I Will Resign If Within 2 Years I Didn’t Fulfill 60% Of My Promises -Ceejay Ezebuiro

Sir Apostle Ceejay Henry Ezebuiro, is the candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) for the House of Representatives election in Ideato Federal Constituency. In this interview with GELE AGBAI on Tuesday July 7, he speaks about his aspiration to represent Ideato North/South Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, what he hopes to bring to the table, even before the poll, the conduct of the incumbent representative, etc

How do feel about the outcome of your party primaries and your emergence as candidate?

To God be the glory. I believe the NDC has selected through the primaries formidable candidates, our first eleven which I happen to be one of them. I’m the candidate of the party for the House of Representatives election in Ideato Federal Constituency. The primaries went smoothly but not without some hitches. That is what is expected of any political party. To God be all the glory. We are here to deliver on the mandate of the people.

Former Anambra State Governor His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi is the presidential flagbearer of your party. How do you see his emergence?

The records are there and the records speak for themselves. Mr. Peter Obi is a politician like no other. I don’t see him as a conventional politician like myself. He is a man that is using the political platforms to achieve his vision of a better Nigeria. My prayer is for the people to give him a chance. The rest will be testimonies. Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, his vice presidential candidate is a man who after leaving office as an active politician is still making waves. We have the best captain, who is Mr. Peter Obi, the best goalkeeper, who is Kwankwaso and myself, the best midfielder.

As the best midfielder, what is your message to the Ideato Nation?

Joy is coming. Like I said, I’m not in this race to win. I’m in it for the people to win because this is the mistake some politicians have been making. They want to win and when they win, it is a personalized affair. It is their winning. But when the people win, it is their winning and we are the ones that are being sent to represent them.

In other words, your victory at the poll will be the people’s victory

This is not an individualistic affair. That was why I said it is not my victory but their victory. The voice of the people is the voice of God. The people are going to win this time around. The people are going to be on the ballot. And I am going to serve as their chief servant. And without mincing words, we have been doing this as a private citizen. This time, we are going to do it collectively. We are going to achieve success collectively. That’s why I said joy is coming. I mean you saw what happened at the market a few minutes ago, the people are excited. When we did the primaries, it may interest you to know that I won over 95% of the votes cast. All the women voted for me. My opponents rarely got 5%. People spoke loudly from Ideato North to South. I scored over 1,300 votes. There was something about the primaries. The people hearing that Sir Ceejay was contesting trooped out and voted for me. A vote for me is a vote for the people. So the winning is not about me. If I am there to win alone then I’m a failure. I’m there for the people to win. And how will they win: by seeing the dividends of democracy; when they start seeing the good roads, infrastructure, human capital development
It’s very sad that to say that Ideato North and South is the hub of kidnapping in Imo State. It’s unheard-of. But sadly that is the reality we are facing now. What causes such? Unemployment, economic hardship. Most times, we focus on the state and federal, we forgot the state has representatives sent to attract federal presence.
We have a representative who has forgotten the functions of his office, who has taken activism to a negative level. At some point I was thinking that Ideato North and South had become part of Rivers State because he was defending Fubara while Fubara’s representative never talked about Fubara. He was busy canvassing whatever was happening in Rivers State. At a point I was asking have they created a new state; whether Ideato Federal Constituency was part of the new state? No. Money was speaking. Note I supported him because I felt being a young man, let’s encourage him. He spoke well and loudly. But there is time to keep quiet and work. After election, it is not time to make noise. It is time to bring all together. Like Dee Sam Mbakwe did. But we have a representative… I don’t know I said this campaign should be about issues. Look at our place, there are no roads, no electricity, no hospitals. I wanted to fix the maternity we have here, they sent me a threat letter, that it is a government facility, that I should steer clear. But I have lost an uncle who had an issue. Before they could rush him to Osina, he died. I lost a cousin who died at 40 because his only crime was relocating to the village. He died of same situation of getting him to Osina. We have a House member who instead of using the money meant for his constituency is hoarding it and has turned to Father Christmas. Go to churches, wedding ceremonies, he is Father Christmas. They will tell you Ugochinyere ‘nenye ego'(Ugochinyere gives cash). But have you seen any projects being done by Ugochinyere? It is sad to say I supported him. I spoke loudly for him. I believed in him but he has not just failed me, he has failed the people. And before Ugochinyere’s emergence, our area was better, a bit okay but now, it is worse.

If you win, are you saying you will change the narrative?

We are not going to wait till we win. In the next three months, come and see changes. We are not waiting till we win. Our winning is to attract investors, use the office or the platform to attract investors. I’m an industrialist, an employer of labour. I know what it takes. Investors want to know if they could trust you. Once they could trust you, they will come and invest but no investor will do so when we have an arrogant representative. In the next three months come and see the transformational changes in this community.

Kindly let us into those transformational changes to expect?

No. We have copy and paste politicians. I don’t want to give them expo. But I can assure you in two weeks time, I will unveil my manifesto. For the first time in the history of this country, I made a promise, failure to keep to the promise, 60% of my promise, I will resign. And in the manifesto, I signed my resignation letter in the event that I fail to keep to it.
There is something I have found out. No politician goes in with bad intentions but what is it that makes them to change. Look at Ikenga for instance. I’m no going to badmouth him. But I’m wondering what happened. Is it bad advisers? Is it poverty mentality? It is okay to be poor but when you have poverty mentality, you are cursed. But I can also tell you, we are also the cause, the problem. The electorate are the problem. When you allow a politician to pay you N15000 to cast your vote. Look at what happened in Ekiti State. A young lady was happily saying she got N15000 from the ruling party to vote and she was happily saying it. When a politician pays 1000 people N15000 each, when he gets into the office, he believes his money got him there, not his manifesto, not his good record or name. What will he do? He tries to recoup the money. Sometimes we are the architects of our problem. But we will change the narrative. Matthew 11:12 my favourite scripture says the kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent takes it by force. That demon we will drag it out by force. This is the time for the righteous man to get into power; a man that fears God; a man who knows he could sleep and not wake up; a man who knows he is answerable not only to the people but also to God. We need to elect men and women who fear God; not people that blackmail God with their emotions. That’s the only way we can change the system.

Registration of eligible persons so they could vote in the upcoming polls is ongoing. What is your advice to your constituents?

People are fed up. Let’s call a spade a spade. They don’t believe in this democracy. And we say this democracy is not nascent any longer. We need to tell people the truth. I told them that joy is coming, you need to register. This is your power. With your PVC, you will have your say and way.