African Action Congress Will Bring Fairness, Equity and justice to Power in Anambra – Ifemeludike

Chioma Grace Ifemeludike, the African Action Congress (AAC) Governorship Candidate, is the only female flagbearer in the Anambra State gubernatorial election slated for November 8, 2025. With a strong commitment to public service and a passion for transformative change, she aims to address key issues such as economic development and sustainable governance. Chioma’s experience in advocacy and community engagement reflects her dedication to serving the voices and needs of Anambra residents. In this Exclusive Interview with AnambraDaily’s Olisemeka Obeche, Ifemeludike shares her inspiring journey, vision for Anambra, and plans for empowering citizens and fostering inclusive growth. Excerpts:

How would you introduce yourself to Ndị Anambra and the whole world at the moment?
I will introduce myself simply as a true daughter of the soil, a sister, daughter and aunt of ndi Anambra. That is how I will introduce myself.

What motivated you to join politics and to contemplate joining the Anambra governorship race under the African Action Congress?

My motivation has always been to see to the betterment of the masses, the downtrodden, the neglected persons in our society; and to see that they are fully represented and catered for by the state government. This has been my motivation to get into leadership, and the Anambra state governorship election has now presented an opportunity for me to be the voice of the voiceless and the poor in the state. That’s my driving force and my mission for the governorship.

Can you share your experience and emotions upon being nominated as the AAC’s candidate for the November 2025 election?

I must confess that it wasn’t an easy task, before and during the primary. It was tough but I know I’m built for this and that made everything easier for me. So far, it has been a mixture of excitement and suspense or anxiety for me; all the emotions mixed together. You know, I’m nominated to represent our party and, you know, I can see that I have emerged victorious and now flying our party flag for the November 8, 2025 governship election in the state. So, I feel fulfilled that my journey to actualizing my very purpose here on earth has begun. Even though I know it’s not going to be an easy task, I’m glad that this is happening at this time in my life. So, it’s something that means a lot to me that, eventually, everyone would see what God has deposited in me, that those leadership qualities have started manifesting. So, this is more like the dawn of a new phase in my life and it gives me a lot of joy and excitement.

How do the values and principles of the African Action Congress align with your vision for Anambra state?

African Action Congress (AAC) is a party that is pro-people and that’s why I became a part of it from the first instance because it resonates with me and what I stand for. Standing for the masses and speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Our party also stands for equity, justice and fairness. And these are also the things I will love to see in Anambra state and standards that I will bring to government house when I become the governor of the state. Fairness, Equity and justice as well as democracy with full representation are the things that my party and I stand for and would deliver when we come to power in Anambra State.

What are the key issues you believe are currently facing the people of Anambra State, and how do you plan to address them?
I strongly believe that one of the issues Anambra state is facing, right now, is insecurity. It is still there and my take is that it has not been addressed as it should. Unemployment is also a major issue as we have most of our young people doing nothing. These two issues are intertwined because a country where the youths are not properly and duly engaged is not likely to be safe; and until most young people are empowered to be useful to themselves and the society, then you are setting the stage for an insecure environment. And that’s why I feel that even though insecurity may seem to have reduced in the state, it’s not totally gone for as long as you still have a large army of young people out there with nothing meaningful doing in their lives. They’re just idle and that is the perfect stage for even worse situations than we are in right now.

Could you elaborate on your main agenda for the electorate, if elected governor; what specific policies or initiatives do you plan to implement?

I think the best way to tackle insecurity is by addressing the problem of unemployment, making sure that young people are fully engaged in things that will bring the best of them and contribute to the growth and development of the society. But that is for the long term. In the short term, I will create an enabling environment for improved standard of living. This means providing basic infrastructures that support good life, ensuring that our streets are well lit to avoid providing cover for criminals to carry out their activities. I think that the police in Anambra state should reduce the checkpoints they operate and revamp the mode of operations of those police officers on the road who do nothing but extort road users at checkpoints. I believe that providing the enabling environment for security operatives and making them responsible for their actions will go a long way in addressing this menace because there is a big gap in the security system which criminal elements exploit. This, I think, needs to be fixed for us to get to the root of the challenge and solve it squarely.

How do you intend to engage the youth of Anambra state in your governance, considering their significant role in the electorate?

