Anthony Iwuoma
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party for the February 25 presidential election, Peter Obi, has stated categorically that his party would win the November 11 governorship election in Imo State and turn around the fortunes of the state.
Obi spoke during the campaign flag-off of Sen. Athan Nneji Achonu, the Labour Party candidate for the November 11 gubernatorial poll in Imo State.
The former Anambra State governor received a rousing welcome by the mammoth crowd that came to witness the commencement of the ‘Operation Take Back Imo’ campaign of the Labour Party.
Charismatic Obi, who issued quit notice to Governor Hope Uzodimma, urged him to start compiling his handover notes, preparatory to vacating the Government House ahead of the November 11, 2023 governorship election in the state because Achonu is coming to end bad governance in the state.
He boasted that his party was known for performing excellently in service delivery, citing Abia State, where the governor, Dr. Alex Otti, is transforming the state already.
Putting to rest the contention over the leadership of the party, Obi declared that Obi Achonu as the only governorship candidate of the party in Imo State and urged the people of Imo State to vote massively for Achonu on November 11 so that the good things happening in Abia would be replicated in Imo.
he also said Julius Abure remained the only recognised and authentic national chairman of the party.
“Abure is the national chairman of our party. We don’t have another chairman. LP will win Imo State. Athan Achonu is the only candidate of the party, and he is the best in Imo State. I am happy nobody has changed the process. I believe in the process.
“We want Nigeria to have leaders who will do what they preach. We know what it takes to change Nigeria. That is why we are here. We know what it takes to change Imo State. In Abia today, there is hope; that is what is called governance. This is because a first-class brain who knows what he is doing is the governor there.
“I believe in the process. Achonu emerged through the right process. Vote for LP, and things will start happening.”
“LP wants to change Nigeria. We are asking Nigeria for the opportunity. Give us a chance in Nigeria, and there would be change. In Abia State today there is hope, that is what is called governance.
Otti, who was the chairman of the panel that conducted the primary election that produced Achonu, as the governorship candidate of the LP in the state, described other contenders for the ticket as counterfeits.
“Distinguished Senator Athan Achonu is the only governorship candidate of the party. I was the chairman of the panel that conducted the primary election, which produced him as the winner of the election. I am here to bear testimony that he is our candidate for the November 11 governorship election in Imo State,’’ Otti said:
On his part, the national chairman of the party, Julius Abure, expressed confidence that the LP would form the next government in Imo State, noting that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, had failed Nigerians and the people of Imo State in particular.
He said: “We will change the economic narratives of Imo State. Athan Achonu is the only governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Imo State.
“LP is founded on integrity and performance. PDP and APC have failed. We have tried PDP and APC and they failed. Their results are insecurity, poverty, and infrastructural decay. Labour Party has come to change the narratives. Vote Athan Achonu, vote LP come November 11.”
The atmosphere at the Kanu Nwankwo Stadium venue of the campaign flag-off was electrifying, as thousands of highly residents thronged the venue.
Apart from Obi, Abure and Otti, other prominent stalwarts of the Labour Party, including the deputy governorship candidate, Hon. Tony Nwulu, were on ground.
Others include the Director General of the campaign organization, Engr. Chime Nzeribe, Chief Valentine Ozigbo, Distinguished Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi, Imo East Senatorial District; Hon. Sir Tochukwu Okere, member, representing Owerri Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives; Hon Dr. Matthew Nwogu, member, representing Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency; Comrade Kennedy Ahanotu, LP National Youth Leader; All LP NWC Members; All Imo LP SWC Members and Stakeholders and all support groups led by Ambassador Theo Chibueze, Chief Coordinator, Concerned Imo Influencers, the foremost support group for the ‘Take Back Imo’, and several other members of the party’s national and state executives, who stormed Owerri, the Imo State Capital, in their numbers for the event.
The high point of the event was when the party’s flag was jointly and officially handed over to Senator Athan Nneji Achonu by the National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, and the State Chairman of the Party.
The symbolic exercise has now put a lid on the question of who is truly the authentic governorship candidate of the Imo State Labour Party. It is hoped that all disputants would now see reason to join up with the winning team before it is too late.
Achonu, after collecting the flag, assured Imo people of his commitment to good governance, access to affordable energy, job creation, investment opportunities, tourism development, local government autonomy, and his unalloyed resolve to make Imo a peaceful haven for socioeconomic growth and sustainable development.
Speaking on the forthcoming election, one of the leaders of the Achonu support groups, Ambassador Theo Chibueze, said: “The mammoth crowd that graced this occasion today is a pointer to the fact that Ndimo are about to choose the light over darkness. The Uzodinma-led APC government has plunged Imo State into deep darkness. The people now have a choice to choose the light that Sen. Athan Nneji Achonu brings, or remain in darkness.
“They must rise against the spate of violence and wanton destruction of lives and property by the Uzodinma government, overtly or covertly.
“Imo needs a government that would not prevaricate or toy with the lives of the people. That is why they need to vote for their own candidate and resist imposition by anti-democratic elements. They must deploy every legitimate means to defend their votes during the electoral exercise.
He urged the security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to be non-partisan and resist the usual urge to dance to the dictates of discredited and rejected politicians. They must ensure that agents of violence are fully restrained and prevented from subverting the people’s will.