Anambra Cannot Continue To Be Politically Ostracised…APC
Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, national Chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC) has said that Anambra cannot continue to be politically disconnected from the centre.
Ganduje said this while speaking at the APC colloquium organised by Sen. Ifeanyi Ubah, member representing Anambra South Senatorial District in Nnewi on Friday.
Ganduje said Anambra was crucial to the Southeast and Nigeria at large that it must embrace political dynamism.
He said those who used the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to dislodge Anambra from the centre since 2006 were selfish politicians who abandoned the party whenever they needed something from Abuja.
He said the Southwest which found themselves in Anambra situation when they were predominantly in Alliance for Democracy jettisoned it for the Action Congress of Nigeria and produced the president of the country today.
According to him, most entrepreneurial people with high level of self reliance
Imaginative, they are creative competitive and aggressive
“One fact is that Anambra is not making progress that it is expected to make
“Anamb has not connected to the central government since Peter Obi, this is the missing link
“Those who govern APGA abandon the party wherever they need something from the Federal Government.
“Anamb refusal to join the ruling party is denying the people a lot of developmental benefits and it is self inflicted,” he said.
On his part, Gov. Hope Uzodimma of Imo State said it was pleasing to nite that the APC was the first and only ruling party to admit that the Southeast was marginalised
Uzodimma said Nigeria was a time of politics of national integration, national cohesion
national unity and pan nationalism.
Hope who is the chairman of Southeast governors forum said for Anambra and indeed Southeast to to have a fair share they must be in the room where how Nigerian project would be discussed be discussed
He said the Southeast must resolvto be to be part of APC and exit from the isolation they were in as there was no room for those in lamentation
“I welcome Sen. Ifeanyi Ubah who has proven to understand the dynamism for navigating through this process.
“He came from an unknown polituv party to the Senate, meaning that if he has the access to belong to a known political party, the sky will be his limit.
“We need people with general acceptability,” he said.
In his Colloquium lecture, Prof. Charles Esimone, the Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka said the current political structure did not favour the Southeast.
Esimone said it was unfortunate that in Nigeria, ethnic nationalism was strong and outpaced nationalist spirit.
He said there was obvious marginalisation that denied Southeastners the opportunity to give their est to national development even though they were not mediocres.
The Vice Chancellor called for amendment of the constitution to allow rotation of the presidency and leadership of other arms of government for equity and genuine development.
Dr Nkem Okeke, former deputy governor of said the Southeast was waiting for the president’s assent to the South East Development Commission which had the capacity to address the development challenges of the region.
In his appreciation, Sen. Ubah, a frontline candidate for APC ticket for 2025 governorship election said the Colloquium was the first major effort at addressing the place of Igbo nation in Nigeria.