Why I am Contesting for Anambra South Senatorial ----Dr Ernest Ndukwe, former NCC Boss

Dr Ernest Ndukwe is not strange to Nigerians. For 10 years from 2001, he was in the saddle as Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Communica­tions Commission (NCC) and made a good launch of the nation into mobile telephony, which has grown in leaps, boosting the nation’s economy.

Now, he is on the political turf, wearing the jersey of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with his eyes on the Anambra South senatorial seat in the next month’s general elections. In this chat, Dr Ndukwe bares his mind on why he chose to run for Senate and what his constituents and the nation should expect from a Senator Ernest Ndukwe.

Excerpts:

You served in the PDP govern­ment as Vice Chairman of the Ni­geria Communications Commis­sion (NCC). What informs your choice of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as plat­form for the Anambra South Sena­torial contest?

The issue is that I still have a very good relationship with the president and you know APGA has its presiden­tial candidate as Jonathan; so, there is actually a lot of synergy there. We don’t have a presidential candidate. So we don’t have a problem as such because there had been consultations here and there. I must confess that I have always had passion for APGA for a very long time. I must confess that my running for the Senate is not something that happened all of a sud­den. I have given a deep thought to it. In fact, you can trace it back to about 10 years ago when I started thinking about running for a political office. So, it is not just something that hap­pened all of a sudden. That is why when people ask me what are you do­ing, I tell them that I am enjoying my­self very much because I have learnt a lot of geography and I have covered territories that I have not covered be­fore. I have related with the people at the grassroots. I have also had a feel about the needs of the people and the exact situations on ground with respect to various amenities, infra­structure deficiencies and things like that. So, it’s a very big training pro­gramme even for me during this elec­tioneering process that we’re able to appreciate the true situation of things in our country. That has even fired me more to be anxious to be part of mak­ing a change in our country.

You’re running the election against one of the Uba brothers. How prepared are you for this con­test?

Let me first of all say that Andy Uba is somebody whom I have known for a long time. When I was in government, I used to relate with him one on one, so I can regard him as a friend. In fact, before I started the process, I actually visited him and told him that I would be joining the race, because since he is somebody I knew so well, I didn’t want him to know from outside that I am running for the Senate. So, I will like to say that it is something that he is fully aware of and I hope we are going to have a healthy competition. I was telling him that they have had two chances. You know his brother was a senator and he has been a sena­tor for one term. That maybe, they should leave this one for me this time so that we can have a change in the place. So, I suspect that it would be a contest that would be smooth and devoid of any problems.

You said you want to effect a change. What kind of change should the people be expecting from you?

For my people, first of all, they should expect a higher quality of representa­tion because today, I am not sure that the voice of the Anambra people is heard sufficiently in the Senate. It is important that we have the kind of representation that would make the average Anambra person proud.

Secondly, I come with a lot of cred­ibility behind me in terms of what I have done in the past. And because of that, Anambra people should ex­pect a performing senator that would help in solving a lot of problems that are peculiar to that part of the country. And, of course, there are is­sues of youth empowerment, which is a very strong one I want to focus on. When you have a state govern­ment, you also need quality people in Abuja to be able to help make sure that those things that are of interest to the state are attracted to that part of the country. Because of my reach and contacts, over the years, I think I will be in a better position to attract such. And when you talk about qual­ity representation, you are also talk­ing about making the right laws and making sure that the average person is able to achieve what he wants to achieve in terms of seeing to the de­velopment of that part of the country. I will also encourage the participation of women in what we are doing. In my place, women actually vote men than the men in terms of standing out to come out and vote.

Our place is also full of young, able-bodied and strong people. It is a very strong entrepreneurial environment. The average person in Anambra State is a businessman. So, I will also do a lot in terms of promoting entrepre­neurship. I was thinking that estab­lishment of business schools would be useful. Skills acquisition centres would also be critical because in Ni­geria today, it is surprising that for some basic things like laying of tiles, putting POP, sometimes we depend on artisans from Benin Republic, and other places. I think if we devote time to put this in place, we might be able to do something for our people.

Running for election costs money. What is your strategy for funding your election?

You see, part of having the goodwill of people is to see that people are ac­tually ready to support you. I have ac­tually got some very encouraging sup­port from the people of Anambra and I must say that even last Thursday night, I was at a function and some­body who is actually from Ogun State told me that he would support my election because he felt that it is peo­ple like me they need in the Senate. I have heard tremendous goodwill and support, even financial support from various people to run this election. I have no doubt that I will be able to do it without any problem.

You appear to be very optimistic about us doing things the right way. But in the Senate you will be in the midst of over 100. You may be the only one talking about change. How would you make the difference?

I would say that the way God has designed this world; I’m not likely to be the only voice. I think it was Elijah in the Bible that was boasting that he was the only one that hadn’t worshiped the false god, Baal. God reminded him that there are over a thousand people in that community that had not worshipped Baal. I sus­pect that when I get to the Senate, I will have people of like minds and even if I have to help galvanize them into a strong group that would be able to make a change, I will do that. I be­lieve that looking at the candidates that I have seen going to the Senate this year, I can notice that there are a few people of like minds that, walking together, we will be able to do some­thing good for the country.

This is not saying that in the past that there hadn’t been good people. One has to also acknowledge that there are some brilliant people that have passed through the Senate and have contributed well to the development of the Nigerian Senate. But there is no doubt that a lot of work still needs to be done and we have to work with such minds to make sure that all is well.

Interview by Ayo Alonge