The Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Uchenna Okogbuo, has accused Nigerian politicians of strangulating the country’s democracy.
Okogbuo said that politicians had continued to work against the well-being of the country inspite of the efforts and sacrifices being made by the ordinary citizens to sustain it.
The APGA chieftain stated this in an interview with our correspondent against the backdrop of the country’s celebration of the May 29 Democracy Day at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, the Imo State capital.
He noted that the various negative antics displayed by politicians and political office holders had compounded the situation in virtually all spheres of life for the ordinary people.
“Our democracy remains where the winner takes all. You must have all the money to be eligible to contest election. Political parties substitute popular candidates with mediocrities; the judiciary denies winners justice,” he said.
According to him, with these challenges, the country had been finding it difficult to move ahead with other nations, despite the human and natural resources at its disposal.
Okogbuo said it was regrettable that politicians had failed to sustain the institutions, infrastructure and establishments that drove the country’s economy before the oil boom.
“Where are such legacies as train services, international conglomerates such as UAC, Kingsway, A. J. Seaward, quality social services and amenities, which the country inherited from the colonialist?” he said.
The APGA chieftain, who expressed concern over the development, noted that rather than improve on the sorry situation of things in the country, successive administrations had continued to embark on white elephants and other non-existent projects to siphon resources.
Maintaining that APGA had answers to the various challenges facing the Nigerian nation, Okogbuo urged elected political office to take a cue from his party’s style of governance in Abambra State, where the government had delivered on its manifestoes and electioneering campaign promises.
“If only Nigerians will give us the opportunity to pilot the affairs of this country in 2019, we will make the needed difference, which they have been longing for over the years,” he said.
Speaking on the leadership crisis rocking the party at the national level, Okogbuo said Chief Martin Agboso, was foisted on APGA by some expelled members trying to cause confusion in the party.
“Dr. Victor Ike Oye is the national chairman of my party. To start with, to the best of my knowledge, Agboso is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and therefore cannot lay claim to being our chairman,” he maintained.
