2027: Nweke urges Enugu East voters to elect accessible leaders

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate for Enugu East Senatorial District in the 2027 general elections, Kingsley Nweke, has urged voters to elect leaders who are accessible and committed to the development of their communities.

Nweke also promised to deploy adequate measures to protect votes cast for him and ensure that the will of the electorate prevails during the election.

The candidate, who hails from Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State and resides in the United States, made the remarks on Monday while addressing journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre in Enugu.

Nweke said his familiarity with the political environment in Enugu would enable him to effectively participate in the electoral process, noting that he had continued to visit the state at least twice a year since moving to the US.

He said: “I live in America, fine, but I am from Enugu State, and I’m always in Enugu State at least two times every year since I’ve been living in America.

“So, I’m not new to the system.

“I might just be contesting, but I’ve been observing, and for the things I’ve seen going wrong, that’s why I came out.”

On the protection of votes, the PDP candidate said his campaign was already putting plans in place to monitor votes from polling units through the collation process.

“If people decide that they are going to protect their votes, they are going to protect their votes.

“And when the vote gets to the council or to the collation centre, we will be there by the special grace of God to make sure that the effort of people does not go in vain,” he said.

Nweke added: “We are working so hard, and we are putting plans in place that when that time comes, I believe that the will of the people will prevail.

“At the end of the day, we won’t allow them to rig out the election or the will of the people.”

He also advised voters to examine the records of politicians and their level of accessibility before deciding whom to support.

According to him, politicians who had not demonstrated commitment to their communities should not be expected to suddenly become accessible or effective representatives after winning elections.

“You can’t give what you don’t have. You can only give what you have. If you have love, you can give love. If you have peace, you can give peace,” he said.

“For example, somebody who is not accessible cannot be accessible if the person is voted in.

“Somebody who has not been involved in youth programmes, in community development, cannot do so if the person is voted in.”

Nweke said his previous youth empowerment and community engagement programmes were part of efforts to demonstrate his commitment to the people ahead of the election.

He said the programmes included peace carnivals and other activities aimed at keeping youths meaningfully engaged, with over 70 youths gainfully employed through his personal efforts.

The candidate promised that, if elected, he would focus on youth empowerment, agriculture, sports, technology and infrastructure in the senatorial district.

“It’s a lot of things that we can bring in. It’s a lot of engagement in agriculture, youth empowerment, bringing back sports.

“If you look at everything that is happening now, sports is going down.

“So, we can bring back sports – machines from other countries for many sports, for football, and AI is trending now, IT, and all that,” he said.

Nweke also promised to address infrastructure challenges, particularly roads, while working to restore what he described as the people’s confidence in politics.

“The youth empowerment will be there, the new infrastructure about the road and all these fake promises that have been made, that will surely be put in place.