Ebonyi PDP candidate promises visionary leadership, youth empowerment<\/p>\n
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By Emmanuel Oloniruha<\/p>\n
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ebonyi, Ifeanyichukwuma Odii, has pledged to reposition the state and address what he described as a deficit in visionary leadership if elected in 2027.<\/p>\n
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Odii made the promise on Thursday during an interactive dinner organised in his honour by the Ebonyi Business Community and Friends in Abuja.<\/p>\n
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He said his ambition was driven by a commitment to good governance, sustainable development and the need to harness the state\u2019s untapped human and natural resources.<\/p>\n
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According to him, the aspirations of Ebonyi\u2019s founding fathers and mothers for a prosperous and inclusive state have yet to be fully realised.<\/p>\n
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Paying tribute to notable leaders, including Akanu Ibiam, Martin Elechi and Offia Nwali, Odii said the state possessed enormous potential that remained underutilised.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOur state possesses enormous human and natural resources, fertile lands, and industrious people, yet we remain far below our potential.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe tragedy is not the lack of potential; the tragedy is a failure of leadership and vision. The current administration has failed because you cannot give what you do not have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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The PDP candidate said modern governance required a business-oriented approach capable of unlocking opportunities in solid minerals, agriculture and human capital development.<\/p>\n
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He promised to prioritise people-centred infrastructure, quality primary healthcare and economic policies that would create jobs and improve living standards.<\/p>\n
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Odii also dismissed zoning debates, arguing that competence, capacity and collective progress should take precedence over sectional interests.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI am offering myself because I am a citizen of Ebonyi, I am qualified to run, and I have the capacity to deliver good governance.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhat binds us together is the state, not the Abakaliki or Afikpo bloc. I am not running to consume or destroy; I am a builder of men,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Expressing concern over youth unemployment and dependency on political patronage, Odii said the state must encourage innovation, entrepreneurship and productivity.<\/p>\n
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\u201cToday, too many young men and women aspire not to become innovators, scientists, engineers, software developers, or business owners. Instead, many aspire to become political appointees.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMany seek patronage rather than productivity. This trend is dangerous. No society can compete globally when its highest employer is politics rather than productivity and innovation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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He pledged to implement an ambitious human capital development programme focused on digital technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, software development, renewable energy and mechanised agriculture.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe 21st century belongs to knowledge, innovation, creativity, and technology. The future belongs to those who can solve problems and create value.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe must build a new culture, a new Ebonyi where excellence is rewarded, where merit matters, and where dreams can flourish,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
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Odii urged members of the business community to mobilise eligible voters to participate in the ongoing voter registration exercise ahead of future elections.<\/p>\n
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Reflecting on previous elections, he assured supporters that measures had been put in place to safeguard votes and strengthen electoral participation in the 2027 polls.<\/p>\n
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Also speaking, Chairman of the occasion, Mr Onwe Onwe, said the business community believed Odii possessed the competence and commitment required to advance the state\u2019s development.<\/p>\n
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Similarly, Chairman of the Ebonyi Community in Abuja, Mr Chukwuma Igwe, expressed confidence in Odii\u2019s candidacy and assured him of the community\u2019s support.<\/p>\n
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A House of Representatives aspirant, Mr Eni Chima, urged voters to prioritise competence and leadership capacity, expressing confidence that Odii would deliver effective governance if elected.(www.primerisenews.com)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ebonyi, Ifeanyichukwuma Odii, has pledged to reposition the state and address what he described as a deficit in visionary leadership if elected in 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[41,42,40],"class_list":["post-61","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-ebonyi","tag-generalelectionsodii","tag-pdp"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_20260625_210106-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63,"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions\/63"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primerisenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}