Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo has congratulated Nigeria’s President-Elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and called on him to commit to addressing the systemic insecurity in the South East.
Soludo made the call at the Governor’s lodge Amawbia during a press conference at the conclusion of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria.
The governor, who also congratulated the closest opponents of the President-Elect for their courageous and impressive outing, said Nigeria needs healing and restructuring, and the fundamental challenges of insecurity and the economy remain humongous.
Soludo tasked Tinubu to work towards ensuring the unconditional release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from detention when he assumes office.
He pledged on behalf of Anambra State, to collaborate and partner with the President-Elect and the Federal Government for the development of Anambra state and Nigeria.
“This is the only country that we call ours and we must make it work. One critical issue that we must draw your urgent attention is the issue of systemic insecurity in the South East.
“While our efforts with the security agencies are yielding significant results, we believe that sustainable peace and security will be enhanced through wider non-kinetic engagements with all critical stakeholders.
“In this regard, may I repeat my previous calls and hereby request our President-Elect to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu immediately after swearing-in (that is, if he is not released before then).
“We need him around the table as an important stakeholder in discussions about healing and sustainable peace in the South East.
assured to continue to work very hard to justify the confidence and trust of ndi Anambra,” he said.
Emphasizing that partisan politics has come and gone, Governor Soludo called collaborative effort in pursuit of national common good, expressing his confidence that a better future lies ahead.
He said; “The 2023 General Elections in Nigeria have come and gone. Elections in Anambra were generally peaceful, and I commend all the participants, the security agencies, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the citizens.
“While we commend INEC for the successful completion of the general elections, it is important to note that we must seriously continue to reform and strengthen our electoral processes and citizens’ political participation as we march towards a more perfect system.
“To me, the true heroes of the last elections are the citizens of Nigeria, especially the youths, whose voices will continue to be critical as we collectively strive to build a new Nigeria.
“Nigeria is the winner, and I am confident that a better future lies ahead of us. Congratulations to all Nigerians!”
The governor commended Anambrarians for their faith and continued support to his government and APGA in the state.
According to him, the majority seats garnered by his party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA signifies that Anambra is truly APGA-land!
“Despite the heat of the moment, the sophisticated Anambra electorate still delivered an emphatic vote of confidence on us and our party-APGA with an absolute majority in the Anambra State House of Assembly.
“We will never take your support for granted, and will continue to work every minute of the day to justify your confidence on us.
“So far, winners have been declared, and those who are dissatisfied with the results have their rights to pursue their grievances through the due process of the law.
“My own political party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, might challenge several of the results in pursuit of justice.
“While we will take all necessary legal steps to recover the seats, we believe that APGA won especially in Anambra state but were mistakenly called for other parties and we also know that several of the announced “winners” from other parties are “APGA-nized” and are patriotic citizens of the State.
“We therefore expect a progressive House of Assembly that will partner with us to continue the transformation agenda.
“I hereby extend my hands of fellowship to the elected members of the State and National Assemblies from other political parties in Anambra State: let us work together for the greatness of our dear state.
“Elections and partisan politics are over, and we should all now focus 100% of our time on delivering good governance to our people.
“May Anambra State and Nigeria win always!” he concluded.
