From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja and Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki.
Ebonyi state indigenes, under the platform of Association of Ebonyi State Indigenes in the Diaspora (AESID) have kicked against zoning for the 2023 governorship election. They said competence and credibility should determine who emerged the next governor of the state and not zoning.
In a statement in Abuja, yesterday, by its president, Paschal Oluchukwu, the association implored Ebonyi indigenes to screen aspirants thoroughly and pick the one that had the capacity to handle the challenges facing the state.
It also urged Ebonyians to ignore “paid political permutators, jobbers and hatchets men misleading, misdirecting or misinforming Ebonyi people as they battle to choose a credible and competent leader who would take-over the baton as Governor David Umahi’s successor.”
“First, AESID wishes to assert that the number one criteria which we implore every Ebonyian and lover of our state to seek out in any intending aspirant or candidate is competence and credibility which would ultimately translate into such a leader’s capacity to reverse the numerous negative statistics and economic woes in our state. Much more than the zone of an aspirant, AESID would implore Ebonyi people to continue to study the records in and out of office of any contender and place same side-by-side with the prevailing challenges facing the state and seek out for only those who can reverse the negative indices. It is our firm believe that the economic prosperity of Ebonyi people is more important than the antiquated zoning of political positions that would not afford us to put our best foot forward as Umahi’s successor in 2023.