• Says ADC on rescue mission

John Nwosu, candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the November 8 governorship election in Anambra State, has clapped back at Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, incumbent governor of the state, reminding him that nobody would have contemplated a single term option, had he kept faith with the people as he promised in 2021, when he was pitching for his present job.

Weighing in against the backdrop of the controversial statement made by the governor on Friday, in which he declared that any candidate in an election who dared tell the electorates that he would do only a single term in office when the constitution allowed eight years, should be sent to a mental home for brain examination, Nwosu dismissed the contention as not only fallacious, but scandalous, especially coming from the person of the governor.

Many Nigerians had interpreted the statement as a direct attack against Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in the 2023 election, who had vowed that he would only do one term in office so as to give way to the North in fulfillment of the unwritten power-sharing agreement between the North and South of the country, through rotation of the presidency.

A statement by Sunny Igboanugo, Director, Media and Publicity, John Chuma Nwosu Governorship Campaign Council (JCN-GCC), quoted the party flagbearer as saying that another four years of Soludo’s listless governance, might sound the final death-knell on Anambra State that has been plunged into a bottomless pit in the last four years.

“It does not matter whether he was addressing Peter Obi or anybody else. The basic question should be, why should I be throwing my hat in the ring at a time like this? The answer is simple. Anambra is galloping dangerously towards the edge of the precipice. Nothing is working in the state because crime has taken over. With another four years of this dangerous glide, the disaster is predictable.

“I don’t want to wait for that to happen before doing something about it. I must provide the platform for the people of the state crying under the weight of the present parlous situation to take their fate in their hands and redeem the situation. So for me, rescuing Anambra from this dangerous drive, is not an option, it is a duty.”

Stressing that Anambra people would not be detained by the hidden gambit of suggesting that every governor must desire to spend eight years in office, dismissing it as pure blackmail, Nwosu argued that a well-focused, visionary and purposeful governor could deliver great feats in four years than a directionless and purposeless ones seeking power for the sake of it only.

“Let me leave out great men like Abraham Lincoln or John Kennedy or Mandela, who did not spend more than four years in office, as people have already pointed out. Look at what is happening in Abia State. See the exploits of Governor Alex Otti in just two years. The wonders he has performed during this period has surpassed the last 24 years of his predecessors.

“Such visionary leadership is what Anambra is missing and that’s what we are coming with. We don’t need more than four years to implement our SHEEMS agenda, which captures our vision for Security, Health, Education, Economy, Markets and Social Welfare. I don’t need four years to make Anambra run a smart government model by tracking criminals and fighting crimes through hi-tech mechanism.

It will not take us four years to rid our streets of state actors humiliating and torturing citizens in the street in the name of revenue collection. We don’t need four years to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI-enabled) security system that will run on face-recognition technology with a fully-equipped Command and Control (CAC) Centre, to fight crime.

“Our Healthcare will run on latest technology along the best practices in global medical practice using AI and other hi-tech medical facilities, with focus on first-class assessable and affordable programmes anchored on Primary Health Care (PHC), complete with Emergency Medical and Transport Services (EMTS), he said.

“Transforming our Education through the STEM model of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics will be done in less than four years, using the current global prototype to equip our children with the ability to grapple with modern developments. Four years will not be needed for Anambra children to stand out once again as national bests in WAEC and NECO examinations.

“We shall deliver a new infrastructural map for Anambra State with a solid Road Maintenance Department (RMD) similar to the PWD (Public Works Department) in compliance with the Anambra Integrated Development Strategy (ANIDS). This will not take us four years to do.

“Our Markets programme of eradicating the choking taxing system will be achieved in less than four years. To enhance enterprises and improve ease of doing business, we will ensure tax reduction and our means of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) recovery will have human face. We shall deploy technology in revenue collection instead of the use of thugs.”

“As for our Social Welfare, we shall be empathetic to our people. We shall help them pick the pieces of their lives under the present harsh economic condition rather than making their conditions worse. Outside the yawning gap in real governance, has been a clear show of emotional intelligence. We shall alter this mindset and make our government about our people and not our people for government. We don’t need four years to do that.

“Let me reiterated that I shall do only four years and hand over. Within that period, I shall set Anambra on a sound pedestal, based on strong institutional framework that will never allow the present failure of leadership. Once that is achieved, our mission would have been achieved. The joy of achieving that is more fulfilling than even 100 years in office without anything to show.”