From Chidi Nnadi, Enugu
The governorship candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP) in the scheduled November 18 governorship election in Anambra State, Mr Osita Chidoka, on Tuesday night stormed the Enugu Sports Club with some of his supporters to seek support from members of the club.
Chidoka is the second candidate in the Anambra election after the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Tony Nwoye, who has taken his campaign to the club.
The former Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) boss told the club members that his state has not experienced real development due to poor leadership.
He lamented that the Anambra economy was driven by burial ceremonies, which he pointed out usually starts every Thursday and ends on Sunday, saying that the development has denied the state concrete economic plans that would have enabled the state to compete with others.
He, therefore, presented his economic blueprint to the club members, which he said would impact on the development of the state.
He claimed that since the state was created several years ago, the governors had carried on without addressing the core needs of the people or deepening the drive for sustainable growth.
He stated that if voted to power, he would provide new strategies that would ensure visionary, transparent and community government that would be driven by the Anambra people, as well as make the state compete with other economies of the world.
His words: “We need new strategies in Anambra to ensure real growth because since the state was created, it has remained a backward state. Anambra’s economy is driven by burial which starts from Thursday and this has always reduced the work load, especially productive time for the civil servants. They go to work from Monday to Wednesday and use the rest to do burials.
“Our state capital, Awka is still a village. We still celebrate three flyovers; but come to Awka as capital; you still feel the absence of water, absence of security, plethora of bad roads and several others that will make one wonder if Anambra is a state. We are coming with a new thinking”.
He claimed that South-East cannot transform economically without Anambra State taking the lead, stressing that Onitsha and Nnewi have the potentials that could grow the economy of the zone.
“We will transform Anambra into a trade hub, we will grow the commerce the state is known for. Our ability to handle matters with Anambra State is the beginning of the independence that the Igboman is looking for. Our strategy is to play in the digital economy such that we will connect our markets to the digital world called “Anambra wifi”. Our schools will go digital so that our students will compete favourably with their peers in the world”, he said.
In his welcome address, the Chairman of the Enugu Sports Club, Mr Ben Etiaba, thanked Chidoka and his entourage for coming again, saying that the UPP candidate to the club came during their inauguration.
He said that the club has many powerful opinion leaders across the South-East, including Anambra State, adding that the coming of Chidoka would definitely enhance his electoral fortunes in the forthcoming polls in his state.