A Labour Party (LP) governorship aspirant in Imo, Mr Chinedu Amadi, on Wednesday in Owerri warmed against vote-buying at the upcoming primary election.

Addressing a news conference, Amadi also charged delegates not to engage in actions that could jeopardise the future of the state at the exercise coming up on April 15.

“I believe I am best-equipped for the job, having established several thriving ventures, including farms and judging by the level of success I have recorded so far,’’ he said.

Amadi called for a transparent process devoid of irregularities on April 15 to ensure the emergence of the best candidate.

He said the emergence of the best candidate would improve the chances of electing a qualified candidate for the office of the governor, thereby solving half of Imo’s problems.

He said insecurity was one of the major problems confronting Imo, and that it had continued to thrive because the leadership did not reflect the choice of the people.

He noted that a peaceful and secure state would be restored as soon as the right leaders were elected.

Amadi said the right candidate would be elected only through transparent election where the choice of the electorate is reflected in the outcome.

He said there was an urgent need to involve strategic stakeholders like traditional rulers in the fight against insecurity to yield faster results.

The aspirant said also that there was the need to properly harness the resources of the state to improve the quality of life of the people and improve their life expectancy.

He said this could be done by helping youths and women entrepreneurs and the building of their capacities in the non-oil sector so as to reduce dependence on oil.

“We depend solely on revenue from crude oil, but diversifying that revenue source will go a long way in helping youths and women entrepreneurs.

“With this in mind, I founded the organisation of youths in international trade and commerce, and we work with various agencies.

“We train youths in food packaging, clothes, shoes, and agro products for export,’’ Amadi said.