The people of Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State will continue to occupy a special place in the hearts of the people of Nkanuland who are mostly found in Enugu East Senatorial zone of the State, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the State, Dr. Peter Ndubuishi Mbah has said.

The governorship candidate made this known at Obollo-Afor, the administrative headquarters of Udenu council area, Wednesday, when he paid a thank you visit to them.

Mbah who was visibly emotional while addressing the throng of party supporters, said he struggled with words because of the special attachment Udenu people occupied in his heart and the hearts of the people of Nkanu clan.

Appreciating the people of Udenu and the entire Nsukka zone, the Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd boss said, “I was consumed by emotion when I came here to address you, and I had to struggle to address you because of the special place you’ve occupied in my heart. You’re have occupied a special place in the hearts of Ndi Nkanuland.

“The history of 25th May, 2022 cannot be complete without posterity speaking for Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the people of Udenu local council. Udenu gave us 100 percent votes. This is why we came. We are here not to campaign because it’s not yet time but to appreciate you.”

Stating that the thank you tour was a journey for both the Nkanu and Udenu people, the guber flagbearer said he had only came to give them the reports of their tours so far. He further maintained that Nkanu and Udenu people were not only kinsmen but siblings whose history will go a long way in defining their future relationship.

“Udenu for me is like we are going on this tour together. Our social contract of good governance still stands. When Nkanu East people visited Government House, Enugu, to show their gratitude to the governor for his large heart, they bestowed on him (Ugwuanyi) the sonship of Nkanuland. He’s our son and part of us. We are part of you.

“We have gone to the other local government areas and told them we were grateful for their support. We also informed them of the implications of the decision they took on that day. So I have also come to tell you that you didn’t make a mistake by electing me as your governorship candidate because we are aware of the situations in the country. So, we understood the task ahead and deemed it necessary to elect the best hands,” he said.

Pledging to move the economy to the next level if given the people’s mandate in 2023, Mbah maintained that, “we are poised to shoving up the economy of the state from $4 billion dollars to $30 billion dollars through industrialisation of our state.

“We have lots of assets and our state is blessed. We have coal, oil shale, gas, glass sands, ironstone, clay minerals, limestone, gypsum, alum, etcetera. So Enugu State is blessed and we are going to explore these minerals and natural resources to escape from the trap of bankruptcy. We are going to revamp those dormant assets to generate revenues.

“Our programmes are robust and dynamic. We are prepared to tackle the gloomy future and we’ll not give excuses. We have an integrated programme that will propel development and flush out unemployment. We are going to engage our youth and tap into their potentials.

“In areas of healthcare, sanitation, water reticulation, education, rural development, production, we have clear visions for all of them. We’ll be unveiling our manifesto when we come back, and by that time, INEC would have lifted the ban on electioneering campaign” Mbah told the gateway council area.

Earlier in his welcome address, the council chairman of Udenu and State ALGON leader, Hon. Solomon Izuchukwu Onah, presenting Mbah and his running mate, Barr Ifeanyi Ossai to his people, said they were the ones chosen to redeem the State and build on the good work of Governor Ugwuanyi in 2023. “They will deliver on our mandate in 2023,” he assured. He further commended the people for their support and solidarity to their son, Gov Ugwuanyi for the past 7 years, and for identifying with the candidature of Ossai as Mbah’s running mate. He promised to make history out of next year’s election by giving the party unswerving victory.

Also in their separate speeches, former chairmen of the council area, Hon. Hygene Odo and Rt. Hon. Frank Ugwu, and the Southeast Zonal Secretary of the PDP, Rt. Hon. James Ugwu, corroborated the position of their local government chairman, maintaining that Mbah’s candidacy was the best thing that had happened to the party in recent times.

They stressed that they would work to elevate their votes from the previous 40,000 to 60,000 for the party in 2023. According to them, PDP is going to sweep all the local government areas in Enugu North Senatorial District including Isi Uzo local government.

On his part, the party's Deputy Chairman in the State, Hon. Innocent Ezeoha, said the party believed in action rather than talking, promising the test of their strength would be shown by the outcome of the elections in 2023. Narrating how they convinced Gov Ugwuanyi of Mbah’s candidacy, he recalled that prior to the primary elections, the people of the State had converged on different occasions on Government House to assure the governor they would queue behind anyone endorsed by him.

Describing Mbah as a good man, he further stated that his humility, loyalty and goodwill were factors that contributed to his emergence as the party governorship flagbearer.

Other speakers who corroborated Ezeoha’s observations were the traditional ruler of the community, HRH Igwe Evarestus Onah, the national chairman of Odimma Nsukka and PDP candidate for Nsukka/Igboeze South Federal Constituency, Engr. Vita Abba, member representing Udenu/Igboeze North Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Hon. Simeon Atigwe, the State PDP Chairman, Hon. Augustine Nnamani and the Chairman, Ingrace incorporated, Chief Chinedu Onuh.