House Of Assembly Polls: Why Anambra Electorate Should Vote Massively For APGA

HON. EGBUNA AMUTA 

Now that the Presidential and National Assembly elections have been conducted on the Ninth of this month with minimal hassles as earlier anticipated, the next round of polls in this year’s general elections are the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly polls scheduled for the Ninth of March 2019. Apart from our dear Anambra state and a few others such as Edo, Ekiti and Osun, gubernatorial elections would be conducted in the remaining thirty two states in the country. However, legislative elections would be held simultaneously in all the thirty six states of the federation. Elections for the Chief Executives would not be held in Anambra, Edo, Ekiti and Osun because staggered gubernatorial polls had variously been conducted in these states by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

In Anambra, it is imperative that the electorate should vote massively for the ruling party in the state in order that prevailing peace, stability, good governance and impressive delivery of democracy dividends should be sustained. Notwithstanding the unpalatable variables and bandwagon effect that played out in the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly polls in the state, it is of utmost importance that the Anambra electorate should demonstrate unstinting and unflinching support for the Obiano administration by voting massively for his political party in the March 9, 2019 House of Assembly polls.

Apart from the fact that APGA governments in the state have in the past thirteen years consistently demonstrated that they are truly devoted to Ndi Anambra by their prompt responsiveness to the yearnings and aspirations of the citizenry, the importance of sustainable socioeconomic growth and development of the state cannot be overemphasized. This is because the state cannot afford to return to the unfortunate era of political crises, instability and cantankerous relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government as witness and experience, under the governance of another political party, before APGA took over the mantle of leadership since 2006. In November that year, barely eight months after former governor Peter Obi was sworn-in, he was illegally impeached by the State House of Assembly dominated by an opposition political party. It is also on record that up till the first quarter of 2008, the relationship between the executive and the legislature in our state was very rancorous. That year, it took the intervention of the Anambra State Council of Elders to resolve the budget slash down imbroglio between the then state governor and the lawmakers who belonged to rival political parties.

Today, it is not in doubt that the Obiano administration is efficiently and successfully implementing a people oriented socioeconomic blueprint known as the Four Pillars of Development.

The Pillars are anchored on Mechanized Agriculture, Trade and Commerce, Oil and Gas in addition to Industrialization with twelve enablers. The Security Architecture enabler of the Obiano government is obviously second to none in the country as well as the West and Central African sub-regions, hence Anambra state is widely recognized and acknowledged as the most business friendly environment for local and foreign investments in Nigeria. In addition to its superlative security architecture, the Obiano administration has excelled in other socioeconomic indices such as prompt payment of salaries of workers and pensions as well as gratuities of retirees unlike in many other states the country. Anambra state has remained the best in the education sector in the country as manifested in her foremost positions in academic completions in Nigeria and beyond.

Governor Willie Obiano’s “economic stimulus package” and “community choose your projects initiative” have ensured direct benefit of democracy dividends to vast majority of Ndi Anambra. His massive road and bridge constructions across the three senatorial districts.