The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in the November 6 poll in Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has unveiled his manifesto.
The former Governor of the Central Bank, who presented his his contract with the people of the state if elected at the Dr Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, the state capital on Saturday, said no candidate in the race was his match.
He said his target was to meet the one million votes mark in the election.
He said, “I thank APGA for the ticket it gave me on June 23, and the over 50 support groups who for years continued to clamour for me to aspire for the governorship position.
“They have been demanding for me to come and run, some of them are people across party lines, and some who are not even politicians have been calling me and saying that after the tenure of Governor Willie Obiano, the best thing that can happen to Anambra is for me to come and continue. Anambra people want APGA to continue.
“We will compete and contest for every vote and we will not take your votes for granted. Our target is to reach the one million-vote mark. There are people who know that even if they carry a gun, Anambra people will not vote for them. They are carrying money around and buying expired politicians.
“Anambra is APGA, and APGA is Anambra. Anambra is not Imo. They say they want to connect us to the centre, and it is idiocy for them to talk about going to the centre because I’m already in the centre. I serve in this government (federal), so when they talk about going to centre, they are talking about coming to meet us. I’m already at the centre and I go in and out of Aso Rock, so when they talk about going to the centre, they are coming to meet me, because I’m there already.”
“I told Anambra people that on the day of the flag off, we will unveil and launch the Anambra manifesto. This manifesto is one that envisions Anambra as a five star destination to live, work and relax in. We want Anambra to be liveable. My manifesto with ndi Anambra is my contract with them.
“I’m not going to learn on the job. I will hit the ground running. We will build a land where no child born here will go out to look for better future in Lagos or Abuja.
“After this speech, my manifesto will be shared and uploaded online, and this is my contract with you. I have looked at the people contesting, and with every sense of humility, I don’t think they can match me.
“They can be governor because they are qualified and the constitution says if you have a school certificate, you can be governor, but for those who forged their certificates, I do not think they can be governor.
“We are not making empty promises, the things we have here (manifesto) have been thought over by me and they are achievable, not the people who contracted people to concoct something that looks like manifesto for them,” Soludo said.
Speaking, the state governor, Willie Obiano said Anambra people had two choices to make in the upcoming election; “To continue in the progress we are making or to go back to Egypt”.
“We have fake certificate holders, we have debtors, who are running for governor, but they can’t govern. You all must vote for qualified fellows like Soludo. He has the reach, contact and cerebral to lead Anambra. He knows where to find the money, much more than I do.
“I have no doubt that we will win with a landslide. We have no competition. We have done well, we have been able to deliver for Anambra. We have built 153 roads and 34 are ongoing. I know Soludo will do well, if he will not, I would not have brought him out. The former administration did well, I did better and the Soludo administration will be the best.”