Flooding : Anambra APC senatorial candidate begs Buhari to help Soludo



Tony Okafor,Awka


The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra Central Senatorial District for the 2023 polls, Chief Kodilichukwu Okelekwe, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to assist the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, to tackle flood problems in the state.


He said the call had become important given the quantum of destruction of farmlands, houses and other property in various parts of the state which he said was beyond what the state government could handle.

Okelekwe made the appeal while speaking at the 2022 Press Week / Man of the Year Award event of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Anambra State Council, held at Godwin Ezeemo International Press Centre, Awka, the Anambra State capital on Friday.

At the event, Dr Adaora Umeoji, the Deputy Managing Director of the Zenith Bank Plc, was honoured as the Anambra NUJ Woman of the Year.

The first female professor of mass communication sub-saharan Africa, Prof Chinyere Okunna, was installed as the matriarch of the Anambra State NUJ.


Imploring the Federal Government to assist the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo to combat flooding in the state, Okelekwe said the level of destruction caused by flood in the state, especially in Awka North, was much.

He said, "One of the areas I visited was Awba-Ofemmili in Awka-North Local Government Area, and what flooding did in the community was just heartbreaking; I only managed to hold back tears while looking around the flooded areas.

"There are similar scenario in other areas I visited and it is just clear that the devastation is beyond what the state government can handle.

"I, therefore, beg the federal government to declare Anambra State a disaster area, and come up with a deliberate package to mitigate the disaster; politics or political party affiliation should be put aside in this matter."

Okelekwe charged journalists to educate the electorate on the importance of the 2023 polls and the need to make the right choices.

He urged NUJ to monitor the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that it would do the right things in the polls; especially in ensuring that the elections would be free, fair and transparent.

A former House of Representatives member for Ogbaru Federal Constituency, who was a guest lecturer on the occasion, Afam Ogene, commended journalists for their positive contributions towards the growth and development of Nigeria.

Ogene, who is the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for the next year's polls for House of Representatives, urged journalists in the state to guide the electorate to ensure that they would make the right choices.

Speaking on the theme of the Press week: Traditional Media and Threat of the Social Media: Implications for National Development, Ogene called for proper regulatory framework for control of social media.

Chairman of the NUJ in the state, Odogwu Emeka Odogwu PhD, said the event was a special one for the members and leadership of the union as it afforded the opportunity to take stock of their activities in the year so far, as that would enable them chart the way forward for development of state and the people.

Why begging! What a country and its leadership. Very backward thinking leaders

The Apartheid regime has no regards for Southerners.