One aspect of my agenda is to diversify our internally generated revenue, IGR, with greater emphasis on the agricultural sector. I think the potential of the agricultural sector is generally underrated, undermined and underutilized, especially in Anambra state. Imagine if we had large numbers of palm, coconut and other economic trees in the state. It will definitely go a long way in boosting our revenue base. I think that we need to expand our investment in the agricultural sector, especially in the area of cash crops, with emphasis on mechanized plantations in most parts of the state. We can also empower grassroots farmers who are already in the system and ensure that they have grants, machinery and other inputs that will enhance their farm production and those very crucial post-production processes. With this, we will expand our outputs, have enough food to feed us and even extra for export and, thereby, generate more revenue for the state. Agriculture is key to my agenda. It is followed by education where our plan is to see that our street-hawking children are removed from the streets or markets, and returned to school. I want to see our children receive quality education at school, return home, eat quality food, get enough rest (siesta), do their homework and get their lives back as kids. We don’t want to see children loitering or hawking during or after school hours. It is not good for their development. It’s an abuse to subject a kid to such activities at such age when all they are supposed to do is learn things that will help them to actualize their dreams in life. Not looking after or taking care of kids is tantamount to inhuman treatment and injustice to them. What happens is that they have been denied that basic right of normal childhood experience which is key in shaping their future. For most of the kids we see on the streets and patronize, we don’t even realize that their childhood had been stolen from them as they have been forced to become bread winners for their families at a time they are still dependent. Why should kids do things that adults like us should do?! So, giving them free education from primary to secondary level without being involved in hawking is paramount to me.
Another area I will focus on is industrialization. I will put place policies that will encourage investors to build industries in Anambra state so that our young people will be dully engaged. We do not want our illustrious businessmen and women to continue to establish their businesses outside the state and southeast, as is the case now. We will come up with policies that will even encourage and support the growth of small and medium scale enterprises in the state. And this will be championed by our young people. We will also empower those with creative ideas to participate in the process.

What plans do you have for promoting gender equality and empowering women in Anambra state?

Yeah, educating and carrying the Anambra state youth population along in governance is very paramount. My leadership style is open and participatory because leadership is not a one-man-show or that of just the political elite. It’s for the people, the masses. It must be people-inclusive. I will be available for town hall meetings for the purpose of constant interactions with our people when I become governor. It is not going to be a case of use-and-dump, like we see our politicians do all too often. They come during campaign but, once they get into elective positions, they shut the door behind them, leaving those that elected them behind. I’m not going to treat Anambra people like that. The way I see it is that I’m going to tell the electorate that ‘I’m not giving you money or those things that our politicians share to get votes because, eventually, those things don’t last. Why should I give you things that will not sustain you beyond one day while I can give you something that can sustain you for a lifetime? Things like providing quality education, computers and other technological gadgets for your children are lifetime democratic dividends that our political leaders often neglect. But you see them coming to share things to people whose lives have been ruptured by their anti-masses policies. So, what we are doing is to discourage transactional politics because it creates gaps between the electorate and the elected leaders. When the leaders give out these handouts (monies and stuff they share before election), they believe they have sorted their way out and when they get into power, they shut out and forget the people who voted them. So, I will not be manipulated to give anybody a dime to vote for me but I can assure them that if they eventually vote for me and put me in power, it will be an all-inclusive government. It will be me and them running the state in the way that it will impact us all positively.

“we need women but we need women who are intelligent, who know their worth and dignity. Women who believe in their strength and are ready to go out there to make impacts in the society. Most importantly, women need to be more united and love themselves because we cannot go about having women standing in the way of their fellow women, fighting themselves.

What strategies do you intend to use to encourage greater women participation in governance in Anambra state?

We are going to empower women and encourage greater women participation and fair representation in governance. You know, like I always say, it’s not just about being ca woman, but an equipped woman, a woman who understands self-reliance and empowerment. We need to ensure that our girlchildren get quality education and support to achieve their goals in life. We need to empower women intellectually and physically. Yes, we need women but we need women who are intelligent, who know their worth and dignity. Women who believe in their strength and are ready to go out there to make impacts in the society. Most importantly, women need to be more united and love themselves because we cannot go about having women standing in the way of their fellow women, fighting themselves. We need to have a common front. So, we intend to collaborate with different women organizations to carry out trainings, seminars that will engage our womenfolk on the importance of unity, self growth, reliance, dignity and worth. These are key ingredients that will enable us to build the critical mass of womenfolk that will take up leadership positions and make the difference in the greater future.

What strategies do you propose for enhancing economic growth and job creation in Anambra state?

