 |
| lL:R: AGBASO HAVING A HANDSHAKE WITH GOV OKOROCHA |
Agbaso, who hinted his
governorship intention in Lagos, noted that a date and venue would be chosen
by his campaign organisation for a formal declaration in Imo State to kick
start the journey to 2015.
Responding to the question that he might have negotiated his chances in 2011 by
supporting Okorocha, who according to him had failed the people, Agbaso said:
“You are under the perception that I have a crystal ball and that I have the
capacity to look into the future and tell how a man will behave tomorrow. That
is practically impossible. A man swears with the Bible that he was a
philanthropist. That he wants to prove that Obasanjo was wrong when he sacked
him from NAMA on the grounds of corruption.
“That he would do his
utmost best; pick a good testimonial from Imo State that he would present to
the Nigerian people as his CV to run for president. That sounded plausible to
me. I deployed my all, hoping that Imo State would improve. However, the
unfortunate turn of events is regrettable. I never intended or wished to offend
Imo people. And to this, I do apologise. The best way to say ‘I am sorry’ to
Imo people, is to send Rochas packing in 2015.”
On his governorship intention, he said “Well, in very clear terms, I will
contest for the governor of Imo State in 2015 general election. As you all
know, in 2007, I set out to massively rebuild the infrastructure in my state. As
I told you, at the time, we had over 900km of state-owned roads to pave and an
excess of 1400km of local government roads to stabilise. At that time,
approximately 80 per cent of the public water scheme was dysfunctional. We had
over 1200 primary schools that needed to be refurbished and made fit for
learning. Seventy per cent of our secondary schools were a shadow of what
they were 30 to 40 years ago.
“The industrial
centres, set out in the different parts of Imo, had become over grown with
weeds and hide-outs for miscreants. The morale of our teachers, civil and
public servants will be described as ‘low’ at best. We had 18 general hospitals
that were mere consulting rooms. Our state was very depressed as a result of
the teeming unemployed young men and women.
“These were my concerns
then and they remain my concerns today because not much has changed, apart from
the latest television and newspaper razzmatazz. However, what has become urgent
is the near explosive situation of over 400,000 young educated, but unemployed
men and women. This alarming situation will get worse if not checked
immediately.
“My mission, therefore, is to create wealth by tapping into our
enterprise, industry, and entrepreneurship. To get every able adult in Imo
engaged in productive effort that will stimulate the local economy and expand
opportunities across the board. I am driven by capacity and willingness to
reposition Imo State into a secure industrial, agricultural and commercial hub
of Eastern Nigeria.
“Look, in this region, we have a 50 million people economy and huge disposable
income. The potential for growth given the ongoing reforms in the power sector-
with Imo in the middle- is enormous.
Therefore, we need a sincere and very competent manager to drive
the affairs of Imo State for the common good of our people. We must restore the
confidence of our people in our government and ourselves. That is why I
am offering myself for the governor of Imo State in 2015,” he explained.
ADDITIONAL REPORT BY THISDAY
No comments:
Write comments