Follow Us on Google
From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
The chances of the Action Peoples Party (APP) governorship candidate, Mascot Uzor Kalu, winning the Abia State gubernatorial election on Saturday March 11, brightened yesterday as the Nigeria Christian Youth Forum (NCYF), Abia State chapter, adopted him as its consensus candidate.
The APP candidate is the younger brother of the Senate Chief Whip and Senator representing Abia North, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu.
The NCYF, which made its decision known at a press conference held yesterday in Umuahia, said that the choice of Mascot Kalu was made after a rigorous assessment of all the governorship candidates in the state, adding that his wealth of experience both in public and private sectors gave him an edge over the others.
The Publicity Secretary of the chapter, Comrade John Bosco Ezema, fielding questions from journalists, said that the APP candidate was the only one among the candidates that talked about youth inclusiveness in his cabinet.
He also said that a careful perusal of Kalu’s manifesto showed that he was the only candidate that put forward convincing solutions that would address the many challenges of Abia State.
Ezema also noted that Kalu talked about the reintegration of sacked non-indigenous Abia workers, a move, the youths said would enhance regional peace and harmony.
The group, which said its membership cuts across different denominations and political parties, urged Abia voters, especially the youths to vote en masse for Mascot Kalu at Saturday’s governorship poll for a better Abia.
NCYF frowned at the inability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload results from the polling units during the February 25 polls, and warned the commission against similar occurrences in future polls.
The Christian body alleged that the delay by INEC to transmit results to its server in real-time gave room for the manipulation of the poll results during the February 25 poll.
The group, however, urged voters not to be demoralized by the credibility question trailing the last election, assuring it had put in place some measures to checkmate rigging in the forthcoming polls.
Ezema who read from a prepared speech jointly signed by the NCFY President, Eugene Okonta; Secretary Iyke Okorie; and himself, said that Abia Christian youths were convinced that Mascot Kalu would not let them down.
The speech reads in part: “The Nigeria Christian Youth forum, Abia State, wishes to make it public that, following a wide opinion sampling, meetings and interactions with the electorate, parties and candidates who will be participating in the forthcoming election and having studied the manifestos of the eligible candidates, the manifesto and the candidacy of the Action People’s Party, gave us a strong conviction of hope.
“We, therefore, call on all Abians to give him their votes. We believe that he will deliver on the mandate of Abians if given the opportunity to serve.
“Last election was marred by a lot of irregularities ranging from falsification and altering of figures, intimidation of voters and disenfranchisement which was as a result of late arrival of materials to respective polling units
“However, we use this medium to call on the electorate not to feel dejected, downcast and hopeless. We urge youths especially to add more zeal in order to avoid a repetition of what happened in some parts of the country during the last election.”
