How The Emergence Of Eric, Agu Is Shaking The Political Equation In Abia

Since the unveiling of an Abian of impeccable integrity, a distinguished Sustainable Development Expert, Entrepreneur, Technocrat, and Project Management and Financial Sector Specialist with over 27 years of professional experience spanning development finance, agribusiness, financial services, pension administration, institutional development, enterprise development, strategic business advisory, and a renowned community leader, Dr. Godswill Agu Egbe, as the Deputy Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the camp of the Nvosi faction of the Labour Party has been extremely restless.

Having unsuccessfully attempted to dissuade Dr. Agu Egbe from contesting by pleading with some influential Abians to persuade him to step aside, the Alex Otti government, their supporters, and the leadership of the Labour Party have now resorted to unsolicited advice, emotional blackmail, and desperate attempts to undermine his decision and bold attempt to offer himself for public service.

I can understand their frustrations. Dr. Godswill Agu Egbe, though being in the ballot for the first time, is not a political lightweight. He is a man of capacity, competence, integrity, and proven accomplishment, and greatly loved and admired by his people. Together with his principal, the governorship candidate, Dr. Eric Opah, both represent a new political force driven not by personal ambition, but by a deep conviction that Abia deserves better.

Dr. Eric Opah and Dr. Godswill Agu Egbe are Abians whose motivations, origins, and convictions are uncommon. They have stepped forward with a clear mission, to rewrite Abia’s story of misgovernance, mismanagement, criminal diversion of public resources, lack of accountability, corruption, segregation, divisiveness, and the abuse of public trust.

They are determined to restore governance in Abia to its rightful purpose: serving the people, developing the state, and creating opportunities for every Abian, irrespective of clan, political affiliation, community, or social status.

This is precisely why their emergence has unsettled the Otti administration and the Labour Party. The palpable excitement that greeted the APC ticket across Abia, from the North to the Central and the South, is a clear indication that Abians are yearning for a leadership team they can trust. The people are excited because, for the first time in a long while, men with uncommon professional achievements, proven capacity, strong community roots, and impeccable character are stepping forward to offer themselves for the leadership of the state.

Abians are looking for a government that will give them hope, keep promises and serve them with empathy, and not propaganda. They are looking beyond empty rhetoric. They are looking for competence. They are looking for integrity. They are looking for accountability and honesty. They are looking for inclusive development.

That is the promise embodied in the Eric Opah/Agu Egbe ticket, and that is why Abians are excited. The APC has presented a team prepared to confront the failures of the Otti administration and restore hope and confidence to the ordinary Abian.

They have heeded to the cries of Abians, answered the call of duty, the call to serve, and they cannot abandon Abians who pledged their willingness to support and give them the opportunity to serve. For them, there is no turning back. So, the attempt to intimidate, blackmail, or discourage Dr. Agu Egbe has already failed.

The political equation in Abia has changed, and the people are ready for change. The APC is ready, Eric Opah and Godswill Agu Egbe are ready, Abians are ready to vote for the APC, and together we shall deliver Abia and restore the dignity of the teachers, the civil servants, the market woman, the bus and keke operator, and return the seat of power from Alex Otti’s bedroom to the Government House in Umuahia.

_Chief Uche Aguoru is Abia state APC Publicity Secretary_

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