The Ebonyi State governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof. Benald Odo, yesterday, said the state has suffered economic setback, promising to fix it if elected governor in 2023 general elections.
Odo, in a statement in Abakaliki, said it is the desire and passion to render effective service through people-oriented governance, which provides leadership anchored on sincerity of purpose, that made him contest for governor.
He added that he is worried about the economic situation of the state. While maintaining that Ebonyi people have suffered economic hardship, he noted the state has been ranked third poorest in Nigeria, trailing states like Sokoto and Jigawa. He noted that figures are still the same today and will shock people that food prices are highest in Ebonyi even when the state is agrarian.
Odo further stated that the education sector in the state is dead without proper attention by government. He revealed that some public schools in Ebonyi have only two teachers teaching multiple streams of classes from primary one to six.
He, therefore, expressed belief that the state could do better, noting this is the motivation behind his aspiration to be governor. Odo said he has received encouragement from people across the state and beyond.
He said: “This is the reason I have insisted, even in my media interactions, that issues of governance confronting us as a people is my only reason for going into 2023 Ebonyi governorship race.
“Our education sector is in a mess at all levels; teaching and learning in our public schools have become almost unaffordable for average Ebonyi homes. This is because government has not invested in this crucial sector for a state like ours that is educationally underdeveloped.
“Our health sector is the worst in the country. The entire Ebonyi Ministry of Health has only six medical doctors in its employment, one pharmacist and 17 nurses.
“Ebonyi is an agrarian state in the South East, and, therefore, should not have any business with extreme poverty. There’s no place in the state that you can get up to 1,000 hectares of land prepared and ready for mechanised farming.”