Sir Tony Ejiogu, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA has become the first politician of Imo extraction to visit and pay homage to Obube Ancient Kingdom, the historic community where Imo State’s creation was first decided in 1976 and Owerri declared the capital.
Despite its strategic and historic significance, the community has suffered gross neglect by the government, evidenced by the lack of any meaningful public infrastructure in the entire community.
During the visit, Ejiogu paid homage to the palace of the late king who played a crucial role in securing the creation of the Imo State and visited the historic site of the meeting where the creation of the State was agreed upon in 1976.
Ejiogu was welcomed to the community by a massive crowd and community leaders from the area including Chief Samuel Akujiuobi and Chief Ernest Onukogu, who extolled Sir Tony Ejiogu for paying homage to their late King and recognizing his role in the creation of the state.
The community leaders decried how past and present governments of Imo state had neglected them and commended Tony Ejiogu for being the first political leader to acknowledge the community’s historic significance despite the years of neglect by successive governments.
“Sir Tony Ejiogu is an exceptional leader, we are praying for him to succeed because he means well for our people, we need a progressive-minded leader, who would create an enabling environment for business to thrive and for the state to prosper,” Chief Samuel Akujiuobi said.
Addressing the crowd, the APGA governorship flag bearer decried the level of neglect and underdevelopment that the community has endured from previous and present administrations in the state.
He assured the people that when elected, his administration would accord the community the recognition it deserves, considering its historical symbolism in the creation of the State.
“The discussion to create Imo started in this community (Ngwoma), the late traditional ruler, Eze A.I Onukogu was the Chairman of that Committee, he played a vital role in the creation of the state. I thought it wise to come back to Ngwuoma and pay homage to one of the founding fathers of the State and well seek the land’s blessings in my determination to rebuild Imo state for developmental strides”.
Ejiogu stated that the present Imo is not what the founding fathers had hoped for, hence his desire to right the wrongs. While calling for a peaceful election exercise, he enjoined them not to relent in coming out en masse to cast their ballot in the November 11 governorship polls.
“There’s a wind of change blowing across this nation. Our people are desirous to sign a new social contract, hence everybody should be bold enough to come out on November 11th to vote and secure their votes. I equally call on our security agencies to ensure the safety of all, we want to bring about good governance,” he said.
The APGA candidate also appealed to people of the state, especially those who have not collected their permanent voters’ cards to do so.
