Explosive :Senator Margery Chuba Okadigbo In Trouble As Dubem Obaze Takes Over Her Seat In The Senate

Former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hon Dubem Obaze is Governor Willie Obiano's Man Friday. He is the Senator in the waiting for Anambra North Senatorial Zone under All progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). He spoke to odogwuemekaodogwu.com exclusively at Trig Point Hotel Nibo near Awka. Excerpts:

Your are the former commissioner for local government and chieftaincy maters, Anambra state, what is your latest position in government now?

(laughs) Well, the latest position will be the former this and the former that, and most of all I am an Anambra man, from Ogbaru local government area, a Nigerian, that want to see progress in our dear country.

odogwuemekaodogwu.com asks: The government you served officially just elapsed recently and some people go back to the farm and said is not like politics. Do you also have a farm land also?

I do, (laughs), am from Ogbaru, we all have farm lands, as a matter of fact, but am also still helping out politically whenever I can.

Is it because the governor is from your senatorial zone and you want to see him succeed? So that they wouldn’t laugh at the zone and said after all we gave them governorship and they didn’t succeed?

No, first he is the governor of Anambra state, two, he is from my zone and third, he is from my party (APGA) that by the Grace of God the party was able to produce a successful succession of governance in Anambra state for the first time.

There appears to be conflicts in almost all the communities in Anambra state and having being a strong pillar to stabilize the Obi’s administration.

 What will you advice the president General of communities to make sure that peace is giving a chance for Obiano’s administration to succeed?

Well, as you know, I just came back from given a public lecture to the president general of our communities. Among the things I discussed, were, peace and security, because without “peace” there will be no progress. Am not the serving commissioners for local government/SA on town union matters who will be in a better position to know what the issues are on ground. However, my advice, like I told them up there is that, were there is no peace, there can be progress, is the same thing for the state, if there is problem in communities in Anambra state, there problem in Anambra state, if there is problem in some states in Nigeria, there is problem in Nigeria.

odogwuemekaodogwu.com demands :On the security that Obiano is tackling headlong, do you think he is going to sustain?       

I believe he is going to sustained. I believe so, because if you know Chief Willie Obiano, you will know that he is somebody that can remain focused for a very long time. He is an accountant, also an auditor. You know auditors have the capacity to look at papers for months and audit it. So, I believe he can sustain that and it is also very important that he does because that’s the only way he will work.

During your tenure as commissioner, there was this arrangement with communities to act as informal fourth tier of government. What was the aim of government in doing that?

Well, it was get development to the grass root. Everything is local, every development is local but unfortunately our local government are not functioning the way they should. When I said that I mean national and not just in Anambra state, I think we have some of the best one that are functioning. The whole idea is to take development to the people directly and the local government is the people that has the capacity and capability to do that, because you can’t seat in Awka and know what is happening in all the communities in Anambra state. So, you better of dealing with the president general of these communities who will tell you what is happening there. If you use them to impact that development, it will be more sustainable and the people will have the sense of belonging, that it is their own, especially if they generate projects that government will do for them.

But it appears that their traditional rulers are uncomfortable, more at times, this unhealthy rival between the PG’s and traditional rulers. How were you able to resolve that issues?

Is by urging the president generals especially to as much as possible to carry the traditional rulers along, if you see most communities were there is peace, is were the respect that is due for the traditional rulers are giving to them.

Then, respect is reciprocal and the traditional rulers will also respect the president general and they will found it very easy to work with peace and togetherness. But the important thing is for the both of them to realize that it is for the good of the community, once they don’t personalize it, even if the both quarrel and as far as they are working for the progress of the community, there is noting to worry about but in most cases, if you look deeply, you will found out that somebody is trying to eat the community money or cheat them in whatever aspect of their personal interest.  

odogwuemekaodogwu.com further puts to him: Why did you choose to partner with the community leaders than councilors and local government chairman?

We are also working with them through the local government. But, you will found out that the councilors are not the most experience persons in the community. When you go to Anambra communities, you have retired Architect, Engineers, teachers and journalists, we have all kinds of quality people that are living in the villages and if you can tape into those people, most times they are ten times more experience than those councilors. So, if you get all of them to work together and get the result then it will bring back the success of Anambra local government system.

Does the present administration intend to adopt that approach?

I think with the continuation of the same government, I don’t think Chief Willie Obiano will do any they totally different from what Mr Peter Obi was doing, apart from adding the ones he intends to add, like oil and gas which was were Peter couldn’t work and again in agriculture which is the major thing but you know agriculture will be very successful only because Mr Peter Obi have done an elaborate network of roads and this is the second stage of it, also on security where Obi did the crown work and Chief Obiano is doing the sweeping and on and on.

On the confusion that trailed the local governments in Anambra state on the money they suppose to be getting, local government said they are receiving only 5 million from the 125 million whatever they suppose to be receiving every month and they are not part of the JAD. How do you proffer a solution/idea on how it was, when you are there? odogwuemekaodogwu.com queried.

I don’t think that will be correct. They said they are not part of JAC, No, we just formed a new local government joint account and chairmen are members. I am aware of that. So, there is a period of handover when they were talking about it. What happened there is that we have what we called consolidated salary, where all the salaries are paid together and have reduction for pension, gratuity and for other things that need to be done jointly. I am also aware that whatever is left we share it among the local government, using the law as it is, so it cannot be truth they only get 5 million naira.

