Retired Major General Ijioma N. Ijioma has made it clear that he was ready to oust the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressive Congress, APC, out of Abia State in 2023 gubernatorial election.
Speaking to journalists at the official declaration and handover ceremony at the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, secretariat on Thursday, General Ijioma (rtd) stated that Abia State has lacked leadership since its creation while believing that a God-fearing and sincere leader will quench the thirst for Abians.
In a subtle jab, General Ijioma (rtd) made it clear that he was a democrat and rose to the rank of a Major General through hard work, sincerity and discipline not out of quota system or concession.
In this interview, General Ijioma (rtd) revealed why he was running for the office of the Governor of Abia State, what he intends to achieve and how he plans to resolve the challenges facing his political party, APGA.
Here’s the full interview;
As we are aware, I became a member of the All Progressive Grand Alliance on the 14th of January, 2022 at my ward. And according to the procedure and due process followed, the ward moved me to the Local Government on the 22nd of January. The Local Government, today, after liaison with the State Secretariat, scheduled today to hand me over to the State. That’s why we are here.
What attracted you to APGA?
It took me a series of consultations and devotional prayers for God’s guidance and direction before I settled for APGA. What attracted me to APGA is that my character is analogous to that of APGA in the sense that APGA is our party and we must identify with her.
Secondly, APGA remains the only political party not tainted or corrupted, not tested, APGA has not been in power in Abia State and so cannot be faulted. You know the PDP has been in power for the last 23 years. All the winds we’ve been all crying about was perpetrated by the PDP. I’m a man of character as the State Secretary said yesterday. I’m a man of principle and impeccable character so I believe that the party I will join must have character.
The procedures and principles of APGA agree with my principle and character.
What do you intend to achieve by joining APGA today?
I have made my intention known. I will vie for the APGA ticket in the primaries in June and God willing, I will pick that ticket and lead the party to the government house in 2023 as the Governor.
If you are elected as Governor, what would you do differently?
I would do everything differently than what is obtainable today. The hunger for leadership that Abia people are yearning for, I will fill that gap by providing sincere, honest and transparent leadership because all the problems we are having today are leadership deficits. Failure of leadership. If you have a sincere leader that is as God-fearing as I am, this State would change for the better.
Given your background as a military man, a former military man, can you say you’ve been re-integrated into the civilian because many people might be afraid of your background?
Yes.
As what we have at the centre of a President who is wobbling to accept democracy, won’t it be a replica of what we have at the centre?
There are differences in every individual. I rose to the rank of Major General on my merit. I’m not a quota system Major General. I’m a Major General that merited all my promotions from the second lieutenant to Major General and being the Igbo man that I am, I paid my dues to reach my rank, it wasn’t by concession. I’m one of the few officers from the South East that made it to the rank of Major General without missing any promotion from cadet days to the ladder of Major General. So many people don’t achieve that. That is the inculcation and embodiments of diligence, brilliance and discipline. I have retired from the Army six years ago. For the past six years, I’ve lived my life as a civilian. As most of you will learn while interacting with me, you will find out that the General you are hearing about is more democratic than Democrats.
Presently there are issues in the party, how do you intend to manage the situation to ensure that all APGA as a family comes under one umbrella?
I needed to know the challenges of APGA before I joined the political party. And that is what I got from all the consultations. I know there is a great need to rebuild the party and I’ve already started the rebuilding work starting from my work through the Local Government. They handed me over to the State and I’ll begin the rebuilding at the State level so I understand that there is an enormous challenge to bring this party together and that is what I’m working assiduously to achieve.
I’m a unifier. I’m a man of principle in life and anything I touch in life turns to gold. I’m a man with a Midas touch and that’s why I rose from poverty to the rank of Major General. My entry into APGA has started a ripple effect as many people who left the party have started coming back and many people who are frustrated in PDP are already coming to register with APGA. So the thing I’ve done in my personal life, the success, I will bring it to APGA.
There has been concerns about you nig having a political structure, being a new person in politics, how do you intend to kick against this attempt and get supporters to win if you emerge as the Party’s candidate?
That I do not have a political structure is misinformation. I didn’t start today to plan for this ambition. It may please you to know that I’m the founder of Ijiomah leadership and youth development association, ILAYDA. The office is at 49 Macaulay. That’s where I’ve been doing leadership training for youths and impacting them. It might interest you to know that I’ve 17 local government coordinators at ILAYDA and 3 zonal coordinators. All these people have entered into APGA and as I’ve joined APGA and they have accepted me. I’m going to take over the structure of APGA since I’m going to rebuild the party because the party has been somehow dormant as you have noted. But somebody like me is stepping in with sincerity, I don’t make empty promises. You are going to see a demonstration of my character at the end of this event.
If given the opportunity as the Governor of Abia State in 2023, in your first 100 days, what key achievements will Abians witness?
I think it will be too early for me to begin to tell you what I’ll do in my first 100 days in the office. I shouldn’t put the cards before the horse. When I get there, I will make a policy pronouncement to address the State. The address will contain a benchmark of what I intend to achieve and I can be measured with that benchmark.
In the South East, APC and PDP have dominated, how does your party intend to defeat this Goliath?
It is better to be underrated than overrated. The same way David defeated Goliath is the same way I’ll defeat and run those two parties out of this State.
