Anambra must belong to ruling party -APC chieftain

A former National Auditor of the All Progressives Congress, Paul Chukwuma, has said that Anambra State must connect to the centre to enable it to drive its infrastructural support for sustainable growth.

Chukwuma, who is also the pro-chancellor of Olivia University, Burundi, noted that Anambra State would need to collaborate with the Federal Government to build infrastructure such as roads, railways, gas pipelines and ports that would be the anchor point for the next developmental phase of the state.

He stated this during a press conference in his hometown in Umueri, Anambra East Local Government Area, on Saturday, adding that only an APC governor can develop the state, under an APC-led Federal Government.

He added that Anambra has remained underdeveloped because past and current governors were not able to connect to the FG at the centre.

He argued that there were advantages of having a governor from the APC in the current regime, as there are many decision-making gatherings that governors that are not of APC stock may not be aware of, including Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, who is of All Progressives Grand Alliance.

He explained that he seeks to contest the 2025 Anambra governorship election under the platform of the APC because he believes he has the capacity and that the state must connect to the centre for it to develop.

He said, “Go and check Imo and Ebonyi states that are being governed by the APC in the South East and compare them with other states that are governed by other political parties, and you will see the difference.

“In Ebonyi, the past and present governors have used the platform to attract the goodwill of the Federal Government, and if you go there, you will see the quality of their projects and development, only the connection at the centre can attract such.

“Go to Imo, you will see massive projects there. As I speak to you now, Orashi River is being dredged, courtesy of the Federal Government. Governor Hope Uzodinma has used the opportunity of his closeness to the Federal Government to attract projects.”

He further said, “Right now, the Federal University of Technology is being turned into a full conventional university. They are building a teaching hospital there now. What Uzodinma is doing there, we have never seen it here. Those who are criticising Uzodimma are just doing so to get at him, not because he is not performing.

“Coming to Anambra, all the erosion sites we have everywhere here cannot be tackled by the state government. We need Federal Government funds to be able to do so. That is why I am saying that the problem is not with those who are governors today, but the party they come from.”

The APC chieftain explained that he is contesting the governorship position of the state under the APC to leverage his closeness to the FG to fix most problems in the state, which are far beyond the capacity of the state government.

He opined that two factors were necessary for sustainable growth – human capital development and infrastructure, adding that while Anambra has grown in Hunam Capital Development, it is poorly deficient in infrastructure; which he believes is the major reason why the state is yet to have sustainable growth.

He proposed that Anambra must link to the centre to attract funding that will build these infrastructures as the state revenue is insufficient to do so.