Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, has issued a stern warning to political actors in Anambra State against using the forthcoming 2025 governorship election as an opportunity to ignite violence in the state.
Speaking during a rebranding ceremony held by Alpha Times, a South-East based newspaper, Umeh emphasized that the election period should be characterized by decorum rather than conflict.
"From my base in Abuja, I have been reading a lot about the state, especially as it is an election year, but I want to beg that this should not be a year of battle or war," Umeh stated. "It should be a year for the governor to show what he can do and for those who think they can do better to show how they can do it. Let the actors be very patriotic."
Call for South-East Governors' Collaboration
The senator also used the platform to advocate for stronger collaboration among South-East governors to revive industries in the region. He praised the rebranding of Anambra Times to Alpha Times, which now aims to serve the broader South-East population.
"I'm here to be part of the discourse about how we can ensure collaboration in the zone. We can say that the South-East is not where it should be," Umeh remarked. "In 1964, we were branded as the fastest growing economy in the world because of the ingenuity of the Igbo people, and the industrialization policy was top-notch."
He challenged South-East governors to lead the quest for industrialization, following the example set by former Eastern Region Premier, Dr. Michael Okpara. "All the industries built by Okpara have all died. What are the governors doing to revive them?" he questioned.
Economic Revival Strategy
Umeh commended President Bola Tinubu for establishing the South-East Development Commission but insisted that the region must take initiative in its own development.
"We should not be waiting for anyone to make the Southeast an industrial cluster because we have the ingenuity," he emphasized. "Small and medium scale industries are what helped to boost China and Japan. When you aggregate what everyone is doing, it boosts the economy of the zone."
The keynote speaker at the event, Prof. Godwin Onu, addressed the theme: "Harnessing the Power of Interstate Collaboration to Unlock the South-East's Full Economic Potentials." He called for collaboration among the governors of the zone rather than competition, describing the states of the Southeast as "alliance states" that should form a unified agenda for regional development.
The event featured roundtable discussions by scholars, lawmakers, government officials, and political stakeholders from across the South-East, focusing on strategies for regional improvement in education, security, infrastructure, and other critical sectors.
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