The Labour Party (LP) candidate in the 2023 governorship election in Imo State, Dr. Charles Ugomuoh, has declared that the 2027 presidential election would be a tough one for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) if former LP presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, emerges presidential candidate of the coalition’s African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Ugomuoh, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), made the declaration during an interview with some select journalists recently.
Responding to the attacks on Obi for allegedly leaving the LP, Ogumuoh said it was within his right to choose whichever party he wants to belong to even though the former Anambra state governor has not left the LP.
“Those who are saying that Obi has gone from one party to the other have no case because he has that right. The constitution and politics still allow that movement,” he stated.
Commenting on the problem that has bedevilled the LP, he said Obi’s inroad into the party brought it to national limelight such that the top hierarchy of the party has refused to accept the new development.
“The advent of Obi transformed the LP. He became a shining star in the party and that is what is still bothering the party. The top hierarchy of the party has tasted the pie and they now find it difficult to abide by the rules and regulations of the party and even the constitution of the party. When their tenure expired, they went and tried to make a convention to put themselves up in the system,” he stated.
He also commended the Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, for increasing the minimum wage of the state civil servants to N104,000 from the national minimum wage of N70,000, insisting that it was sustainable.
Responding to those who argued that the increment was not sustainable, he said the Imo State governor must have done his home work very well before taking the step, even as he urged the governor to ensure that it is not just another political statement but a promise that must come to fulfilment.
“For Uzodimma to have come to the point of increasing the minimum wage to N104,000, he must have done his homework and the issue of sustainability shouldn’t come in. He has two years to go, so he has two years to operate it. If he is putting that on the table, it’s good and he should be encouraged.
“Honestly speaking, it’s magnanimous enough that he’s putting that on the table, but the important thing is that the people should be paid. So, we have one year and a second year to see if he can.
“But mind you, the level of our currency, even after a year or two, is supposed to go higher, because we need a living wage for the people. You can’t tell me with the increased budgetary allocations here and there, that it is not sustainable. It’s sustainable,” he stated.
He lamented that politicians have weaponised poverty against the citizenry such that voters were more interested in the peanuts and crumbs from the politicians’ table than their future. “People must know that service matters more than the peanuts they get as stomach infrastructure today because you have children that will grow. You have to build infrastructure. You have to build human capital development. Your schools have to be equipped. Your hospitals have to be equipped,” he stated.
He also stressed that the issue of irregular migration or ‘japa’ syndrome would fizzle out and the people’s livelihood would improve once leaders think about the people they lead.
Ogumuoh said: “The issue of ‘japa’ syndrome is wrong. Things need to be done the right way. If things are done the right way, and there are positions for people, there is employment for people, people are sure of getting a job after graduation and they are sure of their daily bread, things will change. People will not become so hungry and beggarly.”
