Leading civil rights group, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has disclosed that tension and apprehension were high among “failed politicians” in Anambra , a situation that has made them afraid to campaign openly with seriousness barely one month and few days to the governorship election.
Intersociety in a statement released yesterday in Onitsha signed by its board chairman, Emeka Umegbalasi and two others, the group alleged that such fears were so high that the state’s ruling party and its government of Anambra State have devised several deceitful means to go about its community to community, street to street and market to market campaigns apart from converging rented and paid crowds.
Intersociety said that though APGA flagged off its campaign last Saturday, fears of being pelted with stones and sachets of ‘pure water’ following its eight years of failure in the state have remained its nightmare.
The group also bemoaned the absence of governance blueprint, resort to guerilla tactics and clear lack of issue based campaigns and governance blueprint which it identified as the stock-in-trade of most of the candidates.
“To them, the seat of Anambra Governor is a private estate and an opportunity to live lavishly and kingly, cruise left, right and center in a long convoy of exotic cars as well as lavish obtainment of chieftaincy and church titles. Anambra public funds have also been permanently structured as ‘permanent means of livelihood’ for some political actors who have sworn not to give their candidates a breathing space.
“We seriously fear continuation of grip of the state and its public funds by greedy politicians and noveau riche in the next dispensation unless urgent critical steps are taken to thwart same. Most of the candidates have also been assessed and found to be thousands of miles away from being in the know of mountainous governance challenges facing the state.
“This is to the extent that they do not have concrete and practicable or workable policy directions on: boundary and territorial security and safety, citizens’ safety and security, water safety and security, health security, environment safety and security, mobility (road network) security and safety, communal security and safety, industrial growth and safety, revenue mobilization, governance costs reduction, urban planning and space management and human rights and rule of law” the group lamented.