On the confab?

No, I don’t agree that the local government should be scrapped. It needs strengthening but not scrap. If you can get quality people to become local government chairmen they must be some kind of control, supervision and over side function but not to scrap it, because if you take the Anambra state for example, most of the success of Obi’s administrations is in our communities light, water, roads into this communities, so, if you say you are scraping the local government is not in any way make any sense.

Another day, they will be talking about scraping the state and we will have a unitary government. We are talking of bringing government lower to the people, here in Anambra. There is a law we are trying to create, a fourth year of government and know if the town union will actually serve as a fourth year of government. So, when we are talking of brining government to the people, some people are talking of scraping the ones that is there? Will it be somebody that is Awka that will make decisions about Anambra west? It doesn’t go well or you will be here and know what is happening in Aniocha or Ogbaru? You can’t possibly do it. The man in Aniocha or Ihiala is better equipped to discuss and know what the problems in that area is and we promptly handle them. If what they need is more funding and if there is need for them to be funded, we will look into it and monitor the project.

What was your regrets being the former commissioner of Anambra state and why do you came back as a stakeholder?

I regret nothing. Am only thankful to God for giving me a great opportunity to serve. I have absolutely nothing to regret.

How were you able to manage town union issues?odogwuemekaodogwu.com demands further

A lot of questions, a lot of listening and calming down of peoples. Like I said during the lectures, I gave to ASATU members. Most of this problems can be solve with a phone call. It can be solved with a visit, can be solved with my brother, I am sorry. It can also be solved with my son don’t do this again. I told them that they are powerful but it takes a very powerful person to know that you are powerful and not use that power. Peter Obi did a lot of that, that’s why we have peace in Anambra today. He use to get out of the way for other people to pass and I will ask him, your excellence why would you do this? And He said, No, am still the governor, the fact that I left the road for somebody to cross does not stop me from being the governor. Is when they now come to my seat to sit down, that’s when you will know I can fight”. But other than that, there is peace is Anambra, he didn’t quarrel with anybody. He left successfully. So, managing those community then was the matter of listening to them, making phone calls when it is necessary and ensuring that some problems does not escalate into violence.

On wanted to be governor Obi’s successor and all of sudden the whole thing changed. How do you feel?

(laughs). Well, you know power belongs to God and He also chooses whoever he wants. That is my take on that. However, our party choose chief Willie Obiano, after all the series of issues and problems and we are thankful to God that He allowed us to have an APGA candidate as governor of Anambra state as a successor of His excellence governor Peter Obi. I can assure you that if it wasn’t manage well in the last minute, it would be another story.

Victor Umeh and Maxi Okwu which way do we go?odogwuemekaodogwu.com finds out

Am not competent to comment on that but let me tell you that APGA is one united family we cannot be separated. You know one time in Imo state they said they have APGA- PDD, APGA – APGA, they have APGA –LABOUR but the unifying factor is that, there is an APGA in all of them. What I see in Anambra state is that, there is some of us, that are APGA heart and APGA is bigger than any one person, we will stand one united and indivisible party.

Anambra governor, SSG and Speaker is from Anambra North, are you comfortable with that?

Let me tell you that our governor is of course dully elected. The speaker has been the speaker for two years before the current governor was elected and it was not coincidence. Peter was governor for four years (central), Rtd Hon. Anayo Nnebe my good friend was speaker for four years and he is also from central. So, the speaker does not have any problem because she was elected before we knew that governor will come from Anambra north. So, you won’t say because the governor came from North that you going to throw her away. The SSG who happens to be my elder brother, he was the number three man in the United Nations. He is the most competent administrator we can afford. He took a cut of his 60% to 70% of his salary to serve in Anambra state and if you can get that kind of person, I don’t care were that person comes from, at some points, we must choose competent, integrity and choose quality over quantity. If there is a better person to serve as SSG, is not necessary to start checking if the person is from West, North, South and East. He is the best person for now.     

Anambra North senatorial zone, do you think the zone has been represented very well in the senate, asks odogwuemekaodogwu.com?

Yes, we have our sister there Senator Margret Okadigbo. She has done well. However, I believe APGA producing a senator will do a lot whole better. Look at our people in the National Assembly, they are doing fantastically well, Hon. Uche Ekwunife, Hon. Afam Ogene and Chris Azubogu, all of them are doing well, they are serving very well. You can’t say that to other parties that are representing Anambra state in particular. We have fantastic senator in other places like the senate president, David mark, we thank God we have him at this time he is helping Mr President to stabilize things. We have Aminu Tambuwal, a young man doing very well.

Are you going to contest for senate in 2015 election?

Am I contesting for senate 2015? (laughs). You see, such thing requires a lot of consultation. It requires talking to your leaders. It requires talking to people. The only thing I will tell you is that my party has zoned the senatorial seat to my zone, which is Onitsha and Ogbaru axis.

Are you under pressure to context? odogwuemekaodogwu.com concluded

I am not under any pressure but I will consult my people first (laughs….)

Picture of Dubem and Okadigbo