Veteran actor, Emeka Ike, recently announced his intention to contest a seat in the House of Representatives as the candidate of the Young Progressive Party for the Okigwe South Federal Constituency in Imo State in 2019.
He made this declaration on his Instagram page. Disclosing his campaign plans on his social media platform, Ike wrote, “Real leaders should step out to the centre stage; let’s sample the stuff you are made of. Not merely sharing money when you have no content.”
However, in a chat with PUNCH Correspondents, Emeka Ike noted that politics would never affect his acting career. He also talked about the changes he planned to bring to his constituency.
“I would like to add a presence in national issues; I would not want my constituency to be redundant. I would want to see areas where we can attract foreign investments. I want to see directives where we can include young people. I believe in grassroots politics.
“I believe there shouldn’t be anything called a village in the new world we live in right now; it depends on the kind of ministries you attract to the village,” he said.
He continued by stating the reason why he had made his intention known to the public.
“There is nothing to rush in life, everything happens in God’s time. It is all about telling the young men to come out,” he added.
Speaking to Saturday Beats about it, Ike, noted that he wanted to do his best for his people.
He said, “I was invited to represent my constituency, it is not just about me. I see it as putting in my best to serve my community better. I have always had leadership qualities and I have operated in leadership positions for a while, and it is all about human management.”
When asked if it was safe to refer to him as a former actor, Ike said he was still an actor. He also gave an insight into the secrets of his young and youthful looks despite his age.
He said, “I will still act good scripts when I see one; I just came back from a movie set in Kenya. Politics cannot affect my acting career. I take a lot of water and I don’t soak myself in alcohol and other things that could affect me on the inside. I function as a very smart person with so much energy. I don’t let anything weigh me down. Even when my school was shut down, the doctor checked me six months later and I was still okay. He was surprised that I didn’t have any chest pain.”