Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the ruling party in Anambra State, has engaged Chairman of the United Nigeria Airlines, Prof Obiora Okonkwo, in a media war over the performance of the present administration in the state.
Okonkwo was reported to have told the Soludo-led government to sit-up to its responsibility and save the masses from poverty and sadness inflicted on them by the government’s poor performance in the state.
Okonkwo, who was the candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in the last gubernatorial election in the state said Soludo has not translated his promises during the electioneering into reality and warned that the mood of Anambra people could be out of control if nothing is done to change the narrative.
The Airline owner said nothing exciting has been seen on the side of Soludo that will warrant people to root for his second term. “As a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Soludo was expected to evolve policies that would change the fortunes of the people.
“He promised to turn Anambra to Dubai, Taiwan and New York. We have not seen that. For someone who has been a CBN governor, his performance is below the benchmark. It is surprising that someone who has attained that height would go about the generation of revenues through excessive taxes.”
In a reprisal, APGA’s National Publicity Secretary, Mazi Ejimofor Opara, described the United Nigeria Airlines owner as a desperate politician who has no clear-cut vision of where he is headed politically.
In a statement he released on Tuesday, Mazi Opara described as unfortunate Okonkwo’s decision to shut his eyes away from the monumental achievements of Soludo in less than two years in office.
He said it was totally unbecoming of the former PDP stalwart who cross-carpeted to Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) during the last governorship election, to vilify Governor Soludo in some sections of the media, scoring his administration low on performance.
The statement read in part: “His proclivity for always contesting every election gives him out as a ‘desperate politician’.
“Beyond his private airline business, whose impact on our regional or national business outlook is only tangential, there is nothing of substance ascribable to Mr Obiora.
“To clear his deliberate ignorance, Obiora needs to be reminded that Anambra is not a State where ‘big men’ like him wait for government intervention. He should borrow a leaf from the late Tonimas from Neni, Bobisko from Adazi and Ejison from Oraukwu. These are men who have deployed personal resources for public good.
“Coming to lash on Soludo just to present himself as the avatar as a prelude for another bound-to-fail electoral outing shows that he is a man who is self-distracted.
“As at today, his kinsmen from Ogidi are still thanking Governor Soludo for honouring their eminent Son, the late Professor Chinua Achebe. Even if Soludo has achieved nothing, this very feat calls for appreciation from Mr Obiora, not talking about his delusional blindness towards Soludo’s manifest infrastructural revolution
“The Mmili John flooding issue in Ogidi that has continued to disturb motorists on that road has not been without attention. Even as I speak to you, a total redesign of that road is underway and the Soludo Administration has shown visible commitment to salvaging the situation. Mr Obiora should know this.
“Talking about whether or not Soludo deserves a second term is certainly not a concern to us right now, either as a Government or a political party. Talking about political party, where does Mr Obiora belong? The last I checked he was in the ZLP after he was instrumental to tearing the PDP into carcass.”
