Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Bola Tinubu has clarified his statement in an Enugu presidential rally on Wednesday where he warned the people of the south east to be wary of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) continued service of the region with a slice of soaked bread.
Tinubu’s spokesman in the region, Dr. Josef Onoh who made the clarification on Sunday recalled George Santayan’s 1905 ‘The Life of Reason’, where he said that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Onoh said that what Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu did in Enugu during the APC Presidential rally was a clear warning to the southeast about the dangers ahead if they vote with emotions rather than interest in the pending February 25, 2023 presidential election.
According to Onoh: “The political downfall of the southeast since 1999 till date has always been casting their votes for the PDP presidential candidates right up to the last election, hence he warned them that such mistake come 2023 will leave them another serve of a slice of soaked bread.
“In reality, despite all the support the southeast has blindly given to the PDP presidential candidates over the years, the PDP has continuously served the region with only a slice of soaked bread.
“South East geo-political zone of Nigeria is probably one of the most neglected part of our country, with scores of politicians and money bags seeking to be godfathers and godmothers, the ruins and scares strangulating our once vibrant zone are self-inflicted- though by a greedy self-serving few.
“The South East’s affinity with the Peoples Democratic Party, [PDP] remains terribly unjustifiable, flawed, and disastrous, particularly with support for their presidential candidates.
“The South East continues to ‘vote’ for PDP presidential candidates that continuously and systematically impoverish it. The five South East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo are all guilty of this ‘crime’.
“We must commend governors sen.Hope Uzodinma of Imo state, Engr. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state and Charles Soludo of Anambra state. These three governors have come to realise that political affinities are borne out of a mutual ‘you rub my back and I’d rub yours’ scenario; I also commend sen. Chimaroke Nnamani and our latest partner in progress Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state while we await Gov. Okezie ikpeazu of abia state to take a stand let’s all pursue a full loaf of bread for the southeast together while we ignore the lip service Asiwaju supporters in the southeast who only are waiting to share campaign funds then turn around and vote for Labour Party and PDP thinking they are fooling the world. unfortunately, this is not what we see in the mindsets of the people in the southeast.
“Anyone who genuinely wishes to support Asiwaju in the southeast must prove themselves enough of the deceit. To thine ownself be true.”
He accused former President Obasanjo of inventing the dodgy practice which saw the emergence of a handful of PDP stalwarts that run the South East like a fiefdom.
“Notably, this group of anointed party stalwarts are the ones reaping the dividends of democracy rather than the people of their zone. The same Obasanjo is attempting the same with his support for the Labour Party today. What we see now is a southeast that is practically left in tatters and ruins, yet
the South East is still glued to supporting a PDP presidential candidate and out of sentiments a Labour party presidential candidate.
“Support for PDP-led presidency since 199 is responsible for the carnage and menace that daily kill our people as a result of the dilapidated roads in the southeast region. In 2009, the Senate ad-hoc Committee on Transport submitted that the Federal roads in the southeast geo-political zone were the worst in the country.
“Repeatedly, the PDP-led federal government continued to ignore the clamour of the people of this zone to fix the death traps that pass for roads, which we are forced to ply daily. It is heartbreaking seeing the state of federal roads in southeast Nigeria.
“When eventually the PDP-led government decided to patch up some federal roads in the southeast, such jobs were usually awarded to relatively unknown construction companies owned mainly by some obscure party Faithful.
“The then governors of the five South East States, especially during presidential Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure, for personal gain and other avaricious reasons, they always lined up behind the PDP-led federal government, singing the praises of the president while paying lip service to the infrastructural evils afflicting their Zone.
“The southeast continued waiting to see the much talked about Second Niger Bridge, the dredging of the River Niger to allow for a container terminal to be opened in Onitsha, the completion of the Onitsha-Owerri road (contract for this road was awarded yet never executed), the rehabilitation of the totally washed-out Onitsha-Enugu highway, the ‘patching up’ of the then non- existent Nnewi-Okigwe road, and so many other roads belonging to the Federal Government in the region.
“Irrespective of calculated flagrant neglect of their region by the Federal Government, the Governors of the South East bludgeoned their people with propaganda into voting for PDP Presidents and presidential candidate especially in 2015 and 2019.
“Salvation came to the southeast from the APC-led government despite not giving them their votes in 2015 and 2019, yet they didn’t leave us to eat a slice of soaked bread. The APC-led government went ahead to deliver south east projects under PMB’s tenure.”
Onoh named the APC Buhari-led administration’s strides in the south east to include the rehabilitation of Sections 1 to 4 of the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway (Sukuk Bond) (ongoing); Rehabilitation of Amansea–Enugu Border section of Onitsha-Enugu Expressway (Sukuk Bond) (ongoing); Rehabilitation of 18km critical stretch of Onitsha–Awka Road (ongoing); Construction of Second Niger Bridge: Completed design of the Approach Roads from Onitsha and Asaba; Award of Main Construction Contract to Julius Berger; and funding of the project by the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund, PIDF. In August 2018 PIDF paid 33 billion Naira (US$90 million) to Julius Berger for the Second Niger Bridge project. (ongoing); Rehabilitation of Arochukwu–Ohafia–Bende Road (ongoing); Ariaria Market Electrification Project (The Federal Government is implementing its Energizing Economies Programme, which will bring stable and reliable electricity to all the 37,000 shops in Ariaria Market, by providing the Market with a gas-powered IPP) (ongoing); Federal Government’s Energizing Education Programme is being implemented in Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi; and Nnamdi Azikwe University – Awka Campus, Anambra. (The Programme will provide these Universities with an Independent Power Plant, as well as upgrade existing distribution infrastructure, and also provide street-lighting).
Others are, the completed Ikot Ekpene – Alaoji – Ugwuaji Switching Station and Transmission Line; Construction of Modern Medical Diagnostic Centre at the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia (FMCU) (ongoing); Completed Nnamdi Azikiwe Mausoleum (contract originally awarded in 1996, abandoned at various times, Buhari Administration revived the project in 2016, and completed it in 2018); Enyimba City Special Economic Zone: Definitive Agreements signed between Federal Government, Abia State Government and Enyimba City Development Company Limited on December 7, 2018 (ongoing); Presidential Fertilizer Initiative – has led to the revival of the Ebonyi State Fertiliser and Chemical Company Limited (EFCCL), creating jobs and boosting the supply of fertilizer in the Southeast.
Also, the Social Investment Programme: 68,000 N-Power Beneficiaries across the 5 States of the southeast; the School Feeding Programme has kicked off in all 5 States of the Southeast; Pensions paid to Retired War-Affected (Ex-Biafran) Police: In 2017, the Buhari Administration paid 500 million Naira to clear pension arrears that had not been paid since their presidential pardon in 2000; Renovation and upgrade of the Akanu Ibiam Airport to International standards.
He therefore said that it was high time the south east woke up to see the light, drop politics of sentiment and emotion, and embrace a politics of mutual benefit for the south east region by voting Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu come February 25 2023.
“Together let’s liberate ourselves from continuously eating a slice of soaked bread we have been continuously served, hence Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s warning during the Enugu rally is a wakeup call for use to support him and be assured southeast will be served a full loaf of bread fresh from the oven of mutual benefit,” Onoh advised.
Source: The Guardian
