22nd March, 2023
By Alex Enebeli
Mr Frank Nweke Jr., the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in the just-concluded election in Enugu, has urged his supporters not to lose hope on the outcome of the election.
Nweke stated this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Enugu.
He said that while awaiting the results of the election which he described as a sham in the state, his supporters should drop every cloak of despair and discouragement.
“Instead, I want you to sit back and reflect on what we did achieve through this process. Those will be our springboard.
“You stood up for what you believed against pecuniary, partisan or immediate interests and boldly asked me the tough questions and quizzed some of my answers in a bid to arrive at solutions that were robust and most inclusive.
“Ours ran with the solutions I proposed and spoke boldly to show the world why we needed a new paradigm in Enugu State,” he said.
Nweke, who alleged that the governorship election in the state was characterised by violence, manipulation, coercion and vote buying, said: “we were grossly disappointed by the institutions of state that we hoped would do better.
“Our people were used, exploited, threatened, manipulated and effectively regarded as political collateral damage.
“But for me, the awakening that many of you experienced remains an inspiration,” Nweke said.
The APGA governorship candidate further stated that many of his supporters used their personal resources, sacrificed their time, deployed their talents and became the voices of reason in a complex political clime.
He said that some of them walked with him, as they spoke with the senior citizens’ suffering lifestyle and illnesses that could have been avoided with proper healthcare facilities and due payment of pensions and gratuities.
“You were with me when we met the trader who sat under the sun with her two-week-old baby and followed me to other pitiable areas of the state.
“You became fellow researchers, as we analysed the grand theft in the Enugu State budgets and reviewed the responsibilities of local government authorities to our rural communities,” he said.
The former Minister of Information further stated that the governorship election did not end on March 18 when “myopic politicians sought to destroy the citizens they claim that they want to serve.
“For them, it is about the politics of winning at all costs and grabbing power for the sake of perpetuating oppression.
“But, for you and I, it was about repairing broken breaches and restoring hope in the hearts of our people. It was beyond retiring the old order as we already had a blueprint for the new.”
Nweke reiterated that the journey was not over, as he had no intention of foregoing the gains he and his supporters had made to awaken the citizenry to their responsibilities and their rights in the political and governance process.
“It is my plan that we keep building this movement, regardless of the outcome of last Saturday’s election.
“We will await the announcement of the decision from INEC and share our next step afterwards,” Nweke added.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the collation of the governorship election result in the state was suspended, following electoral irregularities in Nkanu East and Nsukka Council Areas of the state.