Looking at preparations for the the Anambra November 16 polls, claims and counter-claims of flag-bearers, Leader of Nzuko Imeobi of Idemili North and South Local councils, High Chief Obiora Okonkwo, has urged Anambra people to go for a creative governor who will develop the state.

He said: “Our immediate concern is to raise the bar and believe that what is good for us is good for Anambra people. Therefore, we will be expecting a governor who will develop the state creatively; a governor the people  can hold accountable and who will be accountable to them. We in Imeobi have our requirements, in our Charter, of who should be governor. It is quite elaborate and we will advertise it before we finally endorse a candidate.

“But in summary, we expect someone with competence to manage the diversity in our state; someone who will bring inclusive leadership and give everyone a sense of belonging. We want to see a leader who recognizes and appreciates the most important resource available to Anambra, and that is the people of the state, dedicated and resourceful people spread all over the world and also in various endeavors at home.

We want to see a governor who will tap into this resource base and make it part of government. We want a governor who will bring the people who have ran away from the state because of low economic activities. When this is done, Anambra will be a point of reference, a model for the whole of the South East. The economy of the nation was built on regionalism and the challenge now is how any governor will factor it in developing a viable state economy.

Disclosing that the Nzuko Imeobi, a socio-cultural union between Idemili North and South in Anambra State, arose from the need to strengthen communal peace, unity and equity through mobilization of their indigenes at home and in the Diaspora, also said that fairness and equity should determine who succeeds Governor Peter Obi.

Asked his position on the agitation for Anambra North to produce the next governor, Okonkwo, who is also the Political and  Economic adviser to the Archbishop of Onitsha, said: “Fairness and equity are part of the objectives of Imeobi agenda. We agreed that fairness can be further advanced in the manner we approach the issue of zoning or rotation of power. But we also agreed that zoning, obviously, is better realized when all the parties involved come together to talk about it and work out the modalities.

“The zoning that I think will be effective and which most people will accept is the zoning where it is agreed on when each section will benefit from the power sharing charter rather than relying on the benevolence of anyone or the dynamics of prevailing circumstances.