From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the 2023 Governorship election in Ebonyi State, Professor Benard Ifeanyi Odoh, has pledged to liberate the people of the state from what he described as “too much oppression” they are presently facing, if he becomes the next governor of the State.
Odoh, who stated this yesterday during a consultation meeting with the leadership of Abakaliki Motor Spare Parts Dealers and other Union leaders in the state, assured that as a Governor of Ebonyi State, he won’t interfere in the affairs of their unions or impose leadership of town unions on the people.
“I won’t come to put chairman for you. I won’t come to force Okada riders, Keke operators or building materials traders to put Chairmen for them. I won’t come to your communities to install town union presidents; it’s not my business at all. My work will be to bring investors to the State. There is too much oppression in this State, but when I become your Governor, I will liberate the people, so that our people will have freedom to do what they want to do within the law”, Odoh assured.
The governorship hopeful promised to support businesses to thrive in the State and to ensure that taxes are harmonized in such a way that no one would be overtaxed. According to him, “if I’m your Governor, we won’t use thugs to harass you over taxes, we will sit down with you to agree on the amount to pay as taxes and the modalities of payment.
Speaking on how he would integrate business owners into his administration, Odoh said: “You’re my own stakeholders and I don’t have Godfather. If you support me to get to that position, I will not let you down. I observed that not even one person is an importer amongst you as everybody goes to Onitsha to buy goods. This is unacceptable.
“When I met with the building materials traders recently, I told them, let’s write it down: if I become your Governor, we must raise at least 20 importers amongst you. I will not invest money on flyovers that have no direct impacts on our people; I will rather invest directly on our people.”
While urging them not to be deceived by Candidates who would want to use money to buy their votes, the former Secretary to Government of Ebonyi State, said: “I won’t need to get permission in Abuja or from anybody to serve our people. Whatever we promised to do, we must do it. One thing we must know is that what kept us in this condition we are today is that politicians come to share N1, 000 or N2, 000 to us to get our votes, but we must do everything possible to resist it in this coming election.”
He pledged to revisit the case of the traders whose shops and warehouses were destroyed at Abakpa market and old Abakaliki building material market by the present administration, if elected governor, 2023.
“The traders whose shops and ware houses were destroyed at Abakpa market and old building materials market, we will review them, because I’m aware that Mr Adol-awam was a Council chairman when Abakpa market was constructed and I’m aware that people bought shops there with their hard-earned money. So, if that place which you have paid for has been taken from you and I become Governor tomorrow, I will not watch you walk away without anything.
“If a government acquires people’s land and say, it’s for a public interest and later shares the land to individuals, we won’t encourage that, because blood flows in my veins and we are one people. If you are in pains, I won’t sleep as your Governor. It’s my duty to protect you and your investments.
“I won’t come here to pursue my pocket, that’s not what I’m coming to do. I’m only looking for this opportunity to serve you well, so that after my tenure, I will go home and be happy; and the day the Lord will call me, I will die peacefully, knowing that I have done my best,” he assured.