The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, said Anambra State is not making the progress it is expected to make because it is not connected to the central government.
Ganduje, the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma and other APC stalwarts are currently attending the APC South-East Colloquium taking place in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Friday.
The colloquium themed, ‘De-marginalisation of South-East Zone and Integration into National Politics’, is being hosted by the Senator representing Anambra South, Ifeanyi Ubah.
Speaking during the event, Ganduje said, “We are most grateful to participate in this dialogue that affects the South-East region. The Ndigbo are an ingredient of national integration because they are mostly travelled across the country.
“Anambra is a strategic state in the South-East, but it is not making the progress that a state is expected to make because it is not connected to the central government, and that is the missing link, and it is not benefiting the state. Former Governors Peter Obi, Willie Obiano, and now Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.
“Governors are now using their connection with the central government to better their state. Why should Anambra continue to live in isolation? What is the benefit of this? Even those who governed Anambra State quickly abandoned the party after they had governed the state, this is the height of selfishness.
“Anambra’s refusal to connect with the centre has denied the people great benefits and infrastructure. Anambra has failed to transit, and it is trapped. If you are not at the table, nobody will speak for you, and that has been the situation with Anambra since 1999. Anambra is the only state being ruled by the All Progressives Grand Alliance, and the party has refused to grow.
“The South-West states were initially ruled by the Alliance for Democracy in 1999, but later, they became ACN, and by the political sagacity of our leader, who is the president today, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the South-West states continue to grow in strength, that is political dynamism. But APGA has continued to remain at one point, and it shouldn’t continue like this.
“It is time for political celebration, and we are hopeful that the APC will take over Anambra through Senator Ifeanyi Ubah. Anambra is the heartbeat of the South-East political zone, and it is time for it to join the centre party for it to grow. We are to make sure that Anambra connects to the center. No more intimidation, Anambra is strategic to the Nigerian economy, and it must connect to the centre.”
Also speaking, Uzodimma advised the South-East to key into the national integration of the APC.
Uzodimma explained that the colloquium is intended to stimulate the political party in the South-East and use it to better the region, adding that the time will come when inventory will be taken.
“It is a thing of joy that the national leadership of the APC has acknowledged that the South-East is being marginalised. Having diagnosed this, the question is who is this doctor that will prescribe the medicine to adopt, I think the national leader of the party is here to do that.
“We must identify national integration, national cohesion, and national unity so that we can have a pan-Nigerian project. The South-East is yearning for a united Nigeria where equity and justice are the yardstick, and it means we must be in the room where decisions are taken.
“If we are committed to joining this programme and campaigning for de-marginalisation, it means we must join the ruling political party. I think what we need is a precarious panacea to be part of the national consensus.
“The Nigeria project today has no room for those who are lamenting; it belongs to those who are pragmatic, and they must adopt a pragmatic approach. We must understand the political dynamism to navigate the terrain,” Uzodimma added.
The keynote speaker of the colloquium and the Vice-Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Prof. Charles Esimone, who spoke on the theme, said a lack of appreciation and outright denial of the rights of the south-east access to mainstream politics have continued because the region has failed to do the needful.
Esimone said, “Who is marginalising the South-East? The first culprit is the constitution. The second is a non credible census. Without a credible census, there won’t be room for equity. Equity has the potential to calm frayed nerves.
“The mismanagement of the three ‘Rs’ effectively laid the foundation for the marginalisation that the South-East faces today. Federal establishments are rare to find in the South-East while cities like Zaria and Lagos have more federal establishments than the whole South-East zone.
“One of the things that has caused self marginalisation is insecurity. It eases investment into the region. Marginalisation can affect groups. It can affect sex. The current political calculation does not favour the South-East. It does not make sense that other geopolitical zones have six states while the South-East has five.”
