current dispensation, before the Assembly convenes to look at certain issues, a president, depending on who is there, could take a decision that could put the country in crisis. Before the National Assembly convenes, there might be a problem. We should not cut off our nose to spite our face. We cannot run a presidential system with a part time legislature. Every country has its peculiarities.
Members-elect are jostling for the leadership positions, do you think it’s too early?
The Senate President and the Speaker are elected on the day of inauguration. Since people will not just walk into the Assembly and get elected, they must put themselves forward and there is nothing unusual about it. I believe Reps-elect and senators-elect must be allowed to elect their leaders. When you try to impose leaders on Assemblies, be it state or federal, it will cause dissatisfaction among members. So, I believe members who are interested in leadership positions must put themselves forward for scrutiny by their colleagues.
