Chief Ifeanyi Odii, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),on Friday promised to industrialise Ebonyi if elected in the March 11 governorship election.
Odii made the promise while speaking at a rally in Amachi community in Abakaliki Local Government Area of the state.
The PDP candidate said only genuine industrialisation could lift the state out of poverty.
He regretted the ranking of the state as ninth in the poverty index ,promising to to deploy the mineral endowments in the state to industrialise it and make it a leading economy among states in the country..
“When God delivers this mandate to us, Ebonyi people will experience true transformation and industrialisation, so that when our children graduate from school, they will be able to gain employment in Ebonyi.
” If you are creative as a leader, you will be able to think out of the box to create avenues to create wealth for your people and develop the economy for the overall well-being of the masses.
“Ebonyi today, according to recent statistics, is ranked fifth most difficult state to do business within the federation; why will you not expect Ebonyi people to be poor?
“The system has created poverty for people; but, under our watch, we will create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
” Ebonyi is also ranked ninth poorest state in the federation, I promise our people that under our watch, Ebonyi will never be found in the list anymore,” Odii said.
Odii urged the people to vote for the party’s candidates in the Feb 25 presidential election as well as its governorship and house of assembly candidates in the March 11 election to enjoy the full dividends of democracy.
Earlier, Sen. Sam Egwu, representing Ebonyi North Senatorial zone, called on the people of Abakaliki LGA to come out en masse to vote for PDP to enjoy good governance.
The senator, who is seeking re-election into the senate for a third term, said that the party believed in the power of persuasion as a strategy for wooing voters.
He urged the electorate not to fall for any act of coercion or intimidation in choosing the candidates to vote for in the elections.
He said: ” I’m aware that there are people who say it must be by force; but as PDP, from 1998 till date we have never believed in the use of force, we believe in persuasion and that is why we have come here to ask for your votes.” (NAN)
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