Any person carefully following the political situation in Abia State who is true to self, will agree with me that Abians are still confused about who amongst the Governorship Candidates to choose to pilot the affairs of Abia State for the next 4 years from May 29 this year. And it’s just 6 days away from election day.

Another issue the reader will agree with me on is that the Obidient wave is still blowing across States and many may be deceived by it and forget that all candidates are not Peter Obi. I know that most Abians agreed that they are voting individuals and not party this time around, that after the Presidential election is done, they will treat other candidates in other elections on their individual merits, not party merits, not allowing anyone to ride on Peter Obi’s back.

Another thing being noticed in the political space is that some Abians are trying hard to repeat the mistakes that dug Abia into the deep hole we are struggling to retrieve mother Abia by bringing in clannishness and tribalism into the Governorship selection again.
Agba nke mbu otuo n’ogwe. agba nke abuo na nkea ato, otuo n’ogwe. Owu ogwe ka emere aku?

Abians have consistently failed in choosing the right Governors going by the results we all can see. The meaning is that whatever metric/method we have been using to decide who governs Abia State has always been wrong. Abia State is said to be the worst governed state in Nigeria. If we go into the election of March 11 using the same metric we’ve used before now, we should not expect a different result in governance. It’s there for everyone to see. For space, I cannot rehearse here the failures of Abia governments since 1999.

It is because of the pain we Abians have been going through that a coalition of Abians in Nigerian Christian Graduates Fellowship NCGF Aba chapter, Abia in Praise Network APNET, and one other group founded Abia Christian Community ACC whose members are majorly Ministers of God from various churches and denominations, and Abia elites. The chief aim of ACC is to make sure Abians get it right in this 2023 Governorship election so as to change the Abia leadership narrative. ACC believes that since the metric where Abians used sense knowledge and primordial sentiments including godfatherism and extreme partisanship to decide who governs them failed Abians, and since majority of Abians believe in God Almighty no matter their religion, that Abians can approach God through prayers and ask for Him to show Abians who amongst the many candidates God wants to use to fix Abia State. After all God directed Israel in choosing David in the Bible and He can do it for Abia State ACC insists. So, after a full month of praying and fasting in September 2022, ACC announced to Abians that through prayers, God has pointed at the NNPP Candidate, Dr Ukpai Iro Ukpai, as the person God is advising Abians to choose this time around to govern Abia State. ACC held a press conference in 2022 to inform Abians. ACC went round and informed Abia Fathers of Faith. ACC has been holding different programs to sensitize Abians including being on radio. Someone reading this may be saying now “how can we be sure ACC is right, is it only them that hear from God, etc?”. Fine. Even scripture admonishes us to test all spirits and judge all prophesies. If any Abian wants to verify ACC’s claim, he or she can go to God and ask Him to confirm to him or her that he wants Abians to choose Dr Ukpai. That’s how to be spiritual. That’s how to be smart.

Now that Abians have an alternative way of choosing their Governor, a metric/method that recognizes that God can help Abians decide right, a smart way of voting, a smart way of deciding who governs Abia State now and in the future, does anyone think that we Abians should continue to make guesses given the bad state Abia is in?
It will be a deadly mistake for Abians to use the failed old ways of using sense knowledge, clanishness and tribalism, or voting according to political party, or voting according to popularity or size of purse of candidates, or voting according to dictates of godfathers. Ndi Abia, shine your eyes this time!. We must get it right.!
Abians: Let’s troop out March 11 and vote Dr Ukpai of NNPP (logo where you have a basket full of fresh fruits on the ballot).

Let Jehovah God be our godfather in this election. Let’s vote smart by paying careful heed to ACC’ s intervention in Abia 2023 election so it will be well with us and our children.

Abians should follow the direction God is pointing and not behave like they are wiser than God. If Abians ignore God’s direction, they may start regretting as early as December 2023 when they would have discovered that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of the wisest men. I admonish Abians again to follow God’s direction revealed by ACC.

May Abians get it right this time around.

Ndidi Okafor Ejieke, a political analyst and public commentator writes from Umuahia.