The representative of Anambra North Senatorial District, Senator Stella Oduah, has officially declared to run for a second term on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Oduah officially dumped the Peoples Democratic Party on Wednesday.
She said she had chosen to continue her fight for her people on the new platform.
Recall that that during the build up to the 2017 Anambra State governorship election, Oduah had expressed grave displeasure at manner in which the PDP conducted its primaries.
However, Oduah did not state why she was dumping the party, rather she said she chose to join APGA because of the Igbo agenda, youths and women empowerment, which she described as the centre piece of her politics.
She said: “My brothers and sisters, despite my global orientation, the Igbo agenda and that of my core constituency has always been the centrepiece of my politics.
“As a senator, my first obligation is to my constituency, then my state and Igboland; it is on this note that I announce my intention to run for the Anambra North Senatorial seat under the All Progressive Grand Alliance.
“My joining APGA is born out of the conviction that the party is the conscience of the Igbo, and because every politics is local.
“APGA possesses the Midas-touch to turn the South-East into a land of gold.
“My brothers and sisters, APGA bu nke anyi!”
Oduah who commended Governor Willie Obiano for being one of the very few governors who does not owe workers’ salaries, described him as one who had reformed Anambra State.
Read the full text of her speech officially declaring to run on the platform of APGA:
My brothers and sisters, it is with great delight that I come before you today. This occasion is momentous because it marks the beginning of a new political chapter for me.
The Igbo often say, ‘Onye aghana nwane ya’. This aphorism rings loudly the essence of brotherhood among the people of the rising sun. Before the incursion of the British, the Igbo had sacerdotal institutions that fostered strong communal bond. Even now, these institutions, such as the age-grades, remain, but with modifications. Pursuing communal goals for the benefit of the community has always been the way of the Igbo.
Since the civil war, we have survived neglect and ostracisation because of our ‘Ofu Obi’ principle. This communal spirit of ours has always been tested and threatened, but we have, at each time, proved that ‘obala aburo nmili.’
The Igbo are known to stand up for their own at the risk of being called “bigots or tribalists” by other ethnic groups. I know this, because I have had my own share of ethnic attacks.
In 2013, when as Minister of Aviation I supervised the remodelling and upgrading of Akanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu to international standard, I faced stiff opposition. I was accused of influencing the project to favour my people. But I was not deterred because of my ‘onye aghana nwane ya’ principle. At the time, the South-East was the only region without an international airport. So, I saw to it that justice was done in this regard.
When I sponsored the South-East Development Commission Bill in the Senate in 2017, it was to drive the Igbo agenda. It was an expression of a potent desire to see a change in my homeland, and an exemplification of that sacred Igbo philosophy.
The bill sought, among other things, to create a commission which will provide and implement a roadmap for the development of infrastructure and social services in the five states of the South-East – Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo. Let me say this here, as Senator representing Anambra North, the bill will see the light of day again.
