A governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State, Prof. Barth Nnaji, has sued for peace in the course of electioneering ahead of the 2023 general elections in the state.

Nnaji made the call against the backdrop of manifestations of violence in the ongoing electioneering in the state whereby unknown persons have embarked on destruction of billboards of governorship aspirants, particularly his own billboards.

Nnaji’s appeal is contained in a statement by his Campaign Organisation endorsed by the Director-General, Richy Agu.

Agu, quoting his principal, Prof. Nnaji, called on all individuals and political parties preparing to contest in the 2023 general elections to borrow a leaf from the State Chief Executive, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and eschew politics of bitterness and hatred.

Nnaji maintained that the atmosphere of peace in the last seven years in the state accounts for the remarkable progress the state has recorded.

“Enugu State can imitate fast developing nations and territories like Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia, as well as Dubai, only when there is sustained peace,” Prof. Nnaji, a former Minister of Power, and a globally recognized Robotic engineering expert, said.

The call on political parties and their members to continue with the tradition of peace, Nnaji said, has become imperative, in view of the incipient wave of bitter politics which some people in Enugu State have been displaying in recent days.

“For instance,” the Campaign Organisation said, “a tiny group of politicians have been sponsoring violent articles on the social media against leading Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members participating in the gubernatorial primary election of May 21. Worse, the same elements have been sponsoring thugs to destroy Professor Nnaji’s billboards which adorn the streets of Enugu State. The billboards attacked in the last 24 hours include the ones at the famous Okpara Square in Independence Layout, Enugu.”

The statement advised PDP governorship aspirants to see themselves as members of one family, more so, since almost all of them were from the same senatorial zone.

It continued: “They should provide leadership by personal example and demonstrate to all Nigerians that politics do not have to be a matter of do or die.”

The Campaign Organisation warned politicians who may wish to bring back “memories of the violent politics of the past which led to many killings and destructions, resulting in massive investment flights from Enugu State. Investment everywhere in the world is a coward, and goes only to places where it does not feel threatened. Our state is in dire need of investments, so that our people, especially the youth, will be given employment and business opportunities.”

It ascribed the ongoing agitation in the Southeast and other parts of the country to a profound lack of opportunities for the young ones.

The Professor Bart Nnaji Campaign Organisation requested all PDP gubernatorial aspirants and, indeed, all those seeking public office in the forthcoming general elections, to lay out their visions of development to the people. “Our people seek a new direction which will dramatically raise their living standards,” it stated, adding: “On a personal level, Prof Nnaji is both inspired and challenged by the Singaporean example. Singapore, which is so small that it looks like a dot on the world map, has no mineral deposits, and yet it became, within less than 30 years, a global development miracle. Professor Nnaji is convinced that Enugu State can make it, too. If Dubai can arrest global attention with its dizzying development, nothing prevents Enugu State, capital of not just the Southeast, but also the Eastern Nigeria, from rising rapidly.”

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