By Chukwudi Nweje
As Abia 2023 governorship election draws nearer, Mazi Chibuike Jonas, the candidate of Action Democratic Party (ADP) has received the endorsement of a group of young entrepreneurs under the aegis of the Intellectual Giant Youths Movement, (IGYM).
The group in a statement co-signed by its Chairman, Ejikeme Ani, and Secretary Chibuikem Udeh, respectively, after an emergency meeting of the executive in Umuahia, Wednesday, described Jonas as the breath of fresh air for ushering in a new dawn in Abia State from 2023 and beyond.
“One of the reasons for our endorsement of Mazi Chibuike Jonas for Abia State gubernatorial race is as a result of his focus and unrelenting push for a better, more prosperous and productive Abia State. His touch of excellence in his leadership approach, his administrative acumen and his cerebral composition are such that Abia cannot afford to overlook if we truly desire change in the right direction. His state of mind precludes that better results can only come when we try to do things differently as you cannot continue to do the same thing over and over and expect different results as an outcome.”
The group noted that intellectuals have a big role to play in the development of the state and charged Jonas to harness the abundant talent of the youths.
According to them, the former chairman of Arochukwu Local Government Area is a goldfish in the pond of many opportunities to reinvent, redirect and reinvigorate God’s Own State for progress and holistic development.
They further said, “For Abia State to have a different result, we must insist on different methods, we must insist on the paradigm shift from the known to the new normal where results will be the bedrock of our collective efforts and better living a product of our determined march to true emancipation, development and a society of equal law and order where rule of law will reign supreme. Our time of mental slavery is over, our era of intellectual incapacitation and institutionalised backwardness is over, this is time to unseat mediocrity and enthrone merit. Mazi Jonas is our best bet for a glorious Abia State of our dreams, all we ask is for him to carry the youths along as we will fight together with him to rescue our dear state.”
The statement further said, “We must insist to have a new dawn, a paradigm shift from the known experiments that never worked for us as a people to new grounds of endless possibilities for greater Abia State, this is our stake with posterity, this is our position on 2023, we will push very hard for our wish to be respected because the future belongs to us, we intend to hand it to a man that will harness it to give the youths a better deal.
“We do not champion the cause of youth opportunity and hope as a favour, but rather as the necessary, undeniable, embrace of our collective future where the youths must be positively engaged, gainfully employed and assured of a future full of opportunities to excel in life.
“We are insisting on practical solutions to our known problems because everything great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labour in freedom. Our convictions are driven by the reality that, as Arochukwu LGA Chairman, Mazi Jonas started and completed 52 projects in one year and eight months, these are facts with evidence for everyone to see. We are optimistic, therefore, that a man that could achieve such feat with scarce resources available to local governments can turn the fortunes of the state around if given the mandate, that’s the basis for our call”.