By Tony Okafor, Awka
The Anambra South Senatorial candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Chief Ebuka Onunkwo, has said he will not engage in a political fight with Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, describing the governor as his elder brother.
Onunkwo made the declaration on Saturday at Nanka, during the celebration of the community’s New Yam Festival at Agbiligba Square.
His comment followed the governor’s remarks at Ekwusigo Local Government Area recently during the commissioning of a 1.03-kilometre road project, which Onunkwo was said to have substantially financed.
During the commissioning, Soludo reportedly described Onunkwo as a businessman who should leave politics and concentrate on his business.
Our Correspondent gathered that Onunkwo contributed N170 million in loan towards the completion of the road project.
Speaking on the development, however, Onunkwo said he had no intention of responding to the governor or engaging him in a political confrontation.
He said although the two currently belonged to different political parties, his attention was focused on his senatorial ambition and the forthcoming election.
“The only thing I can say about our governor is that we belong to different political parties today, but the ultimate priority to me today is to prosecute my current ambition of going to the Senate.
“Soludo is my elder brother and my governor. Whatever he describes me to be is not my concern. The only thing that should occupy my time now is the coming election,” he said.
Asked how he intended to contend with the incumbent senator representing Anambra South, who is a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Onunkwo said the electorate would ultimately determine who was popular and who would represent them.
“The electorate are the only ones to determine our popularity,” he said.
“They will vote for whoever they see as popular and who they think can represent them well. I want to go to the Senate to represent my people well and lift standards,” the NDC candidate added.
Onunkwo previously served as coordinator of Senator Emmanuel Nwachukwu’s campaign council and later as chairman of Governor Soludo’s campaign council in Ekwusigo Local Government Area.
He subsequently moved to the NDC after, according to accounts surrounding his political transition, he was denied the APGA senatorial ticket prelude to the party’s primary election.
His supporters have also maintained that an earlier understanding within the party was not honoured, despite his involvement in previous electoral campaigns.
