The Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Anambra State, Chief Basil Ejidike says the Nov. 8 governorship election is a God-given chance to connect the state with the party at the centre.

Ejidike, who doubles as the board chairman, National Root Corps Research Institute, Umudike, Abia, spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that all hands must be on deck to salvage and liberate Anambra from the opposition, which according to him had dragged development and other opportunities down for so long in the state.

“Anambra people have been fooled for too long in this All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) thing, and twice beaten, twice shy. There is need for us to reconnect to the centre.

“Look at the situation in Ebonyi, look at the situation in Imo; are we better? The answer is simply no, we are not. Why do we make ourselves minority inside minority?

“APGA has only one state out of the 36 states, and that is Anambra. The earlier we connect to the centre, the better for us.

“It is better we join the progressive fold, so that we will be able to experience real dividends of democracy. We are not getting anything when we compare ourselves with other APC-controlled states for now,’’ Ejidike said.

He said that the earlier the state connected to the centre, the better for them to get improved socio-economic opportunities.

“Everybody, especially APC members, should buckle up this time and know that a lot is at stake in the Nov. 8 governorship election in the state.

“This is really a consequential election for the people of the state, and we shouldn’t allow victory to elude us this time,’’ he said.

Ejidike, who compared the chances of APC and other major parties, said, a lot of variables indicated that 2025 off-cycle governorship election was the chance of APC to win in the state.

“More than ever before, APC is now firmly rooted at the grassroots, as well as houses heavyweight politicians across the state.

“It wasn’t like this before, but with the new realisation that joining the party at the centre has a lot of advantages, people are joining our party.

“Apart from the tsunami recorded during the 2023 general elections due to the involvement of Mr Peter Obi as the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), not much is known of LP here.

“The APGA of yesterday is no longer the APGA of today. The governor is just on his own, not well connected with his party members.

“But if I should ask this important question, what has Anambra achieved after almost 20 years of APGA rule?

“The taste of the food is in the eating,’’ he said.

Reviewing the just concluded party primaries in the state, Ejidike noted that Gov. Chukwuma Soludo was the sole aspirant for APGA, Chief George Muoghalu, sole candidate for LP and Peoples Democratic Party also had a sole candidate.

“In the case of APC, we had seven aspirants that vied for its ticket.

“Do you think anybody will want to waste his money buying governorship forms in APC, if there is no value attached to the party?” he queried.

He said that before now, the party might not have been that strong, but the APC had become the party to beat in this year’s governorship election in Anambra.

“We cannot continue to suffer in opposition, we have suffered enough, and Nov.8 governorship election is our chance,’’ he said.

“This is the opportunity for us to bring more development, more infrastructure and more employment opportunities to Anambra people among others,’’ Ejidike said.(NAN)