From Everest Ezihe, Owerri
Barely six weeks to the national assembly’s elections and as suspense, beckering and wranglings engulfed Mbaise Federal Constituency, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu (Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo) has insisted that he stands for Mbaitolu/Ikeduru (MBAIKE) Federal Constituency Zoning arrangements instituted over 10 years ago just as he called on the political gladiators not to be party in truncating the area’s age long zoning arrangements.
Iwuanyanwu who’s one of the founding fathers and Grand Patron of Mbaike People’s Assembly said this on Saturday during the well attended meeting of the stakeholders of the two council areas that constituted the Federal Constituency held at the organization’s Glass House Secretariat,Ugwu Orji Owerri.
He enjoined electorates of the Federal Constituency to stick to their historical zoning arrangements in the forthcoming elections, insisting that it’s the turn of a good candidate of Ikeduru LGA extraction to be elected into the Federal House of Representatives as Mbaitoli LGA through Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwawuba has represented the Federal Constituency for two tenures, saying he is vehemently opposed to his (Nwawuba) third term ambition.
According to him, “the essence of zoning in politics is to guarantee equity and fairness, unity among brothers. To jettison marginalization of the minority and uphold equity and natural justice. Thus why, we must stick to zoning. That after 2 term the other local government area will take for fairness and justice to triumph. We as Mbaike people must uphold zoning arrangement without course to selfish interest, prejudice and bias” he lamented.
Iwuanyanwu who repeatedly said that he has retired from partisan politics but must see to synergy of the council areas, further canvassed for all and sundry to be involved in agriculture as easiest way of cushioning food scarcity and youths empowerment.
He also reiterated the need for aggressive voters education henceforth to avoid voters apathy as well as active participation in the forthcoming population census as it would enable the Federal Government the ease in local government area creations.
Responding, Chief Marcellinus Nlemigbo ( Marcon) who’s the Interim President of the Assembly, applauded leadership qualities of Chief Iwuanyanwu which he described as being patriotic, human empowerment, visionary and purposeful.
Nlemigbo opined that, it’s an act of political greed that an elected legislator will re-seek for the people’s mandate after serving them for 8 years and that essence of zoning is to enthrone political sanity, justice and equity.
He passionately routed on the need for people to respect the Federal Constituency zoning arrangements noting that it’s in the overall interest of the populace re-emphasising that political zoning arrangement as a strategic means of sustaining their age-long brotherly love, unity of purpose, equity and natural justice.
