Leadership and members of Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), Lower Erejuwa Tools and Motor Spare Parts Association (LETMSPA), Igbo Amalgamated Traders Association (IMATA), and Effurun Tools and Motor Spare Parts Dealers Association (ASPAMDA) in Warri, Delta State, have endorsed Comrade Sunny Ofehe, a leading governorship candidate of Young Progressive Party (YPP) in Delta State.

They said after Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate and Ofehe are their next choice of candidates that would receive their block vote in the state.

Ofehe received a resounding outpouring of support from the Igbo leaders and business owners when he took his "meeting the electoral" campaign train to the plastic market in Robert Road, Erigbe, Marble swamp, lower Erejuwa Road, and the Effurun Spare Parts Market, where

Donning his usual white native campaign attire, Ofehe received prayers from the patron of the union and the oldest man at the popular Igbo market who said they have adopted Ofehe's YPP as their party in the 2023 general election.

Addressing the people separately, Ofehe declared that if elected to that position in 2023, he would attract $26 billion in foreign direct investment over the course of four years to the state.

The governorship candidate insisted that, if elected, he would not rely on federal funding to implement his social and economic policies for the state, but rather would create an environment that would attract investors and support the state's revenue-generating efforts.

He asserted that any responsible government with substantial mineral resources and human capital development, such as Delta, should be able to generate and attract FDI worth $26 billion every year.

“I will increase our GDP level. I will cut down on our borrowing. I will ensure that we look beyond the box. We will not only rely on FAAC or internally generated revenue, but we will create the avenue to ensure that we recoup a minimum of $26 billion. I repeat for the record, $26 billion US dollars from the abundance of resources that are sleeping and have not been tapped. You all will work with me to salvage this country”.

The frontline candidate declared that if elected governor of the state, he would implement strategies and laws to harness the rich potential of the state, maximise the use of the state's natural resources, and reposition the oil and gas industry.

He revealed that he was already in discussions with foreign partners who had shown interest in his leadership abilities to revitalise the state’s economy and build a world-class infrastructure as someone who had spent 27 years living abroad.

“What you see in Europe is not rocket science, it is purely out of patriotism and dedication and the government’s ability to understand that every mechanic there contributes to the internally revenue generation and, as a result of that, must be provided with the basic minimum requirement for them to continue to function,” Ofehe said.

The Netherlands-based environmentalist promised the traders a gas turbine that would provide them with electricity 24 hours a day and installed command centre-controlled close circuit cameras to ensure their safety and adequate security of the markets.

However, he praised the traders for their commitment, toil, and fortitude in the face of the nation’s economic hardship as well as for their warm support shown to him.

Ofehe pledged to give priority to traders throughout the state by constructing a modern market with a reliable power supply, good access roads, a security network, and a fire service, as well as a successful insurance programme to guard them against unforeseen events.

He promised to harness the rich potential of the state to shore up the revenue base, out of which he would provide a special grant to traders to enhance their businesses in his first hundred days in office.

The well-known Isoko chieft pledged that if elected governor, he would guarantee food security by improving agriculture mechanisation, providing accessible and high-quality primary healthcare, and providing free maternal treatment to women from conception to delivery.

The YPP candidate for governor urged Deltans to turn out in droves to support him in the general election, urging the people to work hard with him to win the election and free the state from the chains of poverty its citizens are subjected to.

His words: “If I don’t win this election, it is also because you deceived me in your promises. If you work hard with me, this is a divine mission. If you work hard with me, PDP will not be able to compete against me, and APC will never be able to compete against me, because it is time, as you rightly said, to reclaim what belongs to us.

“We must get our common wealth back, we must ensure education for our children, and we must ensure access to healthcare for our mothers.

“We must make sure we make all these roads good so that your business can thrive. I have no godfather in this country but if we win this election you all will be my godfathers.

“It is time for us to look outside of the box and not look within the box. We should look beyond FAAC allocation, look beyond internally generated revenue, because we have a state that can be the California of sub-Sahara Africa. And as a governor in my first tenure, the people of Delta state will sit down and look at themselves and look at our state and say "God we thank you because for the first time you have sent us a messiah”.

Nnaemeka Nduli, the chairman of the Tools and Motor Spare Parts Market in Effurun, Comrade Ike Ifiedora, the president general of the Igbo Market Amalgamated Traders Association (IMATA), Bishop Ifiedora, Mr. Gozie Ifiedora, and Mr. Bishop Ifiedora, the traders in Robert Road, Marble Swamp, and Erigbe, as well as Comrade Donatus Ezechukwu and the apex leader of Igbo Youths Movement, Hon Evans Ibeanusi among others, pledged their support for Comrade Ofehe’s candidacy.

Ezechukwu said: “I can see the humility and honesty in his speech and, to a large extent, that shows that he is a man of the people. With a man who is ready to listen, who is grass-rooted and with what you have seen here today, I want to believe that if elected as governor of this state, he is going to do well and, by the grace of God, we are going to identify with him. But my prayer is that if by the grace of God he gets there, he should fulfill his promises and make Delta state a better place for all of us to live”.

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