Awka-Etiti traditional ruler Igwe Angus Ojukwu joins the race to become Anambra State governor

ANAMBRA State's impending gubernatorial election took an interesting twist yesterday when the tradition ruler of Awka-Etiti in Idemili-South Local Government Area Igwe Angus Ojukwu throwing his hat into the ring.

On November 18, Anambrans will elect a new governor with incumbent Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (Apga) standing for re-election. Despite Nigeria's constitution baring traditional rulers from getting involved in politics, Igwe Ojukwu has said he will contest the polls on the platform of the Mega Progressive Peoples Party (MPPP), describing the administration of Governor Obiano as visionless.

Igwe Ojukwu said: “Governor Willie Obiano’s administration has not improved the welfare of the average person in the state, thus the need for change. My objective is to bring light to Anambra State.

"It is time for light to shine in our state. This is what the present administration has not been able to do. I am poised to do it."

Declaring his ambition during a ceremony he organised in his country house in Awka-Etiti, in the presence of the state executive council of the MPPP, Igwe Ojukwu reeled out a 10-point agenda which, he said, would form his blueprint for the governance of Anambra State, if elected. His 10-point agenda includes free and compulsory primary and secondary education, free maternal/child care, electricity for all, potable water for all, adequate security, industrialisation, infrastructural development, employment generation, agriculture and investment.

He asked the people of the state to support him, stating that only the MPPP had what it takes to take Anambra State to the land of glory. Igwe  Ojukwu, who was the immediate past assistant national secretary of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, said if elected under the umbrella of the MPPP, he would sustain the tempo of security in Anambra and go further to improve it.

“We have a people-friendly manifesto and programmes which if implemented, would benefit the state more than what any other government, past or present, has offered. The All Progressives Congress cannot win the governorship election in Anambra State and the Peoples Democratic Party has not yet put its house in order as to stand for and win the forthcoming election in Anambra.

Apga is already dead by reason of the leadership crisis rocking it. By the time I take over after the November 2017 election, Apga will be completely dead because its grip is limited to Anambra,” Igwe Ojukwu added.

Simon Anidike, the Anambra State chairman of the party, told the gathering that Igwe Ojukwu was qualified and well-equipped to govern Anambra State. Igwe  Ojukwu, whose status as the monarch of Awka Etiti, is still contentious, is the son of the late traditional ruler of the community.