By Overdose Media
As devising for the gubernatorial election in Anambra State gathers momentum, aspirants are already neck deep in the race for Agu-Awka Government House, but one aspirant who stands out on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is none other than Dr. Chidozie Wilson Nwankwo who said what informed his interest to throw his hat in for the race of Anambra State Governorship Election is all about service to Ndi Anamba and nothing more.
According to Dr. Chido, as fondly called, most people are of the belief that politics is dirty and that it is for only criminals, and that explains why people who have no business in governance are in power and everybody will continue to complain about bad governance.
The gentleman nicknamed “Overdose” pointed out that the only way to ensure good governance is for the right people to be in charge of affairs. He said if we continue to stay on the fence, things will continue to go wrong and we will always have ourselves to blame.
Nwankwo noted that our people need good governance and populist governance. So that’s why he has offered himself as that instrument of true change and to restore the confidence of Ndi Anambra in governance.
To quote him: “Some people are saying that I am too new in politics and that I cannot withstand the challenges in the field? It is not about being new in politics. We do not have to go to school to become politicians because it is all about delivery and I will surely deliver on record.
Though he acknowledged that he has not been into active party politics, he stressed he has contributed immensely politically without making noise about it. ”So for somebody to say that I, Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo, is new in politics, they are making a grievous mistake,” he added.
Nwankwo also added: ”However, it is palpably clear that APC is the party to beat in this coming election in Anambra State and the belief that APC is not on ground is wrong. What the APC government has done so far in Anambra State is enough reason for Anambra to vote for the party. We do not need to count the achievements of the party or the number of political appointments which Anambra people are holding in the APC-led government at the centre, and therefore, the need to connect Anambra at the centre.
”There are political parties that have been in power by happenstance and they got it on a platter of gold, but they still feel that it is going to be business as usual. But in this election, our dear party is moving on and at the end, you will discover that our party is very much on ground.
”Thus, there is the need for Anambra to connect to the centre and benefit bountifully from the dividends democratic governance. This our low ranger status does not speak well of Anambra State; the number one State in Southeast and Nigeria in general. Anambra people love APC only that some desperate politicians have been feeding them with lies but those lies have been uncovered.
”On conduct of party primary election, the party has a constitution and guidelines for the conduct of the primary election and it is followed to the letter and there is nothing ambiguous about it. Only those who are afraid of losing the election allege that the process is unconstitutional. If you want to contest, throw yourself into the race and take it as it comes. In essence, I am ever ready for the primary be it direct or indirect.
”Furthermore, we must not forget that the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the State wants to remain in power and the Peoples Democratic Party PDP has been out of power for so long due to greed and insatiability, and they want to come back. That’s the reason why APC as a political party cannot present an unpopular and unacceptable Candidate to fly our flag or even impose an unknown factor as a candidate.
”Of course, victory is possible and it can be achievable. All that we need is to prioritise our needs and work towards the desired goal which is Agu Awka Government House. As a man in the private sector, Overdose knows that the private sector drives the economy of any country and Anambra as a state is not an exception. Anambra State has all that it takes to succeed and when we exploit our rich resources and put it to good use, we shall excel tremendously.
”We need to bring in multinationals to come over and invest in our state so that our people will be employed and the revenue accruing from there will jump-start our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by more than 70 percent. These companies would also support us in providing social security and other basic infrastructure for our State and with that, our over dependence on Federal Allocations would be less.
”Whatever we get from FAAC would be channelled to areas like Health, Education, Works, Water resources, entrepreneurship Programs for the Youths and Women. Again, before the creation of the current Anambra State, when Enugu was part of the State; the Onitsha main market was providing a source of revenue to pay salaries but today, the reverse is the case. So, you see that we did not prioritise our needs at the beginning and the question is does it mean that Onitsha Main Market is not growing? At what point did we get it wrong? Who are those managing our resources? These are unanswered questions about Anambra State and once these questions are answered, a new Anambra State would become possible.
”Vision is the starting point and it is more important than strategy. Your vision drives your strategies and gives you a benchmark to measure your performance. If you have the right vision, it basically takes care of the strategies but if you think about strategies first; it will inhibit your vision. Same would be the case when we get to the Government House, Awka.
”We must have financial discipline and make sure that what you are putting out there is not just for the fun of it, but maximum sustainability and for the good of the people. Why people fail in governance is because they put the strategy first before the vision and in the midway. And as a result, this is our bane in Anambra State and we need to get it right now right, for Dr. Chidozie Nwankwo is the answer.”
A new Anambra is possible!
*Overdose Media in Diaspora