Umuada Anambra in Port Harcourt Mobilize to Re-Elect Obiano
By Kenechukwu Okoye
The campaign to re-elect the governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano for second in office has been boosted by the mobilization Campaign embarked on by Umuada Anambra in Port-Harcourt Rivers State following the inauguration of the Supporters Club on 20th October at Genesis International Hotel, Rumuogba, Port-Harcourt.
Speaking at Inauguration of the socio-cultural organization, the former First Lady of Imo State, Mrs. Frances Ikwechegh said that the Umuada Anambra initiative is a good programme for the sustenance of the continuity tradition which has placed Anambra ahead of other states. She noted that Governor Obiano has done very well and has maintained a characteristic of integrity and perseverance at work which qualifies him for re-election.
Said she:
“I recall years ago when I couldn’t go home to Anambra because of bad roads. But beginning with Ngige and continued by Obi, we can see that Obiano has taken the development of Anambra to a whole new level. It is important that he is allowed to consolidate the good work he is doing in security, agriculture and new infrastructure development. I am not political, but was seduced to come here because Willie is working. I can only advice APGA not to rest on their oars and should take this mobilization to the grass roots. I am fantastically and inordinately proud of Anambra.” Mrs. Ikwechegh enthused.
Addressing the well-attended gathering of Umuada Anambra in Port-Harcourt and their husbands, Wife of the Governor of Anambra state, Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano (osodieme) represented by a Senior Special Assistant, Hon Emeka Ozumba, commended the Umuada for leading the crusade for re-election of her husband for a second term in office, and urged them to reach out to many other groups of ndi Anambra beyond Port-Harcourt city to ensure that Obiano completes the good work he is doing in Anambra state.
Osodieme noted the enthusiasm and commitment displayed by the Umuada as well as the endorsements of Obiano by the Special Guests and urged them to harness the strengths in their mobilization campaign for ndi Anambra everywhere to come home and vote. According to the wife of the Governor, “I am proud of you all for what you are doing because you believe that Anambra is on the right track under Obiano. The fact is that I can attest to his preparedness and commitment to developing the state further in the years ahead. Nothing in Anambra happens by chance. Aside the widely acknowledged security of lives and property, we are all witnesses to the massive transformation in Agriculture under his 4-Pillars of Economic Development. Today Anambra rice is real, we have moved from producing 80,000metric tonnes to 322,000metric tonnes of rice per annum.”
Mrs. Obiano told the Umuada take along the message of Obiano’s exploits in infrastructure development like the transformation Awka capital, N20m Community Choose Yourself Project which helped Anambra fight recession, the empowerment of women, and employment of the physically challenged. Osodieme also highlighted the support her NGO, Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ) to her husband’s programmes which has empowered 2600 women, youths and indigent widows, built ten houses for widows, eleven toilets in rural markets across the state to promote hygiene, and free limbs to 1300 persons amongst other programmes; and urged them to sustain the mobilization campaign to ensure that the good triumphs.
In his remarks, former governorship Aspirant and Leader of Independent Media Support Organization, Comrade Harris Chuma (Ogene) told the Umuada that Obiano has earned second term as Governor by his performance. He commended the mobilization campaign as a clarion call to ndi Anambra to embrace Willie Obiano and sustain the tradition of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) beyond the state. He noted the deliberate attempts to put APGA down and prevent it from expanding across the South East but assured that APGA will definitely spread and ultimately become a platform for Igbo renaissance in the same way the Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s patience under the onslaught of reactionary forces eventually led the South West to the federal seat of power after several political alliances which coalesced under the ACP.
Earlier in her Welcome Address, the Coordinator-General, Umuada Anambra in Port-Harcourt, Lolo Amaka James Iyke, affirmed that Governor Willie Obiano’s performance in three and half years has earned him re-lection. She reeled out the achievements in security, agriculture, infrastructure, regular payment of salaries and pensioners as a few of the reasons that convinced the organization to commence mobilization to re-elect Obiano. According to the Coordinator, “we have always prayed that God should bless Anambra with a responsive and responsible leader, and He favourably answered our prayers in Chief Willie Obiano. That is why we are working and reaching out to ndi Anambra to re-elect him.”
Umuada Anambra in Port-Harcourt is a socio-cultural club made up of a group of women of substance, whose membership cut across sectors including captains of industry, business women, and philanthropists with a resolve to work for the re-election of governor Obiano and ensure that the progress made so far in Anambra state is not truncated.
