Why I want to be Enugu governor –Obetta

Mark Chidi Obetta is probably the youngest governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State for next year’s general election. In an interview with journalists in Lagos, he spoke on why he wants to govern the state and his vision for his people. ADEWALE SANYAOLU, who was there, brings the excerpts.
Why do want to govern Enugu state?
Well, let me first of all state that I am eminently qualified to be governor of my state. But beyond being qualified, my desire to serve the people of my state as their governor is essentially driven by my love for my state and my people. In fact, I love my state and my people with passion, so I am seeking an opportunity to translate that love into concrete terms. I want an opportunity to transform my state into a model for other states in the country, and, to wipe away the hitherto socio-economic challenges facing my people, especially the poor. And I am convinced that, God by his special grace endowed me with the capacity to ensure proper management and deployment of whatever resources I have to optimal results. And this I will do with the resources of the state for the benefit of the state and my people.
What gives you the confidence that you can realise this ambition as a greenhorn?
Yes, that I have never contested any political election in all my life is a fact, not an insinuation. But I must state that, that doesn’t mean that I do not have the necessary structure to transform my burning desire to serve my people as their governor into reality. Let me state this: Whatever God desires you should be at any point in time, no man, no circumstance can stop it. Having noted this, let me now answer your question regarding the required structure to help transform my ambition into a reality. Let me assure you that I am not lacking the required structure as you may think. One, I represent the youths in this race.  So, in terms of human structure in an election, what structure is more than the youths?  Again, beyond this, I want to assure you that the highest structure you need in this type of race is the people. Once majority of the people are convinced about your sincerity of purpose, your victory is half way achieved. And I can assure you that I didn’t just wake up one day and say, ‘I want to run for the office of the Governor of Enugu state’. It is people who know the potentials in me; people who know my track records that came to me and said, ‘Chidi, please come, avail yourself for the service of our state, we want you to be on the driving seat to consolidate what the present administration has achieved and to transform our state because we know that you have a special divine gift to transform anything you lay your hands on into gold’. And if you make your private investigations, you will discover that it is not just one group, or two groups that approached me to come and run. And, more importantly, all the various groups are people who are indigenes of our beloved Enugu state, and, I know  them as people who have burning desire to see that Enugu state and our people continue to get a better deal of governance. So, I can assure you that my aspiration is backed by even a stronger structure than what you may be thinking about as the required structure that will make me succeed.
How would you defeat other heavy-weights who have also lined up for the ticket?
Well, let me first of all state that those people you have in mind are all illustrious sons and daughters of Nsukka. And they are eminently qualified, not only to fly the ticket of our great party, the PDP for that election; they are also qualified to be governor of our beloved Enugu state. But the only thing I will tell you is that I am offering myself to serve my people of Enugu state as governor. And I am seeking the mandate on the platform of the PDP. And I have no doubt in my mind that whoever that will emerge the governorship flag-bearer of our party in the state, and, indeed for  all the other elective positions  in the forth-coming general election must be chosen through a transparent, free and fair primaries. This assurance has often been given to all party members by the national chairman of our party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu. However, I have no doubt in my mind, knowing the antecedents  of our national chairman as a true democrat, coupled with the way he has managed the affairs of the party since he came on board as national chairman that he will keep to his promise. And once the  primaries  are free and fair, I don’t have any doubt in my mind that I will emerge victorious and later become the next governor of my state to sustain the developmental strides of our dear incumbent governor, His Excellency, Sullivan Iheanacho Chime.
This is because my administration is going to be a continuity government because we are going to sustain the development initiatives of the current administration, complete all on-going projects of the administration while still executing our own new initiatives. Enugu state is a PDP state, so all we need is someone who will not distort the course of progress already designed for the state.
In concrete terms what do you intend to achieve as governor?
I must admit that the answer or answers to this question underlies the essence of my ambition, and, indeed, that of any other person aspiring to this position. Let me point out that the incumbent governor has made a great impact on the development needs of this state. Under his administration, he has created easy access to the various areas, including the urban and rural areas through massive road networks he has constructed in those areas.
Also, his infrastructural transformation initiatives in Enugu, the capital city, particularly in the areas of road construction and rehabilitation, as well as the on-going reconstruction of the state secretariat structures are indeed remarkable development initiatives. And I assure you that these will be sustained under my administration.
Therefore, I will say that my administration will not only sustain that tempo of development but will add more value  through a development blue-print that will tackle all development needs of the state in all the sectors simultaneously.
We also know that job creation and youth empowerment are critical to the development of any state. So, in addition to establishment of skill acquisition centres in all the local government areas of the state, we will provide training to our youths in various vocation after which the beneficiaries would be given the necessary support by government to set up his/her own business.