Anambra South by-election: My strength is that I'm not a billionaire - Onyekonwu, AA candidate

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Chijioke Onyekonwu

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By Madu Obi

The candidate of Action Alliance (AA) for the forthcoming Anambra South senatorial election, Comrade Chijioke Onyekonwu, has said that his strength in the election is that he is not a billionaire.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has fixed the election for August 16, 2025 and most of the candidates of other political parties competing with Onyekonwu for the seat occupied last by the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, are wealthy businessmen and industrialists

Addressing reporters in Awka ahead of the election, Onyekonwu, who belongs to the civil society group, observed that billionaires will be distracted if they go to the Senate as they will be thinking more about their businesses.

The AA candidate, who is from the same Otolo Nnewi Ward 1 as the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, said he will rely mostly on his constituents and other stakeholders in the zone for the success of his work.

He said: "This is not a personal aspiration, but the aspiration of the people of Anambra South senatorial zone. I'm not a businessman competing with other aspirants, who are all billionaires. While they have been busy with their businesses, I have been busy forming Civil Society Organizations, CSOs.

My people have always had this confidence in me to help with their problems and that is why I have received a lot of letters from them to submit to the national assembly to help resolve issues concerning them. Over time, I said if I could do this, why can't I go there to represent them, knowing fully well that they are not adequately represented.

The strong part of my ticket is that I am not a billionaire. The issue at stake is adequate representation. Senate is simply the position of an errand man; It's not an executive position. These billionaires will be distracted by their businesses, and that is why I am the best and most suitable candidate."

Speaking on the acceptability of AA in the senatorial zone, Onyekonwu said the person he is going to replace was elected on the platform of Young Progressives Party, YPP, which nobody gave any chance at the time Dr Ifeanyi Ubah used it as his platform.

"In this election, what matters is the people. Our people are politically emancipated and they know what they want and I know that my people will send me," he added.

He described Anambra South as a peculiar zone, adding that being Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu's zone, he would ensure that people's expectations were met.

"Going to the Senate is not a business venture. Mine won't be business as usual. I will set the bar high and apart from attracting the necessary amenities, I will meet the needs of my people. I will not tolerate human rights abuse and I will create a standard of how a Senator should work," Onyekonwu said.

He listed his legislative priorities to include infrastructural development, youth empowerment, constitutional reforms, and the protection of people’s interests at the federal level.