What type(s) of political engagement(s) have you been involved after 2023
presidential election?
In the aftermath of APGA not winning the presidential election of 2023 the
post-mortem would be extensive. We may have failed to latch on to the Chinese
proverb that a journey of a thousand miles begin with a step. If APGA was built up
and sustained it would serve as a platform to bargain for political relevance and
inclusion.
His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC has been announced by INEC as the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria. As the face of
APGA in Nigeria, I have teamed up with some presidential candidates of other
political parties and we met with the National Chairman of APC His Excellency
Abdullahi Ganduje and communicated to him our support for the emergence of
President Tinubu. At that meeting we received some bad press. We did not go to
beg for positions. An APC man who was with us made some requests to the APC
National Chairman which did not concern us and it was erroneously and we hope
not mischievously put in the mouth of our spokesperson at the event by the
reporters from Vanguard Newspaper and it went viral. It does not detract from the
fact that IP AC earlier released a press interview insisting that presidential
candidates of opposition parties should be included in the ministerial list. Even
President Tinubu was the first to invite other presidential candidates to join him in
a government of National Unity. Such is life and politics especially. We maintain
our support for President Tinubu. We are looking forward to the next presidential
election in 2027.
Can you say precisely how you wound up your campaign office?
I emerged presidential candidate of APGA at the convention of 1/6/2022 at the
National Headquarters of APGA at Abuja. Let me use this opportunity to express
my sincere gratitude to Chief Dr. Victor Ike Oye, National Chairman of APGA at
that time.
There would be first a campaign, then a campaign office before you talk
about winding up the campaign office. There was no National Campaign Office.
APGA presidential campaign council was announced a few days to the flag off on
14/1/2023. Mark you the presidential election took place on 25/2/2023.
Complaints about lack of support from the party or from the APGA
government in Anambra State do not translate to money. It means to stand shoulder
to shoulder and fight for presidential election as it is done in other political parties
which was absent in APGA. The announced results which saw APGA scoring
votes in all States, and Local Government Areas of Nigeria was spearheaded by my
sole effort as no material or moral support whatsoever came from the party or
government. Later we hear them trumpeting of how APGA scored votes across
Nigeria without giving the credit to Peter Umeadi.
In terms of politics, what possibilities are opened to you going forward?
My aim is to open doors for the people of South East especially to reintegrate
seamlessly into the Nigerian political milieu. In 2023 APGA presented us a chance
to gamer votes across Nigeria to enable us sit on the National table and negotiate power for the South East but we abandoned the opportunity. In election year of
2003 Dim Chukwuemeka. OdumegwuOjukwu became the presidential candidate
of APGA and lost the election. He would be presidential candidate again in 2007
and lost. I agree with one submission written in 2021 that Ojukwu scored a victory
even in the two electoral defeats in those years as his participation showed his
manifest belief in a united Nigeria. I came to the same conclusion when Ojukwu on
June 18, 1982 returned from exile by the magnanimity of President Shehu Shagari,
the support of Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya, Alhaji Aminu Kano, Dr.
ChubaOkadigbo and many others. Against popular expectations his motorcade did
not stop at Oji River where Biafran war veterans were waiting for their returning
war time commander but Ojukwu sped past then, making a bold, emphatic and
historic statement that the era of the lost war had gone and gone for good.
At the only ImeObi Ohaneze meeting I attended at Enugu, the late President
of Ohaneze Ambassador Professor George Obiozor and my humble self warmed
up to each other. He will bring me to the podium to peak. I pointed out that for the
Igbo people it was politically inexpedient to put all our eggs in the basket. At Prof.
Obiozor’s demise I issued a condolence message to his family where I stated that
he was the only one in a long time who had a correct grasp of issues facing the
Igbo nation. In his own words he avoided the blame game. He stood for the Igbo to
take their destiny in their hands and find their way back into the Nigerian polity.
Since I joined APGA in 2019, I appealed to the South East to negotiate
political power with other geopolitical zones. At the flag off of my presidential
campaign at Ekwueme Square Awka on 14/1/2023 I said inter alia, “it is my
pleasure to address you today as the presidential candidate of APGA. I present
myself to you formally today and say that since I was made a candidate in June, I
have traversed all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. As you can see visibly here
all of Nigeria are represented. I am running under APGA, I am strong, I am bold, I
am resilient, I am sincere. In fact I am the most sincere presidential candidate in
Nigeria. You have a strong man in the lead. The strong man is Professor Peter
Umeadi. Vote Professor Peter Umeadi for President.”
