ABUJA: Founder and President of the Nigeria-Russia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo has lamented the growing wave of insecurity in Anambra State, saying it has crippled businesses in the state.
Okonkwo, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress APC is vying for the party’s ticket ahead of the November 8 governorship election.
Lamenting that the state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo is incapable of tackling insecurity, Okonkwo accused the governor of trying to undermine him, saying Soludo has become jittery since he indicated interest to fly the APC flag.
Okonkwo spoke on Wednesday in Abuja when the Anambra Coalition for Progressive Change presented him the APC Governorship Nomination and Expression of Interest forms which they had purchased for him.
“The issue of security, the issue of almost zero economic activities, that these people will never let me go on this journey by myself.
“There is no more night life in Anambra. 6pm everywhere is shut down. Nightlife contributes 50 per cent to the economy.
“Since he (Soludo) has been calling the people to jettison the so-called sit-at-home, nobody has listened to him. The louder his call,the further the people go away.
“We are aware of all the moves being made in Abuja here, huge amounts of money being thrown around just to ensure that I do not get the ticket of the party because he is very much afraid, not only to meet me in the campaigns, but of even squaring up with me on the election day”, he alleged.
Earlier, leader of the Anambra Coalition for Progressive Change, Chief Cyril Ndubuisi Ezeani said Soludo established the Agunechemba Security Corps as a strategy to win the 2025 governorship election.
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Wondering why Soludo had to wait till the eve of the election before attempting to tackle insecurity, Ezeani described the move as a political gimmick to confuse the public.
He said: “Pick up the newspapers, you listen to the news, you go to social media, what you see about Anambra is kidnapping, killing and all sorts of insecurity.
“The average Anambra man is a hard working person. We build our roads, we provide our water, we build our schools. So what do we need? We simply need security, security for our businesses to flourish, for people to come from far and near to buy in Onitsha and Nnewi. That is the primary thing that every Anambra State person needs, and that is not being provided.
“In fact, it was just a few days ago that he woke up from his slumber and started Agunechemba security corps and all that. And I know it was just because he realised that the election is coming up.
“After all, what stopped a professor who has stayed for nearly three years from tackling insecurity? He just woke up yesterday to say he is doing security! I can assure you that what he’s doing is not going to last. He is just trying to confuse the people of the state. As soon as he gets his ticket back, or he wins the election by any means, he will go back to where he is and leave us stranded.
“So that is the principal thing that made us believe that he is not going to do anything. He is not the kind of person we want, he is not providing the kind of services that we want in Anambra State.”
He said Okonkwo who is the founder and Chairman of United Airlines, will tackle insecurity and ensure that businesses flourish in the state.
