By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
Frontline aspirant for the Anambra State government house under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Valentine Ozigbo has said that the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Prof. Charles Soludo is no threat to his aspiration.
Ozigbo who picked his nomination and expression of interests forms at the PDP National Secretariat yesterday said that he has distinguished himself as a technocrat, business administrator and international banker of high repute and possesses the requisite experience to occupy the Anambra government house. He said that his dream is to transform Anambra into a technology hub and attract researchers and investors into the state, focus on the basics of roads and gas infrastructure, industrialize Anambra, look at things from various level and deal with the Anambra problem in a pragmatic manner.
The aspirant made know his intention to segment the state into industrial clusters. He said that he would ensure that Onitsha becomes truly a commercial hub while Nnewi will proudly take it position as an industrial hub. He said that Awka would become a true capital of a state in infrastructure and aesthetics.Narrative his experience and score cards that makes him the candidate to beat during the election, he said, “If you come to the intellect, I’m also not second class to anybody, by the grace of God, everything I’ve ever done, I’ve come tops, my primary school top, secondary top. I went to University of Nigeria, I made the best results in my department and the faculty. I went to England for masters, I made distinction in finance, I went to the Institute of Accountants, I am a fellow of multiple bodies.
“I’ve also been to multiple universities in the world and I’m the president of the GCO class that we just finished few years ago. So the point here is that in the banking career, I spent 17 years and within the first year I became the best staff of a bank I worked for. I walked from being branch manager to Regional Manager to General Manager and got to a level where I became the director of international banking, going to multiple countries of the world to open banks.
“So if you’re also looking for somebody who’s a community developer, I’ve also been very key in making sure we empower women and youths through my foundation. I’m also here to tell you in the world of today, sports and entertainment is the order of today, and am one of the biggest promoters of sports in Nigeria and also the biggest promoter of crystal football in Africa”.
The aspirant said that he is not intimidated by the credentials of the APGA candidate who has the support of the incumbent governor.He said, “I actually want to request that you study my candidacy well enough, because when you do, the question should be the reverse. Shouldn’t Soludo be intimidated by my candidacy.
“I want to say this to you, there are a lot of unique advantages that I have that by the grace of God, may not be equaled by him. As you know, we are in the realm of these two worlds, we’re talking about how to get Anambra to catch up with the rest of the world.
The person you have here is a digital man, who understand the future, and not so much about what has happened in the past. So as a matter of fact, if you’re looking for class or modernity and world class, then you can come to that conclusion, between both of us who indeed would be trumped higher.
“If you are also looking for energy that is required for this process, you understand that politicking and governance requires that you are on your toes, we are looking for people who are in their prime, not people who may have retired and looking for how to settle.
At that point, you understand that I am superior in terms of what I can bring to bear. If you’re also looking for people who are widely acceptable who have no baggage, who have no enemies who haven’t done anything that has anybody to question about.
I thank God that he has been able to take me through that journey for my career, where I’ve shown brilliance in everything I’ve ever done”.He disclosed that when he emerges as the governor of the state, he would entrench competence in leadership, implement the “Kaizen culture” that breeds audacious visionary leadership which according to him, has been missing in the state.
