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Ahead of the 11th of November gubernatorial election in Imo State, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr. Tony Ejiogu has vowed to build a new Imo State that will restore the crushed hopes of masses who have suffered years of neglect by political office holders.
The frontline aspirant who recently became the APGA flagbearer for the polls expressed disappointment over the quality of leadership that the state has been subjected to over the past decades which has destroyed the confidence of the people in their leaders.
Speaking in an interview which was monitored by The Eastern Updates, he pledged his total commitment to force a paradigm shift in the polity should Imolites elect as their next Governor.
In his words; ‘It is indeed a great challenge but I am quite prepared for it. It is challenging in the sense that we are presently faced with a myriad of issues bedeviling our state at this point in time.
‘From the all-time unprecedented rise in insecurity to the highrise of joblessness and unemployment among our teeming youths. Imo is a state with over six million people in population and about six hundred thousand of this population are employed in one way or the other and that is about 10% of the population and the remaining number is either unemployed or under-employed. That is a recipe for disaster. Are you going to talk about the deplorable state of healthcare infrastructure? Are you going to talk about the total absence or non-existence of the third tier of government which is the Local Government system which is supposed to be the bedrock of rural development in our state? Are you going to talk about the lack of trust and confidence between the ruling class and the people?’
He went on to reiterate that he indeed has what it takes to find solutions to these problems and restore smiles to the faces of Ndi Imo.
While reiterating his commitment, he said; ‘We are posed to change the status quo. We are poised to cause a paradigm shift in the total culture of governance that we have experienced so far and we will do this by first of all implementing economic policies that work. We will do this by creating a conducive business environment that will promote and support a private sector-driven economy that will stimulate the micro-economic engines. We will look at completely revamping our educational system by making sure that every school both in the rural and urban areas is completely renovated and equipped properly so our students can have a conducive learning environment.’
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Speaking about his plans for the healthcare sector, Mr. Ejiogu promised to pay particular attention to the primary healthcare facilities vowing that under his administration, every local government in the state will have a world-class healthcare centre that will be properly equipped with the right personnel and equipment that will be instrumental toward giving Imolites qualitative healthcare.
The gubernatorial hopeful who served meritoriously as the Senior Special Assistant on Administration to the Ikedi Ohakim government decried the collapse in the Local government system vowing to revive it.
He stated that; ‘I will ensure that Local Government elections are conducted and ensure that local communities where councilors and Chairman that will govern that area are elected and given the mandate to serve. We will ensure that these Local Government areas have total financial and operational autonomy. This is the only way that we can ensure that grassroots and rural developments occur in the Local Government Areas.
‘We have to also pay attention to doing more empowerment for our youths. This is an area that is quite important to me and that is why you will hear more about it in the coming months from me’
The Eastern Updates reports that Mr. Ejiogu is one of the country’s smartest financial management specialists. He has worked in the Financial Management field for well over two decades and has offered consultation services since 2005. He is quite modest and quiet but is fully committed to concerns of accountability, verifiable processes, and financial probity.
He had been hired as a sharp financial guru by numerous multinational corporations as well as non-profit groups in both the United States and Nigeria. He currently serves as the CEO of E-Horizon Consulting Limited, a privately held, process-driven financial management and business development consultancy firm in Lagos with a focus on initiating and strategizing for fund mobilisation, offering support services for strategic and financial management, business development, and process reengineering consultancy services.
