Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, has expressed gratitude to Ndi Anambra for throwing their weight behind the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the last Saturday’s State House of Assembly election.

He urged the voters to consolidate on the gains of democracy achieved in the state by voting for the remaining four candidates of the APGA in the rescheduled State House of Assembly elections in Ekwusigo, Anaocha and Aguata local government areas of the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), through its Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), had announced APGA winner in 26 State House of Assembly seats, declaring as inconclusive the election that took place in Uga Ward 1 in Aguata 1 State Constituency, Adazi-ani Ward, Adazi-Nnukwu Ward 1, Agulu Wards 1 - 4 all in Anaocha 1 Constituency and Nri Ward 1 and 2 in Anaocha 2 State Constituency as well as Ekwusigo State Constituency.

Governor Obiano in a statewide broadcast yesterday thanked the voters for their massive support for APGA and called specifically on the affected people of “Ekwusigo, Anaocha and Aguata to play a role in creating a brighter future for yourselves by voting for the four APGA candidates standing election this Saturday.”

Governor Obiano who reminded them that their brothers and sisters from all over Anambra State voted for APGA, urged them to join the moving train.

“Last Saturday, history was made in Anambra State. Yes, last Saturday, we joined hands with one another to lay the foundation for a prosperous Anambra State. We rose as one people to affirm the words of the Anambra Anthem that “in togetherness, we will build a land of progress.”

“Ndi Anambra, when we cast our votes for the All Progressive Grand Alliance in the House of Assembly election, we offered a huge support to on-going efforts to re-imagine a bigger and better Anambra State. I must thank you for voting massively for all the 30 candidates of APGA in the House of Assembly election.” The governor said. Quoting Eric Hofer, an American writer and thinker who observed that “the only way to predict the future is to have the power to shape it,” he said.

The governor also said that the massive votes for APGA was an expression that the people “have graciously handed to me and Nkem Okeke, the power to shape the future of Anambra State. You have massively renewed, re-invigorated and re-validated the sacred mandate you gave to us to build a better state for you. And we shall not fail you. Ndi Anambra we shall not let you down!”

According to him, “our victory in last Saturday’s election has thoroughly exposed the large scale fraud, perpetrated by the PDP in the March 28, 2015 National Assembly election in Anambra State. The voting patterns and the overall results have shown that APGA actually swept all the three Senatorial Seats in the state but the outcome was manipulated to give temporary victory to PDP.”

He told those who stole the mandate given by the people to APGA candidates in the National Assembly Elections not to gloat, as according to him, “…don’t rejoice for too long, because this injustice shall not stand! Ndi Anambra, we have resolved that those who rob us in the dead of the night shall not have the liberty to enjoy their spoils in the light of day. We have assembled a mountain of evidence to deny them that unmerited happiness. Ndi Anambra, we shall repossess those stolen mandates!”

Governor Obiano recalled that the those he called anti-democracy agents that allegedly robbed the people of the mandate they gave to APGA in the National Assembly elections “ also made another attempt to hijack the electoral process in the House of Assembly election last Saturday, but failed woefully in their attempts to manipulate the people’s will again in Ekwusigo, Anaocha 1 & 2 and Aguata 1, in the April 11 House of Assembly election.

The governor urged the people to remain vigilante and troop out en masse to vote for APGA in the remaining four State constituency seats in Ekwusigo, Anaocha 1 and 2 as well as Aguata 1.

“This Saturday, all eyes must be on the four places where voting will take place. We must always remember the wise words of former American President, Thomas Jefferson that ‘the price of liberty is eternal vigilance’. We must all rise to the challenge of ensuring that the constitutional rights of our people to decide who should represent them in the legislative assembly are not tampered with.”

He assured voters in Ekwusigo, Anaocha and Aguata that he would do everything humanly possible to ensure that the candidates of their choice emerge victorious in the rescheduled election, hoping that “our great party, APGA, will sweep the four Seats in contention, I wish to assure Ndi Anambra as the Chief Security Officer of this great state, that the contest will be free, fair and peaceful.”

The governor explained that he had the assurances of INEC and all the Service Commanders in this state that “the process will be free of the challenges that led to the cancellation of the exercise last weekend.”

He also urged the voters “to stand up and be counted and lend a hand in the current efforts to create a brighter future for Anambra State. In the words of Werner Erhard, foremost American critical thinker, ‘we create our future from our future, not our past.”

•Photo shows Gov. Obiano.

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