By Wilfred Eya

The governorship ambition of the Enugu State candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Dr Peter Mbah received a major boost on Wednesday as people of Isi-Uzo local government area resolved to adopt him as their sole candidate ahead of the 2023 general elections.

They said Mbah has shown, through his track records in the private sector and his life-changing foundation, that he is the most prepared, trusted and competent person to lead the state and give the people of Isi Uzo a new lease of life.

People of the local government who came out in thousands in Ikem and Neke, headquarters of Isi-Uzo Central and Amanyi Development Centres, in continuation of the town-hall meetings initiated by Mbah, included traditional rulers, presidents-generals of various communities, different professional bodies, civil society organizations, farmers, traders, women associations and religious leaders.

They promised to use their massive population to give the ruling party’s candidate bloc votes in order to send a strong signal that they were at home with the PDP and its candidates in the state.

The people who outlined the huge infrastructure and empowerment projects attracted by the successive PDP administrations in the council area, challenged other political parties to present their scorecards, even as they lamented that a particular governorship candidate from the area who defected to an opposition party, had  enjoyed plum positions under PDP such as council chairman, House of Representatives member, presidential assistant and state commissioner, with absolutely nothing to show for them.

In his remark, the son of the late Senator Isiah Ani who represented the area in the Second Republic, Chinedu Ani said the huge population that turned out for the meeting in Ikem was a testament of their unswerving support for the PDP and assured that Isi Uzo would leave no stone unturned to give Mbah 100 percent support.

The executive chairman of the local government, Obiora Obeagu assured Mbah that Isi Uzo had spoken with one voice by resolving to queue behind his candidacy to lead the state, stressing that the council area had strong reasons to continue to partner with the PDP.

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Lending his voice, a professor of political science from the area, Professor Sam Ugwu stated that Mbah had a proactive and robust background in entrepreneurship, and would deliver positively on the mandate of the state.

Meanwhile, communities from the area had called on Mbah to improve on the existing state of infrastructure, stressing that, like Oliver Twist, they would continue to ask for more development projects which the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi had already started.

In their separate speeches, Prof. Ifeanyi Odoziobodo, Mrs. Edith Abonyi, Igwe Okey Ogbodo, Igwe S.C Udogu, Prof. Sam Ugwu, Sylvester Ugwu, Ephraim Nnamchi, among others appealed to Mbah to look at the issues bordering on water reticulation, road infrastructure, rural electrification, agriculture, particularly Ikem-Odenigbo-Ogbadigbo, Ikem-Umualor-Ubahu roads, Imo River Basin Development Authority, Ikem General Hospital, Nkwo-Neke-Mbu-Ehandiagu and Nkwo Neke – Obollo-eke roads.

They also listed other demands like modern agricultural equipment to enable them migrate from subsistence agriculture to mechanized farming, improved varieties of crops to boost their yield, agricultural produce processing plants, and availability of affordable agro-grants and loans for farmers.

Mbah in his response assured the people that he would reciprocate their support through quality leadership that will address their needs, build new Infrastructure, create more jobs, and tackle insecurity, saying his administration will prioritize development in the council area.

He said infrastructure remained important to the achievements of his vision and mission for the state and reaffirmed his commitment to attracting strategic projects that will address insecurity, engage the youths, and open the communities for development.

He assured that social amenities such as provision of water, standard hospitals with medical personnel, functional education system that will lead to more technical and vocational training centres for productivity and wealth-creation will be prioritized to improve the general standard of living for the people, promising to designate parts of the area, special economic zones with agro-allied processing industries and reactivation of dormant assets into productive assets.