In a spirit of sportsmanship, the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in the just concluded Anambra State election, Mr Valentine Chineto Ozigbo has congratulated the winner, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo on his victory at the just concluded Anambra governorship election.
Ozigbo also congratulated other candidates who contested along with him saying they have shown a determination to see that Anambra is better and that it was an honour to run the race with them.
In the message he personally signed, Ozigbo wrote: “I have just called Professor Chukwuma Soludo and congratulated him on being declared the winner of the Anambra State governorship elections, 2021. I wished him well and prayed for his success.
“Let me also use this opportunity to congratulate all the men and women who contested our dear state’s governorship this year. You all have shown a determination to see that Anambra is better. It was an honour to run this race with you.
“Two years ago, I decided to go into active partisan politics with a number of objectives in mind.
“First, to use Anambra to set an example of excellence in governance. The second was to unify Anambra and Ala Igbo around a shared vision of greatness. The third was to inspire more professionals to go into politics. I believe that attainment of these would go a long way in changing the story of black men and women in this world for the better”.
Ozigbo said the vision of a better and brighter Anambra, prodded him to set out on the quest for governorship, resolute on taking revolutionary steps to address the decay and decline in security, infrastructure, education, healthcare, the environment, and all other social systems meant to serve the people.
According to him, these gave rise to his ‘Ka Anambra Chawapu Manifesto’, which was meant “to transform Anambra into the most competitive sub-national economy in Nigeria by opening up public, social, and commercial spaces leveraging on the strength of our youth and women”.
He said that given where his team started and where they are today, they consider ourselves winners, because “Our Ka Anambra Chawapu message has permeated the consciousness of Ndi Anambra and the nation at large. It is the strongest message that has come out of Anambra 2021, and it continues to beat in the hearts of Ndi Igbo”.
He lamented that the election was fraught with a lot of shortcomings on the part of various government institutions and that the security agencies failed to provide a peaceful environment for campaigns to hold.
“On election day, they were absent from many polling centres leading to elections not holding or held in situations that allowed for chaos and fraud.
“The national electoral commission presented untrained and poorly trained staff who could not operate the voting machines in many places. They failed woefully in providing logistical support for their staff and so elections started very late in many places and did not hold in many others”, he alleged.
What made the matter worse, Ozigbo continued was the use of government funds and resources to corrupt, coerce, and intimidate voters, PDP party agents, and electoral officials was a major factor in determining the outcome of this election.
Denominational politics was also a factor, he noted, saying: “We need to do a lot more to ensure that competence is never sacrificed on this altar and that democracy is practised in line with its truest form.
Ozigbo promised to dedicate time to champion the positive change needed to ensure that future elections are truly free and fair and that the will of the electorate prevails.
He said that in all, he is more determined to work for a better future for Anambra children by remaining in active politics and rebuilding his party to be more united and more robust for those who come after him.