It is generally agreed that APGA presidential candidate in 2023 took the
party to the next level.
With the APGA mantle I am the face of APGA in Nigeria. As APGA presidential candidate in 2023 I shall remain in that position until the next presidential election in 2027.
Tell us about the team that worked with you, how do you relate with them now ?
I joined APGA at my home town NriWard 1 on 20/3/2019. 1 announced
from day one that I would run for office of President of Federal Republic of
Nigeria. In March 2020 I hosted 3 women each from the 179 communities in
Anambra State. They told me it was the first time women were so recognized in
Anambra State since politics began in 1999. Each of the women who came in their
Sunday best to the sumptuous event went home with my posters which thereafter
appeared in all the villages in Anambra State in one fell swoop.
Such were the grassroots preparation for someone who was building his
political structures form the scratch. I moved on to the national stage and
made personal contacts with the Chairmen of APGA in the 36 states and FCT. This
move was an immediate hit as I was told again it was the first time a Presidential
aspirant would make such contacts. They made it possible for me to clinch the
presidential ticket and remained the bulwark of my support till the end.
Over 200 candidates of APGA spread across Nigeria were on platforms with
me. They assisted in no small measure to the APGA presence nationwide. The
platforms are still on.
I sincerely thank all of them for their steadfast support in the past. I do not
have any doubts that if I have the opportunity to be presented for service of Nigeria
in the future that they would rally round me as they did in the past.
Would you consider pursuing the realization of some aspects of your manifesto within a limited jurisdiction as a private citizen?
Manifesto is a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives or views
of its issuer. A political manifesto therefore implies the acquisition of a platform
from which the views of the issuer could be implemented. I was running to win and
to reposition Nigeria in 4 years. It is arduous and herculean for a politician to bring
about these intentions without the apparatus of the State. Now the philosophy
which the Peter Umeadi Manifesto espoused, begin with the triple banner of Rule
of Law, Separation of Powers and Due Process and rests squarely on Social
Progress. Nigerians are entitled to sound education, affordable healthcare, food on
the table, security of life and property and the ability to achieve their life ambitions
in a setting presenting a level playing field and predetermined standards.
In any capacity I find the opportunity I would impress it on government to
consider the issues I have raised which include true federalism, education, sports
and culture, healthcare delivery, women, youth, children and disabled, knowledge
economy, agricultural revolution, human security, transport and communication,
international relations, environmental impact assessment and Census in Nigeria.
In one aspect I am glad that President Tinubu agree with my strategies for
Agricultural Revolution when I say that open grazing should be abolished.
Ranching should be encouraged leading to beef and diary production for domestic
consumption and export. I also hit on that point at the Arise News Presidential
Town Hall Series 2 on November 13th2022 at Transcorp Hilton Abuja.
Did you have to deal with the issue of trust during the campaign? How
did you get around it?
International IDEA, state that money is a necessary component of
any democracy……..However If not effectively regulated, it can undermine the
integrity of political processes and institutions and jeopardize the quality of
democracy. In Nigeria the element of placing trust on the electoral leaning have
been eroded by money and coercion. The electorates are coerced with money,
religion and tribalism. Their vulnerability is exploited and their consent stolen. It
does not matter which coercion one is practicing as coercion by any means is as
bad as the other. We beat our chest that we scored votes for APGA in every Local
Government Area in Nigeria. Especially viewed from the background that APGA
did not provide polling agents in the polling stations nationwide, and did not
disburse any funds to any agents for the presidential election across Nigeria. APGA
did not send any agent to the National Collation Center for the Presidential
Election.
Can you share an example of when your opinion contrasted with that of your team members on any issues. How did you deal with it?
I remember our anxiety when elections was drawing near and the Presidential
Campaign Council was not announced. There was no indication for a flag off.
Suggestions came about drawing up a budget. I was for a restricted budget. The
members claimed on good record that the National Headquarters expected the
committee to work on every aspect as they did intend to do anything else
afterwards. I succumbed to their pressure. We worked out a budget using the
benchmark for political spending provided for in the Electoral Act and submitted to
the National Chairman. Nothing came out of it. The budget head for presidential
campaign flag off was implemented by the APGA but the word “Presidential” was
eliminated as it was tagged National Campaign Flag Off.
