Anambra polls: Will APC recover to face Soludo?,
By Vincent Ujumadu
THE All Progressives Congress, APC, the major political party that will face the incumbent governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, in the November 8 Anambra governorship election, appears to be in disarray.
This is because the party is making the upcoming race look like Soludo may face little or no serious challenge at the polls.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Labour Party, LP, are also in tatters and can hardly organise themselves properly to be able to face Soludo.
Unfortunately, the major problem of the opposition parties began with their primaries, which had resulted in some of the aspirants resigning from their parties even before the exercise.
Controversial APC primary
In the APC, there was so much confusion that three frontline aspirants, namely Sir Paul Chukwuma, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, and Chief Chukwuma Umeoji, announced their withdrawal from the race.
They cited a lack of transparency and integrity in the process. Chukwuma also took the drastic step of resigning his membership from the APC and has since picked the governorship ticket to the Young Progressives Party, YPP.
After the controversial primary, which was won by Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, another aspirant, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, headed to court, citing irregularities in the conduct of the exercise.
During the primary, which was delayed for more than 12 hours, many supposed APC delegates could not vote due to alleged manipulation by the party officials.
Accreditation of delegates was conducted discreetly at some undisclosed hotels and away from public scrutiny.
This raised further questions about the credibility of the process. Thugs hired by some of the aspirants attacked delegates, inflicting injuries in a bid to hijack the exercise, even in the presence of security operatives.
Several resignations from the APC trailed the flawed primary, and those who left the party cited the poor process as the reason for their departure and described the election that produced Nicholas Ukachukwu as the APC’s flag bearer as fraught with irregularities and lacking transparency.
Indifferent APC members
After the announcement of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu as the winner, many members of APC became indifferent in the affairs of the party, such that rather than support their candidate, they moved to other political parties.
In a letter to the party leadership, another APC aspirant, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, while stating reasons for his withdrawal from the primary said: “After a careful evaluation and reflection on the current state of the APC primary election process in Anambra State, I have decided to withdraw my aspiration for the party’s governorship ticket. This decision was a difficult but necessary one due to certain developments that are inconsistent with my principles and values. The project is not worth risking the lives of my supporters, among other reasons.”
Their withdrawals from APC, interpreted by many as a vote of no confidence in the party’s internal democratic process, have now come back to haunt the party.
As it stands, political watchers are wondering who will effectively challenge Soludo at the polls, especially as the governor has endeared himself to the people of Anambra State through his performance in all sectors.
With President Bola Tinubu visiting the state and commissioning some of his completed projects at this critical time, many people are concluding that even the APC may be supporting the governor’s re-election bid.
Even security challenges which faced his administration have been solved reasonably, as almost all the camps of the unknown gunmen in many forests are being destroyed by the combined team of the police, the army, the navy, civil defence and the newly established Agunechemba security outfit.
Discontent in APC
The discontent in the APC began even before the primary. A day before the exercise, Sir Chukwuma—a founding member and leading aspirant—resigned from the APC. Another aspirant, Mr Chukwuma Umeoji, also withdrew from the race, followed by Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, who stepped down on the day of the primary. Another high-profile exit is Mr Ralph Okeke, a former member of the House of Representatives and erstwhile member of the APC Board of Trustees.
He has defected to the YPP and now serves on the party’s Board of Trustees.
Similarly, Mr Mike Ejezie, a respected stakeholder in Ihiala and former State Chairman of the defunct ANPP, has also joined the YPP and currently holds the position of Southeast Zonal Chairman.
Jude Osude, another notable APC chieftain and community leader from Aguata LGA, is also reported to be finalising his move to the YPP.
Besides, no fewer than six local government party chairmen have resigned from the party. Among them is the chairman of Nnewi South LGA, alongside several other prominent stakeholders. In Njikoka LGA, particularly in Nimo Ward, nearly the entire executive arm of the party has stepped down.
The defections were linked to the emergence of Sir Paul Chukwuma as the gubernatorial candidate of YPP. Within two days, APC lost hundreds of members to the YPP and other political platforms.
With key figures abandoning APC and party structures disintegrating at the grassroots level, the party in Anambra faces a daunting challenge in rebuilding its credibility and relevance ahead of the November elections.
Tinubu’s recent visit
Added to APC’s woes was what happened during the recent visit of President Tinubu to Anambra State.
While the president was in Anambra, APC members in the state were conspicuously missing. The party’s candidate for the November 8 governorship election could not be cited during the civic reception for the president at Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka.
The visit even became a subject of controversy when Tinubu started showering praises on Governor Soludo for his performance.
Many people have argued that with such complimentary remarks and flowery accolades on the governor, the President may have tacitly endorsed Soludo for a second term in office.
The question on the lips of many people in Anambra State is, with the body language of APC leaders leaning towards Soludo, will the party’s candidate for the November 8 election still get members of his party to campaign for him?
Soludo will win convincingly—Nwafor
A chieftain of the party, Chief Cletus Nwafor, said the performance of Governor Soludo has dwarfed other candidates, adding that the campaign will no longer be interesting as it will be a one-sided affair.
Nwafor said: “Many of us will not resign from APC, but we will not campaign against Governor Soludo because it is obvious that he will win the election convincingly. Some of us were hoping to use insecurity in the state as the point of the campaign, but the governor took everyone by surprise by bringing some ingenuity to the battle against insecurity.
“It never occurred to us that the native doctors preparing charms for the kidnappers, gunmen and cultists, who we thought were untouchables, could be tamed. Now, everywhere in our state is calm, and only an insincere person would want to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere we are enjoying.
“Besides, the governor has performed excellently in infrastructure development, with his quality roads dotting all communities of Anambra State. How can we convince women who have been enjoying free antenatal services and the retired workers who received their benefits without delay to vote against him? It is not possible, and that is why most of us in the opposition have decided to support him for reelection.”
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By Vincent Ujumadu THE All Progressives Congress, APC, the major political party that will face the incumbent governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, in the November 8 Anambra governorship election, appears to be in disarray. This is because the party is making the upcoming race look like Soludo may face little or no serious challenge at the […]
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