Anambra 2021: Soludo tees off, seeks one million votes mark

…plans Anambra, a destination to live, work and relax in

The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in the forthcoming November 6 Anambra election -Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has expressed confidence in winning a landslide.

His seeming unrivaled confidence, he disclosed was because the candidates of other political parties in the race were not his match.

He believed that there were political parties and candidates in the race who the state’s electorate will never vote for, even at gunpoint.

Soludo who spoke at the formal flagoff campaign rally of the APGA held at the Dr Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka yesterday which was attended by a mammoth crowd of supporters, he said, “We will compete and contest for every vote and we will not take your votes for granted. Our target is to reach the one million-vote mark. There are people who know that even if they carry a gun, Anambra people will not vote for them. They are carrying money around and buying expired politicians.

“Anambra is APGA, and APGA is Anambra. Anambra is not Imo. They say they want to connect us to the centre, and it is idiocy for them to talk about going to the centre because I’m already in the centre. I serve in this government (federal), so when they talk about going to centre, they are talking about coming to meet us. I’m already at the centre and I go in and out of Aso Rock, so when they talk about going to the centre, they are coming to meet me, because I’m there already.”

While thanking the party and her members for the governorship ticket given to him, as well as the “over 50 support groups who for years continued to clamour for me to aspire for the governorship position, Soludo who spoke in his keynote address to the party’s supporters at the flag off rally in his honour at the Dr Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka on Saturday assured that he will not disappoint them.

“They have been demanding for me to come and run, some of them are people across party lines, and some who are not even politicians have been calling me and saying that after the tenure of Governor Willie Obiano, the best thing that can happen to Anambra is for me to come and continue. Anambra people want APGA to continue.

He used the opportunity to present his manifesto which he described as the contract between him and the citizens of the state.

“I told Anambra people that on the day of the flag off, we will unveil and launch the Anambra manifesto. This manifesto is one that envisions Anambra as a five star destination to live, work and relax in. We want Anambra to be liveable. My manifesto with ndi Anambra is my contract with them.

“I’m not going to learn on the job. I will hit the ground running. We will build a land where no child born here will go out to look for better future in Lagos or Abuja.

“After this speech, my manifesto will be shared and uploaded online, and this is my contract with you. I have looked at the people contesting, and with every sense of humility, I don’t think they are can match me.

“They can be governor because they are qualified and the constitution says if you have a school certificate, you can be governor, but for those who forged their certificates, I do not think they can be governor.

“We are not making empty promises, the things we have here (manifesto) have been thought over by me and they are achievable, not the people who contracted people to concoct something that looks like manifesto for them,” Soludo said.

Governor Willie Obiano who physically graced the campaign flag off stated that he had no fear that APGA would retain Anambra State, insisting that the party has led Anambra to enviable heights.

“Anambra is an APGA state and we are not contesting it with anyone. We have in 15 and half years delivered the dividends of democracy here, and especially in the last seven and half years, under my watch.

With APGA flagoff, it now brings to two parties that have formally kickstarted their campaigns. The first was the Labour Party, with Obiora Agbasimalo as the party’s candidate