By National Newsblast
Eighteen hours after Zenith Labour Party’s shock landslide victory in fifteen out of the seventeen local government areas of Abia State at the Chairmanship and Councillorship polls held on Saturday 2nd November, 2024, National Newsblast Newspaper cornered the National Chairman of the party, Barr. Dan Daberechukwu for an exclusive interview.Nwanyanwu, who founded the party in 2004 after dumping the Labour Party following attempts by Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu to hijack LP, made shocking revelations. Excerpts.
Q: What is your reaction to what happened at the Abia State Local Government Area elections held yesterday?
A: Well, the reports I am getting is that the election was peaceful, it was orderly and voters went and cast their votes and there were no skirmishes. The report I got from my State office is that the results have been released. We thank God that we have benefitted from that free, fair process and credible election.
Q: The belief in many political quarters is that finally, Zenith Labour Party now has a governor in Nigeria under Barr. Dan Nwanyanwu. How does that strike you?
A : I don’t know about that. His Excellency Governor Alex Otti is not a member of Zenith Labour Party. He has not approached us that he is coming to join our party and we have not spoken. In fact, we met for the first time after a long time during the burial of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu on Friday November 1st, 2024, a day before the election. That was when I had met him after the first time in a long time. He never indicated to me that he is coming. But if they want to come, they are free to come. But the truth is that I never spoke with him before this election and I never met him. I met him in the Cathedral of Saint Mathew in Ikeduru during the funeral of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu. We just extended pleasantries as I did with Governor Mbah, as I did with Governor Hope Uzodimma, as I did with Ganduje, as I did with Pius Anyim, with a lot of people, with Abaribe. That was where we met and no room to talk politics and everybody left after that event
Q: That comes across as quite interesting and curious because many people were and still are of the opinion that he must have discussed with you and decided to shift to your party for strategic reasons based on the litigations now bedeviling his party, Labour Party?
A: You see, entry into politics is free entry, free exit. No political party has the right to stop anybody from entering the party. But what you are coming there to do is a different matter. Take it to the bank. Governor Otti has not told me he is joining Zenith Labour Party And that is the truth as at now that I am talking to you.
Q: What is the possibility of a merger for a mega party as has been speculated all this while?
A: Nobody has approached my party for a merger. We are not talking about a merger. We felt next year, we start considering options for the 2027 elections. But as at now that I am talking to you, Zenith Labour Party is not in any merger arrangement Nobody has approached us and wea not talking with anybody yet.
Q: Don’t you think now is the right time to start such discussions? I recall that as early as August, 2012, the top five opposition parties got together and they agreed to work together and officially unveiled their platform, APC in February 2013 preparatory to the 2015 election when they unseated the then ruling party, PDP?
A: Yeah. It depends on options available. The year is gone. I am aware that a lot of people are talking. But I think that such a thing will intensify by next year. That will be about two years to the election which is enough time.
Q: What is your message to Nigerian political gladiators concerning what happened at the just concluded Abia State Local Government Area elections?
A: Not particularly what happened in Abia State. Nigerian political gladiators should play by the rules. They should not overheat the system. They should allow whoever is there to do his tenure from the Governor to the President to the Local Government Chairman. They should stop assuming or arrogating to themselves that they are all and all, they are God, they decide everything. No. It is the people. Democracy is about the people. Whoever the people choose, it is their choice. It is not something that you will have to impose like what is happening in Rivers State. Somebody is sitting somewhere behaving as if he is God because you helped somebody get into office. That is it. That is my advice. Let us play by the rules. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. That is the game of democracy.