Industrialization is the key to enhancing economic growth and job creation. With rapid Industrialization, most of our youths roaming the streets today will be gainfully employed and that will have ripple effects on the economy. To prepare the state for industrialization, we are going to introduce alternative source of electricity that can enable industries and commercial enterprises to access steady power. When they stabilize and are doing well, more industries will spring up and the more industries you have the more jobs you create.
As we all know, Anambra state is a commercial state thriving in trade. Trade thrives on good transport system. So, we will create more road networks, build more flyover bridges that connect different areas of the state and enhance easy flow of traffic, especially in commercial city like Onitsha. We will also introduce alternative means of transportation like coastal buses that can convey people from one place to another. This will also reduce the influx of private vehicles on the roads. I believe that, with steady power, good transport system and policies that support small and medium scale enterprises, as well as large scale industries to thrive in the state, the issue of job creation and economic growth will be taken care of.

With security challenges affecting various regions in Nigeria, what measures will you take to ensure safety and security for Anambra state residents?

Like I said earlier, the need to light up our state is critical in tackling insecurity. You cannot be talking about tackling insecurity when criminals have rooms to hide and get away with their crimes. Also, we cannot win the war against criminals when most of our security agents are out on the road extorting motorists. Have we asked ourselves these simple question: Who do they pay the monies they collect on the road to and what is it used for? And why are people forced to make payments to pass police checkpoints, with the police more concerned about the monies they collect than the security of people they were hired to protect. This, criminals have the leeway to get away with any type of crime. There should be new strategies to curb insecurity because what we currently have is not effective. We want to know exactly if the security operatives are actually in the system to safeguard us, enforce law and order as well as ensure that citizens get justice or they are simply in the system for their personal aggrandizement. Their method of operations and engagement with civilians and suspects must be fine-tuned. For instance, in the herders/farners relationship, we must hold community leaders, vigilante and security agents accountable for whatever menace their people are constituting. We are not going to allow such crimes to go unpunished or be swept under the carpet. We would rather get to the root of every matter to know who actually is behind it and those involved in anything that causes chaos and crisis in our land, ensuring that justice is served.

How do you plan to improve the quality of education in Anambra state to ensure that it meets modern standards and prepares students better for the future?

I intend to improve on the quality of education in Anambra state basically by improving the structures in place. We have to create a conducive environment for teaching and learning in the state. The dilapidated condition of schools, especially government-owned schools is totally unacceptable. We believe that the school environment matters and determines the quality of teaching, and learning will take place there. So, we are going to make the environment conducive and also ensure balanced learning. Learning is not just limited to classrooms. It can take place outside the classrooms in the form of extracurricular activities. You will find out that most of the public schools in the state don’t pay attention to extracurricular activities anymore. The implication is that most students go to school and come back without learning anything new. We intend to establish science laboratories and computer studios and other necessary facilities that can enhance teaching and learning in our schools, in accord with international standards. We also intend to ensure that students who have interest in the fine arts and theatre arts have the facilities to also learn according to international standards. We will also look into the capacity of teachers. We will employ teachers that are qualified, not just people that find themselves in the system through connections. We are going to make sure that teachers have what it takes, both mentally, intellectually and educationally, to teach students and groom them.

What are your proposals for improving healthcare access and quality for the citizens of Anambra state?

I am proposing a free healthcare service for certain sets of people, especially the elderly and disabled people, pregnant women and children. We can, as well, subsidise medical services for people from Indigent homes, and the unemployed persons in the state. Of course, we intend to make sure that we don’t just put structures in place (as health facilities) but also necessary equipment and personnel to enable them operate at international standards. We have professionals in different areas of medicine that will be attracted to work in our specialist hospitals and who will be paid according to international standards.

How will you ensure accountability and transparency in your administration, if elected?

Accountability and transparency will be the prioriy of our government because that is key to ensuring that resources of Ndị Anambra are fully utilized and not end up in individual pockets. We will ensure that we have in place surveillance mechanisms and measures in all the government ministries, departments, agencies and parastatals to prevent the waste of public resources. We will also make sure that key government offices and positions are manned by people who have the competence, integrity and commitment to deliver services according to their official mandate. We shall also ensure that anyone who is caught engaging in any form of corrupt practices will be held accountable according to the law and, apart from being prosecuted, such individuals would be used as scapegoats to serve as a deterrent to others.

What strategies will you employ to encourage voter participation and ensure that the electorate is informed about their choices during the election?

Well, I will carry out a robust campaign which will provide me the opportunity to speak to the minds of ndị Anambra, to remind them of their civic responsibility which is to vote and be voted for. My campaign will be targeting people at the grassroots who, I believe, are the people that matter so much in this dispensation. I intend to make them understand that they determine who leads them with their votes and make them open their eyes to see the powers and will in determining the kind of life they want and the conditions they want their children to experience in this lifetime. I intend to reinforce that message through my campaigns and town hall meetings, my messages through the media channels and I hope that they will hear me and make the right decision for their future.