I Want To Face The Boy One On One To Teach Him What His Dad Didn’t Tell Him

Joe Igbokwe, the Publicuty Secretary of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Lagos State has been with the progressive over the years especially in Lagos.He has been a politician who believes in the unity of Nigeria and has been making strong presence in Lagos politics despite being an Igbo man. In an interview with Integrity Reporters’ ADEWALE OGUNNIRAN, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka Engineering graduate said he is ready to face Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB in a debate.

Who is Joe Igbokwe?

He is an Engineer from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and the Publicity Secretary of Lagos chapter of All Progressive Congress (APC).

What is your view about the crisis in your party APC?

You see our party is a very big party and the bigger it becomes, the bigger the problems especially when you know that we are the only party dominant in Lagos, as I speak to you now, we don’t have any strong opposition in Lagos. You can imagine how can a party handle a situation when when you have 20 to 25 people vying for the counsellorship or chairmanship position in a election in Lagos. We have a way of managing our election or how to pick candidates because we have a way of rewarding people who are committed to the party and have laboured for the party. If you don’t have an Eagle eye to look beyond the crowd to search for theose people, they may not be able to get up. These people have worked for the party without food, we bring them up to compensate them. Another thing is that there are people who have been in the local government for years, they decide who will go to the house of Reps from their house. The leadership will say let’s leave those people and choose another people, those people will become unhappy, that is what is happening. And you know in Lagos it is not everybody that you can trust with the key of Lagos state treasure, am not calling anybody a thief but there are people that when you work with a crowd you would be able to fish out those who you can trust. Holistically, the way we have been picking candidates have worked for us otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten former Governor, Babatunde Fashola, incumbent Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and others, you have to look beyond the crowd to get these people, if you put it for sale people will buy it, even those who would not deliver. So sometimes we ignore people with their money. However sometimes we can make mistakes but we have the capacity to correct these mistakes, nobody is an island, nobody knows it all.

Why can’t your party use conflict resolution method rather than washing your dirty linen in public as regards what is happening among party faithfuls in Mushin area, where Muiz Banire was said to have been expel from the party?

Don’t ever think we would not have internal crisis to settle. Once you have a party that is as big as APC, issues will continue to manifest. The ability to resolve all these controversies makes APC a strong political party.

Do you think what APC Mushin did to Banire was justifiable, though it has been upturned by the national body?

Sometimes you cannot hide it but we will resolve it.

You agreed on your facebook page recently that you were ready to throw your hat in the ring for a debate with Nnamdi Kanu, leader of agitator for the creation of Biafra (IPOB) but with conditions.Why?

The only condition was that we are going to do it on a neutral ground due to the touts that are following him, those people have no sense. I want to face the small boy one on one to teach him what his father did not tell him. When Enugu was caved out of Anambra, they threw all Enugu civil servants away but in Lagos here, they don’t know where you are coming from, I can’t work with them, We are not one, We are republican in nature. As for Ebonyi state, anytime there is an issue in the National Assembly they would join the north. In Abia state, Orji sacked all the civil servants from Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi and Enugu, these are the people that will go and form a nation. Have you talk about the power struggle even in my family. And if anybody is talking about Biafra and Anambra people who controls the resources in Igboland have not spoken, who are the ones that will suffer because you are not going to take the house owned by Anambra people to the East. We are the one that will suffer because we are the investors. The money in Anambra state you don’t have it Ebonyi and the four states put together. We have the business men, we have the investors. If we have 1000 millioniares in Igboland, there is the likelihood that 900 would be from Anambra. All the leaders that we have had are from there. Anambra is a power house, they have not consulted us. South East is too small for us, Nigeria provides a big place for us to operate. How can you leave Atlantic ocean where you catch big fish and you want to go to a small pond.