Anambra guber: Ozigbo, Onunkwo promise to rebuild state

By Jude Opara, Abuja

The duo of Dr. Valentine Ozigbo and Dr. John Bosco Onunkwo during the week returned their nomination forms for the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election slated for April 5.

The two who are also vying to fly the party’s flag for the November 8 Anambra state governorship election rallied to return the forms ahead of the deadline of February 26.

In separate interviews with newsmen, the aspirants said the time has come for the state to be ‘delivered’ from the administration of the incumbent governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo whom they accused of having ran the state aground.

For Dr. Ozigbo, Governor Soludo has lost the confidence of the people, hence the need to vote him out to usher in an administration that will be people oriented.

He decried the rising spate of insecurity in state, insisting that the government has not done enough to stem the ugly tide.

On why he left his former party, the Labour Party (LP), Ozigbo said he decided to leave because the party has not been able to provide any reasonable leadership that would encourage people to support their aspiration.

He equally stated that his relationship with the Presidential candidate of the LP in 2023, Peter Obi is very much cordial despite the fact that he has left the LP.

While speaking on the issue of zoning, Ozigbo said while he believes in zoning, it must not be given attention more than competency and capacity to govern the state.

According to him, the zoning arrangement should be sustained because it encourages fairness, equity and harmony.

“I’m a believer in the zoning arrangement, but competency and capacity must not be sacrificed on the alter of zoning. Because I am a man who preachers fairness, if given the opportunity to serve, I will only be in office for one term since I come from the same zone with the incumbent governor who has already done one term”.

Also in his remarks, Dr. Onunkwo argued that he is the most experienced of all the aspirants because as a former local government chairman and chairman of the Anambra state chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), he knows what it takes to administer a state.

Onunkwo who is also an engineer argued that with his professional background, he will ensure that quality infrastructures were put on ground across the state.

He carpeted the administration of Prof

 Soludo saying it as failed woefully to even protect the people, adding that most of his high sounding campaign promises were never fulfilled.

“The administration of Prof. Soludo has shown that it takes more than academic qualifications to successfully govern a state, we have a professor in Anambra but the state is no more what it used to be. The man is simply sleeping while the state crumbles”.

Onunkwo therefore appealed to the APC to rise above any kind of sentiments and support him to win the ticket, promising to ensure that Anambra becomes part of the ruling party.