…As Soludo Gets Massive Endorsements
By Micheal Nnebife
A Grand Patron of Anambra Patriots for Soludo, High Chief Ben Obi, has appealed to all eligible residents of Anambra State to vote for Prof Chukwuma Soludo in the November 8 Governorship Election in the state to avoid the wrath of the founding fathers of the state.
Chief Obi made the appeal while addressing a mammoth crowd of the members of the Association of Non-indigenes in Anambra State who gathered at the International Convention Centre, Awka, for an endorsement rally for Governor Soludo.
Obi reminded them of the need for their continual support to the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, to continue to govern the state.
‘Everything you see here in Anambra State is from APGA governments. Peter Obi came and did well; Willie Obi came and did well. Soludo, a Solution Master, came and overtook everybody.
‘Therefore, we cannot descend so low for charlatans, opportunists and hooligans, who don’t have even certificates, to come and take over our state; it is over our dead bodies.
‘If we dare to vote for somebody other than Soludo, Zik of Africa will wake up from the grave, Ojukwu will wake up from the grave, Ekwueme will wake up from the grave, all of them, Nwafor Orizu and co, will come to hurt us.
‘So, what I’m telling you people today, irrespective of your tribe and your religious denomination, once you live in Anambra, on November 8, take your voter’s card, go to your poll unit and give it to Soludo,’ Obi appealed.
Earlier in his speech during the event, the Chairman of Anambra Patriots for Soludo, Chief Damian Enekwechi, expressed the readiness of the group to ensure a landslide victory for Governor Soludo in the November 8 election.
Chief Enekwechi, who described the group as the biggest among Soludo’s 65 support groups, noted that it could boast a membership strength of about 5,000, with presence in all the 326 wards in the state.
‘Anambra Patriots for Soludo is a support group; others are supported groups.
‘When you call yourself a support group, you have to deploy your resources to support a person, not expecting to collect from the person.
‘That is the difference between Anambra Patriots for Soludo and others,’ Enekwechi said.
While having a chat with newsmen, he said the decision to endorse the Governor was informed by what he described the Governor’s outstanding performance in less than four years in office.
‘All the commitments and sacrifices we have been making in support of Mr Governor are due to the love we have for him.
‘We are convinced he will do more when he returns,’ Enekwechi said, adding that Soludo was performing and living up to the name given to him (Olu Atuegwu) which, if translated, means he who does not fear huge tasks.
‘He is working tirelessly. So we decided to endorse him for a second term so that he can finish the good work he started,’ Chief Enekwechi said.
Also, the Convener of the group, Arc Okey Ezeobi, said the endorsement followed the group’s firm belief that reward for hard work was more work.
Arc Ezeobi added that Soludo had outperformed all his predecessors in just three years in office, highlighting unprecedented infrastructural development, human capital empowerment and social intervention programmes of the Governor as hallmarks of his administration.
In their separate speeches, a leader of the Fulani Community in Awka, Gidado Siddiki; Mr Moses Agbom from Ebony State; among others from different regions and states in Nigeria, described Soludo as a Governor who had shown true and inclusive leadership, thanking him for recognizing them in his administration.
They said that having seen the good work of Soludo, they had directed all their members to transfer their voter’s cards to Anambra State in support of Soludo’s second term ambition.
‘In the November 8 election, we will show you our strength,’ the non-indigenes assured the Governor.
Also, the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, JONAPWD, gave their nod to Soludo’s second term ambition during the rally.
The association, which came under the banner, ”Solution for Disability Alliance”, said the Governor gave them a sense of belonging in his Government.
The State Chairman of the association, Comrade Ugochukwu Okeke, noted that his association had benefited immensely from the Soludo administration in recruitment, as well as other forms of engagement and empowerment.
He said, ‘We are here because we have seen something that had never happened in Anambra before; no fewer than 150 members of our association are civil servants today under Soludo.’
Responding, ‘Soludo thanked Anambra Patriots who organized the rally, the Non-indigenes, and others, for finding his government worthy of continuity, pledging to reciprocate the gesture by doubling his effort in taking the state to enviable heights, if returned in the November 8 election.
