Anambra Poll: Soludo using zoning as strategy to retain power, says Chukwuma

Ahead of the November 7 Anambra State governorship poll, a leading aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sir Paul Chukwuma, has accused Governor Charles Soludo of playing up the issue of zoning as a strategy to retain his exalted seat

Speaking to reporters shortly after submitting his expression of interest and nomination forms at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, he expressed optimism that the electorate would not buy into such primordial sentiment being bandied around by the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state.

Chukwuma, who served as the National Auditor of the APC, remarked that the Anambra governorship seat is up for grabs by any competent citizen of Anambra State, irrespective of political and sectional leanings.

He said the killings and spate of kidnappings plaguing the state underlined the fact that the Soludo-led administration has failed woefully in improving the well-being of the citizenry in Anambra State.

Chukwuma, who proffered solutions to the challenge of insecurity in the state, slammed Soludo for allegedly misapplying security votes required to support security agencies in maintaini

“There is no zoning in Anambra State. Let me be very categorical: anybody telling you about zoning is an agent of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). This is because APGA has devised a means of sticking to power in Anambra,” he said.

He pointed out that while he hails from the Northern senatorial district and Soludo from the Southern district, every senatorial zone has equal representation in the state. He argued that APGA’s emphasis on zoning had intensified since his candidacy emerged.

He added, “I’m from the Northern senatorial district, and the serving governor is from the Southern senatorial district. Every senatorial zone has seven local governments. They are making noise about zoning more than ever because I’m on the ticket.

“And why are they doing that? If you go by primordial sentiments, which zoning is all about, then everybody goes to his zone. Then we will never have a contest. It is only when you take your candidate from different zones that you can have a proper contest. But if you take your aspirant from the zone of the governor, then it is dead on arrival.

“So, it is a tool they have designed to keep Anambrarians under their hold. And that is why we must make it very clear that there is nothing like zoning in Anambra State. In every election, every party has fielded candidates and aspirants from different zones.

“So, we don’t have zoning. It is peculiar to APGA, and APC as a party has decided, for this very moment, not to allow that strategy because it will work against us. We want to take power and give it back to Ndi Anambra because we currently don’t know what is happening in Anambra.

“Currently, you can’t go to Anambra without having a retinue of security men around you, and it is a big shame. I want to make it very clear so that you don’t get confused. The issue of zoning is a decoy by APGA to sustain themselves and maintain power. We must resist it, and we must make sure we have a free, fair, and credible election.

“The current administration in Anambra State, to the best of my knowledge, is not doing anything, so it is not about what I will do differently because nothing is on the ground. Every day, people are being kidnapped. Every day, we are witnessing all forms of criminality, and some of us started talking about it because the state belongs to all of us. We don’t have any other passport apart from the green passport, and we must ensure our homeland is secured for us and our children.

“We started talking about it, and the governor, to appear as if he is solving it, came up with a draconian law that has created more problems, making it even more difficult to solve the previous ones, not to mention the new ones created by the law.”

He proposed a return to grassroots security initiatives, including reviving local vigilante groups to supplement state security efforts. He argued that Anambra’s small geographical size made intelligence gathering feasible and necessary for curbing crime.

He said, “So, what am I going to do differently? First, we have asked the governor several times: what is he doing with his security vote? The security agencies are complaining. Not even a motorbike has been purchased for the police, DSS, or military. It is a big problem, and we will have to address it.

“Secondly, we have to look at grassroots-based security policing. We used to have a vigilante system in Anambra State before the law that gave rise to the Anambra Homeland Security outfit, and now the people employed are not even being paid by the government. If you see a foreigner in your community, you will know, because most of these crimes are perpetrated by foreigners.

“So, we need to invest in information gathering at the grassroots level. Anambra is a small state in terms of land mass. We will invest a lot of resources in gathering intelligence because nothing is being done to ensure that, at the local level, we obtain relevant information about what is going on.

“We need to map the streets. Most of the camps are deserted, and we need to invest in mechanized farming because if the lands are put into productive agricultural engagements, they won’t be available for crimes. A lot of other things are contained in our manifesto for Anambra.

“But the truth is that, as we speak, nothing is going on in Anambra. In terms of employment, Anambra is nothing to write home about. The same applies to the civil service, which is not where it should be. We will lead from the front and show Ndi Anambra that their security is paramount to us, and we will do everything possible to make the state safe.”