Sir Tony Ejiogu, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 11 gubernatorial election in Imo State, has reiterated his commitment to devolution of powers if elected as governor, even as he promised to conduct free, fair, and credible local government elections upon assumption of office.
The APGA governorship candidate gave this assurance recently when he visited Aboh and Ezinihitte Mbaise local government areas as part of his campaign tour.
While noting that successive governors in the state have failed to conduct elections at the local level, thereby eroding democratic governance, Sir Ejiogu promised to reverse the trend.
“Frequently overlooked, Nigeria’s local governments are disproportionately important; if they functioned well, they would be best positioned to meet people’s basic needs and to build their resilience to cope with everyday challenges,” he said.
He further maintained that “across the grassroots, health services are inadequate, there is limited potable water, primary education is in a comatose state, teachers are either not available or underpaid, and there is a general absence of public infrastructure,” which should not be so.
Local government autonomy has been one of the campaign promises of the APGA candidate, as stated in his speech during his campaign flag-off in August 2023. He said that his administration would embark on various government reforms, which are key to achieving his five-point agenda.
“First, we will plan and conduct free, fair, and credible local government elections, then we can improve the government’s transparency and accountability and drive social justice and equality,” he had promised, adding that this would help to fill significant socio-economic gaps.
Ejiogu added that due to years of inefficiency and a general lack of activity, Imo people have lost hope that the third tier of government can provide any sort of democratic dividends to them, but if voted as governor, this will change.
Speaking on his plans for security, he gave the assurance that Imo would bounce back again, as his administration would create an enabling environment that is safe and secure for business and investment to flourish while workers and pensioners get paid as and when due.
Commending Ejiogu’s people-oriented policy agenda, the Imo APGA woman leader, Mrs. Nkasi Tessy Obi, urged women in the state to troop to their various communities and embark on aggressive grassroots mobilization to secure victory for the party.
“We are happy with the way you all welcomed us, and we are promising that Sir Tony Ejiogu must not take your show of love for granted. Make sure you all consolidate on this momentum by telling everybody to vote for APGA come November 11th.”
