From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
Anambra youths have endorsed and declared full support for the presidential bid of the former governor of the state and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, two days before the election.
The Anambra State Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) Obi Emeka Chukwudi said the endorsement was based on the person of Mr Peter Obi as the most qualified among the candidates and not necessarily because of his identity.
The NYCN and other youth leaders had earlier last year warned opportunists trying to cause problems in the state, because of the verbal rift between the LP Presidential Candidate and the Governor of the State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo.
While describing Obi’s candidacy as a national project, the youths had also expressed confidence in the mandate of Governor Soludo, which they said was handed to him by the youths.
The Anambra NYCN Chairman said, ‘On Peter Obi’s Mandate I Stand, Let History Judge Me Right’, saying it has become imperative at this time to openly identify with the Labour Party candidate, having observed how he has discharged his campaigns creditably.
It read; “Having watched developments in Nigeria’s political arena unfold in the manner it has in the past few weeks and months, it has become important to take a position and not sit on the fence, especially as the future of Nigerian youths and those of our unborn children is on the line.
“I also understand and appreciate the impact this decision will have on my friends, associates and hundreds of thousands of Anambra youths who look up to me for leadership, but I assure you, this is for the best.
“Although you may have been inclined to certain interests, I believe now is the time to disengage and refocus on our collective future, the future of the Nigerian youth and the unborn generation”.
The Anambra youths leader paid glowing tribute to those who had stood by Obi after his defection from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP last year, even when there appeared to be no chance for him.
“Destinies are shaped by men who stand up to confront their fears; to take the bull by the horn and challenge the status quo, irrespective of the fact that they may be in the minority. As it is said, evil persists when good men keep silent.
“I therefore sincerely wish to recognize and appreciate notable Nigerians who have braved the odds and leaned their weights behind this noble movement for the take-back of Nigeria from the onset, even when the future looked bleak and uncertain.
“I recognize the efforts of former President Olusegun Obasanjo; lawyer, activist and leader of Afenifere group, Pa Ayo Adebanjo; elder statesman and leader of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum, SMBLF, Edwin Clark; Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom; Lieutenant General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma; the General Overseer of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, DIGC, Pastor Dr Paul Enenche; the General Overseer, Omega Fire Ministries International, Apostle Johnson Suleiman; the Christian Elders, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Arewa Youths for Peace and National Development (CAYPND) among numerous others, who have come out boldly to endorse the candidacy of the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi.
“I also wish to acknowledge others who have abandoned their various political party interests for this noble move for a collective national interest. May history be fair to you,” he said.
While openly endorsing Mr Peter Obi’s presidential bid, the Anambra NYCN boss, urged all the youths in the state to troop out en masse on the 25th of this month to vote massively for him, to begin the turnaround of the fortunes of the state.
According to him, Obi’s candidacy represents a total shift from the old order and will engender a new system of responsive leadership, that will in turn, impact all sectors of the Nigerian economy positively.
“It is in this light that I wish to join all men of goodwill to openly identify with this new direction in the politics of our great country Nigeria, which solely aims to rescue the nation from the brink of collapse.
“This decision is because I have seen in Mr Peter Obi, the hunger and passion to deliver Nigerians from the dungeon to which they have been cast as a result of bad leadership over the years. His philosophy of politics represents a paradigm shift from the status quo, which has kept us where we are today.
“Obi’s promise to move Nigeria from a consumption economy to a production economy holds great prospects for the youths in terms of employment and sustainable empowerment, while the economy will be viable for entrepreneurs who may want to independently seek vent for their ventures.
“I, therefore, call on all Anambra youths and other registered youth structures in Anambra and beyond, to embrace this cause and come out on the 25th of February, 2023, to vote massively for Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
“I am convinced that his emergency as the President of Nigeria, will begin the process of recovery for our ailing nation and most importantly, redirect our course from doom to where we are headed,” he said.