By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Former National Auditor of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Paul Chukwuma, has declared his intention to run for the Governorship seat of Anambra State come next year.

Speaking with journalists in his country home, Umueri in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State on Saturday, Chukwuma stressed that only an APC governor can develop Anambra State, under an APC-led federal government.

The former auditor who serves as the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Olivia University, Burundi, said he is now convinced that the underdevelopment in the state emanated from the inability of the state to connect to the centre by joining the APC.

While saying that there were advantages of having a governor from the APC in the current regime, he observed that there are many decision making gatherings that governors that are not of APC may not be aware of which he cited Anambra governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo who is of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as a pointer.

He added: “Go and look at the two states in the South East that are being governed by APC; Ebonyi and Imo, and compare them with other states that are governed by other political parties, and you will see the difference.

“In Ebonyi, the past and present governors have used the platform to attract the goodwill of the federal government, and if you go there, you will see the quality of their projects.

“Go to Imo, you will see massive projects there. As I speak to you now, Orashi River is being dredged, courtesy of the federal government. Hope Uzodinma has used the opportunity of his closeness to the federal government to attract projects. Right now, Federal University of Technology (FUTO) is being turned into a full conventional university. They are building a teaching hospital there now.

“What Governor Hope Uzodinma is doing there, we have never seen it here. Those who are criticizing Hope are just doing so to get at him, not because he is not performing.

“Coming to Anambra, all the erosion sites we have everywhere here, we cannot tackle it. We need federal government funds to be able to do so. That is why I’m saying that the problem is not with those who are governors today, but the party they come from.”

According to him, he is ready to throw his hat in the ring for the election next year, adding that coming from APC, he will leverage his closeness to the government at the centre to fix most problems in the state, stressing that the problems are seen as beyond the capacity of the state government.

Recall that Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, the senator representing Anambra South senatorial zone, last week also announced his intention to contest the election.

Ubah had in the course of his declaration described Governor Soludo as an under-performing governor.

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