In the run up
to the Anambra 2014 gubernatorial elections, frontline gubernatorial aspirant
Mr. Godwin Chukwunenye Ezeemo has received yet another feather to his political
cap as the Vanguard for Good Governance in Anambra State has officially
endorsed him as their preferred candidate for the forth coming elections.
The
association which is an umbrella association for all professionals and technocrats
from Anambra State made this announcement through their president Chief Okey
Ibenegbu. Chief Ibenegbu said the members of the body were pained by the fact
that since the inception of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, Anambra State has not
received dividends of democracy because those who were in control had other
interests apart from the masses.
The
association advised Anambrarians to make a clean break from the sordid past and
embrace a new era of quality development and transformation which is what is needed
to take Anambra state to the next level, and this is what a government headed
by Ezeemo will provide.
In a media
parley with journalists, chief Ibenegbu spoke on several issues bordering on
the upcoming election in Anambra State. Below are excerpts.
The Vanguard
for Good Governance in Anambra State is an umbrella body for professional and
technocrats from Anambra State, it is formed to correct the errors those who
has been in control since the inception of democracy has caused Anambra State
and to chart a way forward for our State. Another reason for our existence is
to correct the erroneous impression that Anambra State is peopled with semi-illiterates
and traders; rather the state has the highest number of lawyers and doctors in
the entire country.
Mr. Ezeemo
was chosen because after extensive consultations with Anambrarians, we
discovered that Ezeemo totally exemplifies what the masses desire. The masses
desire a positive change; are tired of recycled leadership; do not want a
politician tainted with politics of godfatherism, thuggery, brigandage,
election rigging and manipulation; or even money politics. Rather they want
somebody who will provide fresh breath to the state.
Ezeemo has
several desirable qualities, first, he has been abroad, therefore, not part of
the present problems bedevilling Anambra politics; his scholarship schemes,
youth development and empowerment programmes, and widows’ endowment programmes
has provided for thousands of Anambrarians and lifted them out from poverty. His
Charity Ezeemo Foundation takes care of destitute, handicapped and motherless
babies in several homes and centres all over the country. This Foundation has
been in operation for over 10 years now; it is not something that was formed
because he wanted his presence to be felt because of the elections; unlike some
philanthropists who over night deceive people into believing they care, while
their main interest borders on the elections. He also built a two-storey
building for the NUJ in Anambra State. The list is certainly endless. Above
all, he is making his money abroad, and using it to benefit his brothers and
sisters here in Nigeria, not like other politicians who are robbing Peter to
pay Paul.
Ezeemo has a
very good chance of becoming the next occupant of the Awka Government House,
because Anambrarians are tired of living in the past or going backwards while
other states are moving forward. They want somebody who is not part of the old
brigade that has held the state hostage; they want someone who has demonstrated
kindness from his own sweat and not one of those who has been defrauding the
country of billions of naira while they bring few notes to the state in the
name of development. They want somebody whose election will not further
polarize the state because he belongs to a clique or that camp. These are what
would be in the minds of Anambrarians as they cast their votes, and the only
person that answers the above puzzles is Godwin Ezeemo.
Anambra State
has the capacity to be like states such as Lagos or Kano, but we have not been
blessed with good leadership. Any day we get somebody who genuinely cares for
the welfare of the people, the state would be turned around; we believe in
2014, when Godwin Ezeemo emerges as the governor, he will put the state on the
path to progress.
