A Professor of Safety and Environment and member of the Labour Party, Gerald Ndubuisi Okeke has vowed to give the people of Imo State the best leadership if he wins the November 2023 governorship in the state.
According to him, Imo State deserves the best leadership.
Speaking with PEOPLE and POWER newsmagazine in an interview recently, Okeke who hails from Umulogho in the Obowo Local Government Area of the State explained that he was motivated to go into politics by the desire to serve his people. “Imo deserves the best leadership and I am here to do that for my people.”
He added that the Igbo Youth Assembly Worldwide, Imo Political Forum, and the League of Imo Professionals at home and in the Diaspora were also instrumental in his decision to offer himself for the Governorship race.
“I was practically pleaded with, to join politics and provide the right and purposeful leadership to my people. The Imo Political forum, League of Imo professionals, both at home and diaspora requested that I should make myself available to serve my people.”
Recounting his modest contributions to his people, he hinted that through him, some indigent youths of the state have been able to acquire quality education as he helped to pay school fees for such indigent students, particularly in his community.
According to him, “I have assisted some of our youths to gain admissions abroad to study at reputable universities in China, Malaysia, and Switzerland.
About two of the students are currently studying in India.
“There is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) known as Ugochkwu Good Heart Foundation. This foundation was created to empower some of the youths in my area, with respect to skills acquisition, like hair-dressing, welding & fitting, scaffolding, Safety & Environmental courses/training, etc.”
The Foundation he said “was built in memory of my late son in USA. A football tournament was the first point of call to kick-start this program. A big giant trophy was donated for a soccer competition for Umulogho Autonomous Community in 2014.
So you can see that I have a lot for the people in my immediate community. I am appealing to them to allow me to replicate what I have done in my community to the entire state. I have a lot to offer to my people.”
Speaking about his entry into politics, he would readily give reasons why he chose Labour Party among the political parties in Nigeria.
“I joined Labour Party because it is a people-oriented party that cares about humans. Secondly, the brand of politics by our Presidential candidate (Peter Obi) is unprecedented. He plays clean politics. Peter Obi’s style of politics is the best. Nobody gave Labour Party a chance to make an impact, but all the political demagogues have been proven wrong.
Labour Party is not a money-conscious party like what we have in the two big political parties we have in this country.
Highlighting the factors that would count in his favour if given the ticket, Okeke said “Okigwe zone has just ruled Imo state via the first civilian Governor – Late Chief Dr. Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe. The next person was Ikedi Ohakim, who just had only one term of four years. Evans Enwerem was from Owerri Senatorial Zone, not Okigwe.
“If Labour Party decides to zone it to Owerri zone with strong conviction, we shall all support the candidate that emerges after the primaries as a party man.”
The erudite professor, however, did not hesitate to say that “if fairness, equity, and justice is not followed, I may be forced to pitch a tent with another political platform to realize my ambition.
But the truth of the matter is that Labour Party believes in fairness and equity. For now, I am very Obidient and want to be very Yussuful to my state.”
He explained further that “if Labour Party decides to go for a consensus candidate, I shall support that. For now, I am the candidate to beat. My pedigree and antecedents are there for people to see. I am highly educated and understand exactly what my people need.
“My vision and mission are to see the lost glory of Imo state restored with pride and dignity. To take Imo to the next level, economically, politically, and security wise is my main reason for throwing my hat into the ring. I am the ideal person to govern the Imo state. I am not a political demagogue and do not intend to be one. Look at my antecedents in the oil & gas industry and make a deduction by yourself.”
Intellectually, Professor Gerald Ndubuisi Okeke has what it takes to aspire to the office of the Governor of his state. He is armed with double Post graduate degrees, two Doctorate degrees, and to cap it all, a Professorship in Safety and Environment.
If given the opportunity, Okeke hopes to “harvest and engage the best brains we have in Imo state to help push the state forward.
I shall encourage agriculture and even create a special fund to assist peasant farmers in the Imo state. Small-scale Enterprises (SME) shall be encouraged and assisted with soft loans to run their enterprises and I hope to turn Imo into an Industrial hub.”
