Politics

Insecurity in Anambra politically motivated, says Soludo

The insecurity in Anambra State, South-East of Nigeria, is “politically motivated”, Prof. Chukwuemeka C. Soludo, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate for the polls in the state has claimed.

Soludo spoke at a political debate on Monday in Awka alongside two other gubernatorial candidates of other parties, stating that part of the recent rise in insecurity in the state was politically motivated.

The agitation by the pro-Biafra group, IPOB, has led to several killings and destruction in Anambra and other states in the South-East.

A soldier was shot dead a few days ago during a gun battle between troops and some IPOB members, according to a statement by the Nigerian Army.

The army said it killed four IPOB members.

Said said Soludo: “Part of the recent upsurge in insecurity in Anambra is politically motivated. There are some persons who think that they will gain political advantage by creating a sense of fear and insecurity so that you would have voters’ suppression.”

The other two candidates who took part in the debate organised by Arise News were Andy Uba of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), out of the 18 cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the November 6 election.

Soludo’s party is ruling in Anambra.

Prof. Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said Anambra had been the safest state in Nigeria, a safe haven for booming businesses, until “the last few months”, stressing that the governor of the state, Willie Obiano, was doing his best to tackle the security challenges in the state.

Noted he: “The governor as the chief security officer has risen up to the challenge.

“And by the way, you know that all these security agencies happen to be within the purview of the Federal Government, but we’ve got a security architecture in which the federal forces have been working in tandem, in collaboration with the local vigilante.”

Soludo said if he was elected governor he would work out some “harmonious agreement with the non-state actors” as one of the ways of tackling insecurity in the state, adding that another thing would be to create “prosperity, jobs, and opportunities for our youths.”

There is a general apprehension that the Anambra election may be disrupted because of a sit-at-home order by IPOB which is using the order as a strategy to put pressure on the Nigerian government to release its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is standing trial in Abuja for alleged treason.

At the debate, Soludo and the other two candidates said they would support the government to hold dialogue with IPOB.

Said the APGA flag bearer: “The agitation cannot be shut down with a gun. We need to have a dialogue, bring everyone to the table and discuss specific issues that are their agitations.”

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