Abia artisans endorse PDP candidate, seek campaign logistics

An artisans’ cooperative in Abia State has endorsed the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Kelechi Anosike, for the 2027 election, pledging to mobilise more than 20,000 members across the state while asking for empowerment support and campaign materials.

The Artisans Welfare Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Aba, said its members would work for Anosike across polling units in the state’s 17 local government areas.

Its president, Ndukauba Iheonunekwu, announced the endorsement and appealed for mobility and political materials to support the group’s campaign activities.

The endorsement adds artisans to the organised groups declaring support for Anosike ahead of the February 6, 2027 governorship election.

Earlier this month, the state chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria said more than 40,000 farmers had adopted the PDP candidate, citing his proposed agricultural and welfare policies.

The artisans’ cooperative says it has about 20,000 members spread across 16 industrial clusters, including shoemakers, bag and belt manufacturers, furniture makers, garment and cap makers, mechanics, welders, builders, spare-parts dealers, traders and poultry and fish farmers.

Receiving the endorsement, Anosike said the gesture represented a responsibility to put the welfare of working people at the centre of governance, arguing that artisans’ contribution to the economy had not been matched by adequate support.

“What would happen to our economy if artisans stopped working for just one week?” he asked, citing the dependence of businesses and households on shoemakers, furniture makers, garment makers, welders, mechanics, builders, traders and farmers.

He said artisans faced inadequate capital, high material costs, limited access to modern equipment, expensive or inaccessible credit, unreliable electricity, insufficient workspace and weak social protection.

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“Roads and markets are important, but the people who use them must also prosper,” Anosike said, outlining his philosophy of building infrastructure alongside investment in people.

He pledged to pursue accessible financing, equipment-support programmes and business development services through financial institutions and development partners, saying the objective was to move artisans beyond subsistence production towards sustainable businesses.

“Our artisans do more than provide services. They train the next generation. Every apprentice learning to weld, sew garments, repair vehicles or make shoes represents a potential business owner and employer of labour,” he said.

Anosike said a government led by him would work with leaders of the various industrial clusters to identify their specific needs rather than apply a uniform intervention to businesses with different requirements.

He also urged the cooperative to maintain transparent records, proper financial accounts and a comprehensive database of members, including their skills, business locations and financing needs.

Such records, he said, would help the government design support programmes around documented needs rather than assumptions.

The candidate has previously promised to establish a microfinance bank in Aba to provide interest-free, revolving loans to traders, artisans and entrepreneurs if elected. He said the proposed institution would form part of a wider economic welfare programme.

The cooperative’s endorsement therefore comes as Anosike seeks support among occupational groups whose members operate largely through small businesses, workshops and informal trading networks.

Anosike assured the artisans that they would have a place in decision-making under his proposed administration, reiterating his commitment to building infrastructure, developing people and expanding wealth creation in Abia.