A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia, Chief Acho Obioma, has said that the leadership crisis rocking the party would be resolved before its primaries.
Obioma said this on Friday at a declaration by Chief Daniel Eke, an American-chartered accountant, to run for the governorship of the state.
He assured Eke’s teeming supporters and party members at the event that “APC in Abia will work to produce one candidate” at the appropriate time.
He said: “We have been holding series of meetings with all our governorship aspirants.
“By the eve of our primaries, Abia APC will be united to elect one candidate. We all will line behind that person and victory will be ours,” he said.
He described Eke as a good and reliable man, who had made significant contribution to the development of the state.
SummitNews reports that Obioma emerged as Chairman from a parallel congress of the party held on October 16, 2021.
The national leadership of the party, however, recognised and inaugurated the Kingsley Ononogbu-led executive, produced by the faction loyal to Chief Ikechi Emenike, a chieftain of the party.
The two factions have continued to operate under separate leadership and Secretariats in Umuahia.
Consequently, members seeking political offices in 2023 have continued to declare their intentions along the two factions.
In a declaration speech, entitled, “My contract with Ndi Abia (Abia people),” Eke said that his contract with the people meant putting Abia first in all his actions, if elected.
He said that his manifesto centred on “reclaim, restore and modernise”.
Eke said that he would rebuild Aba, the commercial hub of the state, beginning with the reconstruction of the Ariaria International Market to a modern facility.
He promised to run functional education, saying that his administration would hand over schools to their host communities and missions.
Eke also promised to create a knowledge-based industry, focusing on youth training in technological skills that would be relevant to the global economy.
He further promised to reform the health sector, saying that he would build two state-of-the-art hospitals in Aba and Umuahia.\
He said that he would leverage tele-medicine and partnership with health institutions in Europa and America to meet the health needs of the people.
Eke also promised to address the huge infrastructure deficit in the state, especially roads.
He said that his government would build durable roads, with standard drains, adding that standard roads had a minimum lifespan of 30 years to 40 years.
Eke said that he would encourage independent power plants to produce adequate electricity to help the numerous industries in Aba to operate optimally.
He also said that he would deploy modern technology to tackle insecurity in the state for commerce and investment to thrive.
He also said that he would attract renowned recycling companies that would convert the huge waste in the state to wealth.
According to Eke, the companies would recycle the plastics and convert the bio-degradable waste into manure for farming.
He said that his administration would ensure that local government councils got their funding to perform their statutory roles in the overall development of the state.
Eke also promised that council elections would be conducted as and when due.
He said that his administration would create the Ministry of Youths Affairs to coordinate issues concerning the youths in the state.
He said that traditional rulers would be empowered to discharge their roles as part of the government.
He gave assurance that he would salvage the state and its people from many years of bad governance, despair and hopelessness.
“As governor, I will work with the brightest and most dedicated Abia indigenes and non-indigenes, who are committed to our agenda for the restoration of the lost glory of the state,” Eke said. End
