By Jude Atupulazi
A group, Equity Movement, plans to negotiate with governorship aspirants from zones outside the South Senatorial Zone to drop their aspiration and support candidates from the South to ensure equity, justice and fairness.
This was contained in a press statement signed by the chairman of the group, Hon Gaius Ezeh, and the secretary, Hon Dan Ezeanya.
The group, which sees itself as a negotiating tool on behalf Anambra South, plans to use its platform to sensitize and educate all the political parties, especially the prospective party delegates, on the need to ensure that Anambra South grabbed all the party tickets after all the party primary elections, to ensure that the next governor of Anambra State emerged from Anambra South Zone.
Equity Movement, a brain child of Hon Gaius Ezeh, is collaborating with some elder statesmen from Anambra South that had been randomly and carefully selected from the seven LGAs of Anambra South to marshal out a common political front for Anambra South Senatorial Zone to ensure that the zone produced the next Governor of Anambra State in line with the already existing zoning system in the state.
Equity Movement is an independent and all party inclusive association without any politician or group of persons standing as its sponsors or financiers.
‘Equity movement is not just canvassing for the rights of Anambra South, per se, but is doing so because only justice and fair play can sustain the governorship rotation and we cannot afford to abandon rotation now because only that can give us the much needed peace and stability for the growth and development of the entire state,’ the release stated.
Giving a rundown of all the past governors of the state since its inception, Equity Movement, noted that more than 75% of the people, now in Anambra State politics did not know the genesis of the new state, and were not around or in active politics when the new Anambra State was created.
Contending that Anambra Central had ruled for 11 years, and Anambra South, a little over five years, with the North still trying to complete its 8-year tenure, the group said that equity demanded that it should be the turn of Anambra South Senatorial Zone to produce the next Governor of Anambra State in 2021 and should be allowed free hands to do.
‘Gov Obi introduced this when he was about leaving office at the end of his 8-year tenure and insisted that it was the tenure of Anambra North Senatorial Zone. If we cannot now abide by just one of the legacies he left behind, one wonders what we are actually doing,’ the group stated.
It warned that since APGA had conceded the governorship to Anambra South, any attempt by other parties to do otherwise would result in electoral failure.
Commending some notable people in the state for rallying round the South, it specially commended the likes of Chief Mbazuluike Amechi; Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife; Igwe Kenneth Orizu of Nnewi; Igwe Nnabuife of Iseke; bishops and others, and appealed to the rest of Anambrarians to support their cause.
