Chief Kingsley Megwara is the Abia State Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign spokesman. As February 25, 2023, approaches, Senator Theodore Orji's former Diaspora Adviser is pleased to report that his team is sensitizing Abians to the true identity of PDP Presidential candidate Atiku. “We are teaching them, particularly pointing out the high points of Atiku from his days as a Customs Officer to his eight years as Vice President; we are explaining in simple terms all that he done under President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“People appreciate him more when they learn these things. As a Customs Officer, he helped Igbo businessmen greatly. Atiku helped young Igbo businessmen with Custom Duty payments by clearing their products and returning later to pay. Our folks testified. as Vice President.”

Atiku is the most experienced presidential candidate, according to Megwara. He contrasts being a state governor with eight years as Nigeria's Vice President.

The Atiku/Okowa spokesman in Abia State said Atiku presided over multiple Federal Executive Council sessions in the President's absence, learning about the country's issues. He says many feel he can unite the nation by "bringing together the cohesive powers of brotherhood and sisterhood linking us together as Nigerians." We teach this. We call him the unifier because he is the only one who can heal the nation.

Megwara believes Atiku's potential would surprise many, and his present task is to persuade people who he is. I never denigrate other candidates. Educating people about this election's facts is the current task.

Megwara called Abia State Governor Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu a self-seeking governor whose escapade has not yielded any political or economic advantage, adding that no governor surpasses the collective decision of the people. Governors fund and control state parties, unlike in the past when party chairmen did. They weakened their party state chairmen, a risky move.

“Our governor being in G5 is unimportant. One Okezie Ikpeazu. Okezie Ikpeazu is weaker than Abia State's massive PDP membership. His motives are unknown.

He said Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu is not consulting Abia leaders like Chief Adolphus Nwabara, Chief T. A. Orji, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, Dr. Eme Okoro, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, and others. Megwara adds, “I don't think Ikpeazu's present adventure coincides with the viewpoint of our state authorities. However, Abia State residents disagree with the governor's motives. The people's will trumps Ikpeazu's.

Megwara is reminded of Peter Obi amid the Labour Party candidate's rose garden, but the effervescent Atiku/Okowa Presidential campaign spokeswoman stays unaffected. Reason: Atiku would likely win Abia anyhow.

He honours Obi as a risen, not rising figure who deserves critical appreciation for offering Nigerians hope for a new day. Despite all of that, Megwara cannot go down without reminding you that we are discussing an Atiku with tremendous experience, a unification mantra needed now, the experience of a commander-in-chief, investment savvy, and a global connection network waiting to energize the Nigerian economy so weakened by what he calls the All-Progressives Congress's bad governance (APC).

Megwara: “The Peter Obi phenomenon is genuine. Anambra Governor Peter Obi fared well. Therefore, rational people like myself will never criticize him. However, we play politics. I defend PDP and Atiku Abubakar as a member. I go out every morning to tell my folks that Atiku Abubakar is the most prepared.

“Atiku is ready to serve as President and Commander-in-Chief during a period of deteriorating security. We need a President and Commander-in-Chief. We are pleased to introduce Atiku to Nigerians as the leader they have been waiting for. Dilapidated infrastructure makes the federal presence in Abia unremarkable. Poor federal highways. We will meet with him in private to discuss our unique issues and convey them to him as President.

Who will meet Atiku when he arrives in Umuahia on February 9 and 10 next month, given that the state governor is in the G5, his deputy Ude Oko-Chukwu is with the party elders, and the governorship contender is unwell and unlikely to be introduced to the people by the President? Ask Megwara. His response: “Just four days ago, the South-east chairman of the Atiku/Okowa Campaign Council, Governor Theodore Ahamefule Orji, met with Southeast leaders. State-by-state strategic meeting. Like Abia State's Deputy Governor His Excellency Ude Oko-Chukwu, the Chairman of the Abia State Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council, shows where everyone stands. Party-loving folks.

“The party is supreme. After a primary, your party chooses its candidates—gubernatorial, senatorial, House of Reps, State House of Assembly, etc.—and you must work for them or quit. Leave the party if you disagree.

“None of them has quit the party; they are busy producing huge difficulties for the party. We're ready to defend the party after multiple olive branches went unanswered. Five closed-door sessions with Wike yielded nothing for the presidential candidate. More?

Abians can expect a federal presence under Atiku. Abia State has no federal secretariat. Ikot Ekpene-Umuahia Road is still deadly. Addressing these concerns. We would present Abians' wishes without a mediator. The future Minister of Defence is not the issue. Abians disregard those. Abia needs federal infrastructure and presence.”

Is Megwara concerned that Abia State PDP governorship candidate Professor Uche Ikonne has disappeared from campaigning and party activities? He claims the Abia PDP is openly anxious about Professor Ikonne's absence and incapacity to campaign and be accessible to the people: “Ikonne emerged the party's candidate following a highly contested gubernatorial primary. Ikonne's absence from the campaign road has disturbed many. That worries some of us, and I think Abia State PDP Chair Dr. Asiforo Okere should address it. I represent the Abia Atiku/Okowa Campaign Council. Many party members worry. They are starting to wonder where their gubernatorial candidate Prof. Uche Ikonne has been for two months.

I believe God will make Alhaji Atiku Abubakar our next president. President Atiku will end Nigerian misery. Workers are hurting because food and gas prices have risen from N10,000 to N40,000 under the PDP. My fuel cost N350 today, up from N86. The naira depreciation is multiple times worse than when APC took control. How much of your N77 trillion debt was capital expenditure? How can anyone rational vote for APC?”

Your party has difficulties, and many think APC and PDP are the same. Agree? Ask Megwara. He compares PDP to the Democratic Party in any normal and civilized democracy like the US, but APC to the Republican Party in terms of big corporate sponsorship and less care for the average man. He claims APC's crooked government is below that.

(Source: www.thisdaylive.com)