*Says it is the turn of Nnewi bloc to complete 8years for Anambra South
By Toby Chuks
Ahead of the 2025 governorship election in Anambra State, popular mass movement group known as Oga Ndi Oga Foundation has made fresh case for zoning and rotation of power to be narrowed down to some sort of micro level in the State. Consequently the group in tune with democratic right to freedom of opinion and speech say that it is the turn of Nnewi bloc in Anambra South Senatorial zone to produce the next Governor of the Light of the Nation State in 2025.
Addressing journalists at their headquarters in Awka the State capital the Founder/CEO of the Foundation High Chief Godwin Agbasimelo observed that it has become necessary to micro zone and rotate the governorship seat around blocs/clans within a Senatorial District to deal with nepotism driven by clannish interest.
According to him “it is a clear phenomenon that sitting governors favor their blocs/clan both in appointments and in execution of development projects, to this end we the entire members of Oga Ndi Foundation having carefully observed the situation and clearly seen what is going in the State since the return of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, hereby with democratic right of opinion and speech say that it is the turn of Nnewi bloc/clan to produce the next Governor of Anambra State in 2025
“Our reason for saying this is very clear and not far fetched because we have three blocs/clans In Anambra South Senatorial District which Nnewi, Aguata and Ihaila and it is only Nnewi bloc/clan that is yet to produce the governor. Ihiala has taken it through Mbadinuju while Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo who is the current occupant of the seat as governor is from Aguata bloc/clan, so let someone from any of the three Local Government Areas in Nnewi bloc such as Nnewi North or Nnewi South or Ekwusigo take the seat in 2025
“What we are saying is that the issue of equity, justice and fair play which all of want to prevail in Anambra State via zoning and rotation power has to be narrowed down to some sort of micro level within the Senatorial District by giving room to various blocs/clans to share the eight year constitutional term within themselves.
On the impression in some quarters that giving another person from Anambra South outside Soludo who has only one term left for him a chance to become the next governor of Anambra amount to risk of allowing Anambra South to go beyond eight years, he said that the next governor outside Soludo who has only one term left for him will certainly do one term of four years to pave way another Senatorial District to take it. He said that an attempt by the people of Anambra South to exceed eight years in government house at Agu Awka amounts to someone turning to be destroyer of his building.
He advised 2025 governorship aspirants from Anambra North and Central Senatorial Districts to quash their aspirations because according to him, their aspiration amount to working against zoning and rotation of power in the State. He warned that those working against zoning and rotation might be at the receiving end because according to him the people of Southern Senatorial District could be a hard nut to crack if zone and rotation is jettisoned.
On the scheduled Local Government election, he argued that the frame of the election is too short and called for a shift in date to enable adequate preparation. He cited the case of neighboring States such as Enugu and Imo States as examples respectively noting that the Enugu State Local Government election which is scheduled to hold on October 5, 2024 was announced by the State electoral commission way back in May 2024 which is about 180days ahead while that of Imo State which is scheduled to hold on September 21, 2025 was announced by the State electoral commission in June 2024 which is about 90days ahead.
He goes further to argue “how can we use 45days to prepare for election in 21 Local Governments and 326 wards involving no fewer than 18 political parties?. Les we forget there is going to be campaign for party nominations by aspirants who want to contest for chairmanship and councilorship, then political parties will screen the aspirants and conduct primary elections before going into State wide campaign for the main elections, so how do we get all these done within 45days”
