Chief Damian Enekwechi is the chairman of Anambra Patriots for Soludo (APS).
In this interview, he speaks on the forthcoming governorship election in the state and Governor Charles Soludo’s chances of winning a second term.
Your group has been visiting stakeholders in Anambra State; what informed that?
Essentially, the Anambra Patriots for Soludo (APS) is a body made up of businessmen, politicians and true sons of Anambra State, who are united in support of the administration of Governor Charles Soludo.
We are not just a support group working for the second term ambition of Governor Soludo but a body that is offering its assistance towards showcasing achievements of the governor.
As a matter of fact, we are not asking Governor Soludo to sponsor us or give us money for the support we are giving to him because we are self-funded.
But this is unlike what the case is in politics where the candidates spend huge sums of money. Are you expecting appointments or contracts?
Not at all because we have what we are doing and we are not unemployed.
These are men of means, who are patriots of Anambra State and we are of the view that the governor has done marvellously well to deserve a second term in office.
It is not about appointments or looking for contracts but about saying it the way it is and what we are doing is to visit the communities and those in the rural areas and tell the story to the masses.
We are also partnering with the Presidents General of the town unions under the umbrella of Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU) as well as the market leadership in the state, who are the direct beneficiaries of what the governor is doing.
But there are people who are laying claim to the governorship position and they have already declared interest to contest the election…
Yes, people have the right to aspire for any position but that doesn’t mean that Governor Soludo has not done well.
Those people know very well that the governor has impacted positively on the lives of the people and that includes their kit and kin in the villages.
Again, those who are contesting have no massage to pass across to the Anambra electorate and they cannot lay their hands on any aspect of governance that has defects, so they have nothing to campaign with.
The administration of Governor Soludo has been accused of imposing so much taxes on the people. How would you respond to that?
You know that people don’t like to pay taxes, so when you insist that they must pay tax, they accuse you of being wicked.
Where do we get the money to construct roads and provide social security for the people from? Good governance is a two-way thing and that involves the government and the governed.
So, you should pay you tax and government has that constitutional obligation to provide basic infrastructure for the people, and it is only when you pay taxes and government fails in its duties to provide basic infrastructures that you can now say that the government is a failure.
Anambra has lost billions of naira to tax evasion since its creation and Governor Soludo has zero tolerance for tax evaders.
Come to think of it, Governor Soludo has touched every sector of governance and he is doing more.
So, the people have no option than to perform their civic responsibilities, which includes payment of taxes and levies.
There is this claim of pride against the governor and they say he is a non-conformist? Conform to what?
It is this issue of conformity or compromise that has been
Those who are
contesting have
no massage to
pass across to
the Anambra
electorate and
they cannot lay
their hands on
any aspect of
governance that
has defects
the bane of governance in Anambra State. There are some people who feel that they own Anambra State and that the governor must first of all recourse to them before taking any decision and they do not care about the masses, the common people.
Don’t forget that Governor Soludo is not a green horn when it comes to politics and he has been around for a long time and he knows everyone be you whatever. When he came on board, he started with Okpoko.
If toy go to Okpoko in Ogbaru Local Government Area, you will see great changes in terms of social amenities.
If he had chosen to listen to those people, the common man or woman in Okpoko wouldn’t have been enjoying those amenities.
We have had governors who came to power and chose to dance to the whims and caprices of those people and the results are there for all of us to see.
There are some, who came in and insisted that the right thing must be done and you know how history is remembering them today.
Anambra is not for tin gods or influencers but for the common people in Ogbaru, Umunze, Awka, Onitsha, Ekwulobia and the rest of them. So, the governor should be allowed to do his job to the best of his ability.
Remember that a loan of N200 billion was approved for him when he came into office and he has not taken the loan yet roads are being constructed in all the local gover nment areas and in all the senatorial districts.
Over 5,000 teachers were employed as well as medical personnel and there is free education from the basics to senor secondary school.
That is the result of not listening to those principalities that have held Anambra State hostage for years.
The Supreme Court recently delivered judgement on the suit filed by Edozie Njoku on the national chairmanship of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). What are your views on that judgement?
It is expected because Edozie Njoku was never the national chairman of APGA.
So, the Supreme Court judgement had put paid on this annual ritual of challenging the national leadership of the party in court.
He tried it twice and it all seemed as if he was close to it until the Supreme Court now delivered the judgement. These are distractions, so that our governor will abandoned his duties to begin to chase shadows.
It has been a common feature in Anambra State for some desperate people to shake the table to create problems.
All the same, we can now face the development of our state although Governor Soludo has never been moved by those antics.
How do you look at other political parties ahead of the 2025 governorship election?
We, as a body, are not worried and we are not losing sleep at all.
The good works of Governor Soludo will speak for him in the election and we are waiting for what his opponents will say during campaigns. Which of the political parties is prepared for the election?
None of them because they have issues bordering on leadership and internal problems. As a matter of fact, there is no vacancy in Anambra State government house Agu-Awka.
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