The Imo Professionals Group (IPG), a group of professionals of Imo state origin on Tuesday declared its support for the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Senator Ifeanyi Araraume in the March 2, governorship polls.
A statement by the IPG, signed on its behalf by its President, Dr Emmanuel Nwosu, indicated that the group had adopted Araraume as the preferred governorship candidate in the March 2 elections.
The statement appealed to Imo indigenes to use the coming general elections to begin to address myriads of socio-political and economic crises confronting the state by electing a good administrator who is empowered with both private and public sectors technical know-how.
The statement indicated that the group had adopted the position after a meeting in Owerri, the state capital.
The group stated that though the state has a number of sons and daughters who are aspiring to be the next governor of the state, IPG had seen very pronounced traits of a good administrator in Senator Ifeanyi Araraume.
The group advised the Imo people to put the state’s interest above their personal interests by rallying around the Senator in the coming governorship election.
The statement read: “It is a fact that we have many sons and daughters, aspiring to the position of a governor of Imo State under different political parties; our position is that we need to put our political affiliations aside and elect somebody that can help recover Imo. And we see Senator Ifeanyi Araraume as possessing the right qualities of a good politician and public administrator’’, the communiqué stated.
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“From what we know about all the candidates, it is clear that it is only Araraume who has demonstrated him as having the political will and ability to manage human and financial resources effectively in his entire career as a businessman and public office holder. We know him to always make decisions about an employee or his personal staff based on job performance and not on whether he likes or dislikes someone.
“He handles each problem with objectivity and doesn’t allow personal feelings to dictate his course of action; when a situation requires discipline, he always ensures that the action he takes is consistent with similar cases, so that no one can accuse him of favouritism.’’
The professionals said that among all the governorship hopefuls, it is only Senator Araraume who has ‘’another address’’ unlike others who rely on politics as only means of live-hood, adding that Imo State, having suffered huge economic and infrastructure deficit in the last eight years, requires ‘’ an accomplished administrator who speaks undoubtedly and ensures that his words are specific and there is no confusion.’’
The group further added: “Our state has been privatised by a governor who sees the entire state as a family enterprise in the last eight years and we urgently need somebody who should listen to everything our people say; keeps an open-door policy in an effective way to help our people feel comfortable in expressing honest opinions.’’
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