Igbo Assembly Backs Atiku, as Imo PDP Flags Off Campaign

By Amby Uneze in  Owerri

A socio-cultural organisation of the Igbo nation known as Igbo Assembly has warned that the Igbo would not support any presidential candidate  opposed to restructuring the nation, indicating that the group are poised in supporting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

This was declared by chieftain of the group and member Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu who gave the clarification at the flag off of the party’s campaign rally in Imo State held at Ubomiri, in the Mbaitoli council area.

Relying on the potentials of the PDP presidential flag bearer, he said that it is only the PDP that is genuinely committed to restructuring the nation as opposed to other parties who he said are playing to the gallery.

“What the APC is saying about restructuring is a deceit and Atiku is the only candidate that can truly implement restructuring and you should support him and our governorship candidate, Chief Emeka Ihedioha to heave a sigh of relief.

“As the oldest member of the BOT of the PDP, I am in a better position to talk of the qualities and suitability of Emeka Ihedioha to move Imo forward. He has been tested and has been found to be capable to take us to the next level of development and growth.

“Please vote for all PDP candidates in the oncoming general elections and reject those who promise to build bridges for you where there are no rivers,” the leader of the group stated.

Former governor of the state, Achike Udenwa along with the state chairman of the party,  Charles Ezekwem and other chieftains of the party enjoined the electorate to reject the APC at the polls to end their misery and destitution.

“With Atiku as president and Ihedioha as governor you will begin to recover what has eluded you over the years, workers and pensioners will be paid, our hospitals will begin to work again. There will be no more china roads in Imo and the time to act has come,” they said.

Dwelling on his agenda “to rebuild Imo and my word is my bond”, Ihedioha listed good governance, human capital development, jobs and wealth creation, integrated infrastructure development as among his blue print of action if elected.

“Our dear state is bedeviled with a rapid decay of public infrastructure, crippling debt burden of over N100 billion up from 26 billion in 2011 without any meaningful infrastructure to show for it but instead, we have mounting salary and pension arrears, unemployment and underdevelopment despite the fact that between May 2011 and December 2017, Imo State Government received over half a trillion naira from the Federation Account excluding the bailout fund of N63.91 billion, Paris fund of N32.02 billion, over N50 billion internally generated revenue, ecological funds running into several billions of naira,” he lamented.