The All Progressives Congress (APC) guber candidate in Abia State, Chief Ikechi Emenike, at the weekend, unveiled his running mate, a clergywoman, Rev. Gloria Akara, from the oil-rich area of Ukwa East Council in Abia South Senatorial District, to brighten his chances of winning the state in 2023.
While presenting Akara at a meeting of Bende Local Council APC members and stakeholders at Item in Abia North zone, Emenike described her as “a lady of faith, true mother and loving wife” that would add value to his bid to govern the state, which he tagged, ‘the rescue mission of Abia APC.’
According to Emenike, Abia women never had the opportunity to sit in the executive wing, which the APC is set to address, disclosing, however, that he encountered immense pressure in the process of picking a female running mate, but through seeking divine inspiration, was able to stick with his decision.
“It has always been my desire that Ukwa people must be in the political equation of Abia. I didn’t just go to Ukwa for a running mate, but I got a quality woman with intimidating credentials, including 40 years of legal practice. By choosing a woman as deputy governorship candidate, it has been demonstrated that in APC, we don’t just preach gender equity, we practise it.”
Accepting to serve the state, Akara described Emenike’s emergence as candidate as an answer to the prayers and cries of Abia people to God to intervene in the affairs of the state.
She said: “Being strategically placed by God in Nigeria, not only as an oil producing state and a well known industrial hub in Africa, Abia deserves much more than it has got in the course its existence.
“I accept this rare offer and opportunity. To have been chosen as deputy governorship candidate, I pledge to work with Emenike and support his noble and most laudable cause of rescuing and developing Abia wholeheartedly.”
