Ozigbo outlines shortcomings of  Anambra governorship election

ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria – The People Democratic Party PDP candidate in the just concluded  Anambra state  governorship election Mr. Valentine Ozigbo has congratulated Prof Charles Soludo for emerging victorious in the election.

Ozigbo in a statement, he personally signed, said he  just called Professor Chukwuma Soludo and congratulated him for being declared the winner of the Anambra State governorship elections, 2021.

” I wished him well and prayed for his success” he said. He congratulated all the men and women who contested the  state’s governorship, noting that they  have shown a determination to see that Anambra is better.

” It was an honour to run this race with you.  Two years ago, I decided to go into active partisan politics with a number of objectives in mind.  First, to use Anambra to set an example of excellence in governance.

“The second was to unify Anambra and Ala Igbo around a shared vision of greatness. The third was to inspire more professionals to go into politics. I believe that attainment of these would go a long way in changing the story of black men and women in this world for the better.

“Pulled by the vision of a better and brighter Anambra, we set out on the quest for governorship, resolute on taking revolutionary steps to address the decay and decline in security, infrastructure, education, healthcare, the environment, and all other social systems meant to serve the people

“As laid out in our Ka Anambra Chawapu Manifesto, we planned to transform Anambra into the most competitive sub-national economy in Nigeria by opening up public, social, and commercial spaces leveraging on the strength of our youth and women. Ultimately, to make Anambra the pride of Nigeria” he said.

According to him, during this  journey in the last months, he  met many professionals who inspired him  into politics by their message and others. He ,however said that the  election was fraught with a lot of short-comings on the part of various government institutions.

According to  him, the security agencies failed to provide a peaceful environment for campaigns to hold in the state .

“On election day, they were absent from many polling centres leading to elections not holding or held in situations that allowed for chaos and fraud. The national electoral commission presented untrained and poorly trained staff who could not operate the voting machines in many places.

“ They failed woefully in providing logistical support for their staff and so elections started very late in many places and did not hold in many others” he said .

According to Ozigbo, the use of government funds and resources to corrupt, coerce, and intimidate voters was a major factor in determining the outcome of this election.

“All of these led to the disenfranchisement of the greater percentage of voters and staining the course of democracy. I will be dedicating time to champion the positive change we need to ensure that future elections are truly free and fair and that the will of the electorate prevails” he said .

He also decried the denominational politics,  as corruption in the politics .

“We need to do a lot more to ensure that competence is never sacrificed on this altar, and that democracy is practiced in line with its truest tenets. In all, I am more determined to working for a better future for our children by remaining in active politics and rebuilding our party to be more united and more robust for those who come after us” he said.