A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Okwuonu, an Aba-based medical practitioner, has thrown his weight behind the recent declaration by President Muhammadu Buhari to run for a second term.

He noted that it is the constitutional right of President Buhari to seek a second term. Besides, according to him, “The president’s performance in the last three years has led a solid foundation for the country. He has fared well in his three-point agenda of security, economy and agriculture. Take, for instance, the area of security: Buhari’s administration has destabilised Boko Haram insurgency in the North East that people of the zone who earlier deserted the zone are now returning. Though terrorism is a war that is not easily won, I would say that this administration has devoted tremendous efforts in destabilising the insurgents in the North East.”

Okwuonu continued: “In the area of agriculture, there is a huge boost in the production of rice that a lot of investors are attracted to this area. The importation of rice has dropped and it is a significant political point. God willing, by the time his second term would elapse, dependence on imported rice would have come down drastically and this would have saved us a huge foreign exchange.

“Today, few private refineries have sprung up. Though the licenses were granted during Obasanjo’s regime, but the investors didn’t have confidence in that administration. If this process is not halted and the refineries commence production, also, our dependence on imported petroleum products will soon reduce and also save us some foreign exchange.”

Another area Okwuonu strongly believes that the administration has made a landmark impact is the area of solid mineral exploration. According to him, the administration has deployed vigorous efforts in that administration.

“If you remember when this administration came on board it inherited an economy that was in a very bad shape. But thank God today that the economy is pulling out of recession.”

The APC chieftain believes that the anti-corruption fight of the president is paying off as politicians and other government functionaries now know that is not business as usual. However, “the fight should not be focused on the mighty alone. It should also involve the low who in one way or the other looted the treasury no matter how paltry it is. People’s income should be monitored to ascertain when they live beyond their income. When people live beyond their means, the whistle blowers should blow the whistle. The president has done well in his fight against corruption and should be given another chance,” Okwuonu said.

“Political parties should evolve a process where members would make contributions to fund the parties to reduce dependence on the money bags. This will discourage highjack of the political parties by money bags,” he said.

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