350,000 Anambra Women Endorse Obiano for Second Term

By James Ezeh

The race for the governorship of Anambra State seems to have been done and dusted as Governor Willie Obiano’s second term bid received a huge boost Monday when Anambra women numbering well over 350,000 gave him a historic endorsement at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka.

The women who came together under the aegis of South East Women of Substance, Anambra State chapter also adopted Governor Obiano as their Grand Patron, praising him for his great achievements in the past two and a half years in office.

 Speaking through their leader, Chief Samson Umejidike, the women who were marking the organization' s 15th Anniversary with a Summit under the theme – The Role of Women in Governance, explained that their endorsement of Governor Obiano was justified by his sterling performance.

‘Anambra has been very peaceful since Obiano took over,’ Chief Umejidike observed, pointing out that the state’s wealthy citizens no longer move about with private security as was once the case.

‘Traders in Onitsha transact business without the need of private security. Criminals have been chased out of the state. And this is because of Willie Obiano’s approach to governance,’ he observed urging the women to give the governor a resounding applause which they quickly obliged.

Chief Umejidike therefore assured Governor Obiano of the support of the Anambra women as he prepares to seek the people’s mandate to continue the good work he had started in the state, saying, ‘’He has done well and he will be given a chance to do it again. All the women of Anambra are behind him. We shall support him until he completes his second term.’’

Also addressing the women who were drawn from the 326 electoral wards in the state, the Royal Father of the group Igwe MacAnthony Okonkwo who is the traditional ruler of Alor in Idemili South Council Area commended Governor Obiano’s performance in office and urged the women to support him for a well-deserved second term. 

 Similarly, in her own address, the Governor's wife, Chief (Mrs) Ebelechukwu Obiano described women as nation builders that the society could not do without. She commended the women for their massive turnout which she observed was indicative of their appreciation of the achievements of Governor Obiano.

Accepting the honour done to him, Governor Obiano described the event as the largest gathering of women in South East Nigeria and thanked the women for coming together to endorse him for a second term in office.

Said he, ‘I am delighted that women in Anambra State under the platform of Anambra Women of Substance deemed it fit to make me their grand patron. And you did not only make me your grand patron but endorsed me for second term.

The governor went on to explain that his government had rolled out some plans to alleviate the sufferings of the Anambra woman and cushion the effects of the current recession on the family.

He explained that his administration had suspended taxes and levies that affect market women and also made education free from primary to junior secondary level.

‘You should all join cooperatives so that you can benefit from some of our programmes for women. Some of you here benefited from the N1.5bn that we disbursed to small businesses recently. 60% of the disbursements went to women.

 Very soon we are going to disburse more money to the women for them to get more actively involved in agriculture. I want you to organize yourselves in cooperatives so that you can benefit from this.