The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), yesterday said it would participate in the November 16 governorship poll.
It said it would soon announce the candidate of its choice , adding that Anambra indigenes would support its candidate.
MASSOB’s Director of Information Uchenna Madu spoke to The Nation yesterday in Awka, Anambra State’s capital.
He said MASSOB’s members having voter cards were about 120,000, adding that a group with such a number of voters could not be a spectator in an important poll.
Madu said: “MASSOB under our leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, is an asset to be reckoned with in Igbo land. Any major event as the Anambra State governorship election without our participation is a mess.
“MASSOB does not belong to any party, but we can vote for any candidate, who is the best among the lot, in the interest of the state and Ndigbo.
“We evaluate many things, including the integrity and personality of the candidates. We are looking for a man, who can carry every resident and indigene of Anambra along.”
He said MASSOB had discovered that the non-indigenes constituted about 42 per cent of the population, adding that most of them would participate in the poll.
“We need a governor, who will promote industrialisation and urbanisation. We will vote for a candidate, who has the Igbo interest at heart.
“We want a governor, who will establish and equip technical schools and mechanic and automobile villages for our unemployed youths.
“We are also looking for a man, who will put in place, a workable agricultural technology.
“The security of the Ndigbo is paramount in MASSOB’s agenda. So, our candidate must carry every security-conscious organisation along in combating crimes.
“The interest of MASSOB is not only in Anambra, but also in the entire Southeast and other Igbo speaking areas.
“We appreciate the efforts of the Army, Police and other security agencies. But they are not enough.
“Governors in other geopolitical zones know the roles of their people in complementing the duties of security agencies. This is why in the Southwest, governors employ the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) members in combating crimes.
“In the North, the governors have established the Islamic traditional security agencies, the Southsouth governors did same through the militants. But the Southeast governors are underrating the roles of MASSOB in combating crimes.
“So, in the Anambra governorship poll, we will vote for a dynamic candidate because we want the best for Ndigbo,” Madu said.
According to him, in each local government, MASSOB had what he called regional administrators, while in each village and ward it had provincial administrators.
“So, our structure cuts across every nook and cranny of each state in the Igbo speaking areas. We are on ground and with our structure and strength, we cannot be ignored by anybody or group,” Madu said.
