THE governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Oseloka Obaze, and former Governor Peter Obi stormed Okpoko community, in Ogbaru Local Government Area, recently, to meet with the stakeholders for support.
At the meeting, which was attended by all the stakeholders in the community, spanning all the political parties, the PDP flag bearer was assured of the support of the community.
One of the speakers that solicited support for Obaze at the meeting, Mr. Ezeanuna Nzeribe, told the gathering that the community in particular and Ogbaru Local Government Area in general have been presented with a rare opportunity of backing not just an aspirant, “but the best candidate for the job”. He promised that the community will support Obaze’s aspiration to govern the state.
Nzeribe urged the community to vote for the PDP candidate on election day, because they may not get another chance to make one of their kinsmen governor until about 20 years time.
The former member representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Afam Ogene, recounted how they campaigned for the governorship to be zoned to Anambra North, only for the incumbent to waste those years with his woeful performance in government.
Ogene, an APC chieftain, said his support for Obaze was not because they are from the same town, “but because he’s at home with the work needed to be done in Anambra and possess the required competence”. He said it is immaterial that he is campaigning for the candidate of another political party.
In his remark, Obi bemoaned the unacceptable deterioration of Okpoko, saying all the roads in the community were due for renewal. He decried the abandonment of the Obodoukwu Road particularly, saying he would soon take a walk there to plead for the patience of the people and seek their support to install a PDP government, to address the problem.
Obi reminded the stakeholders that during his campaign for Obiano, he promised that if he (Obiano) failed to perform, he (Obi) would lead the campaign for his removal.
He said: “We had an agreement with the Federal Government that if we do the road from Atani to Ogwikpele, they will construct the bridge across it. School fees are now 10 times what it used to be. The same with tax and levies and a lot more; yet, there is nothing to show for it.
“Sen. Chris Ngige was fighting a war of survival as governor, yet he did 194km of road in 34 months. In my first tenure, with impeachment battles, I did over 400 km, can you name any road Obiano has completed in over three years?
“Our foreign partners came here looking for communities to upgrade; we agreed on Okpoko and a UN Habitat study was conducted and recommended the need for Urban Renewal to build special structures in the community. But, the project is yet to commence, because our foreign partners don’t believe in partnering with the incumbent governor.”