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Anambra guber: APC’s acceptability test in S’East

The forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State is expected to be a popularity test for the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the ruling party seeks to make inroad into the South-East ahead of the 2023 general election, FELIX NWANERI reports

The people of the South-East are in for interesting times as the country’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) perfects strategies to consolidate on already gained grounds and expand frontiers, especially in the five states that make up the geo-political zone ahead of the 2023 general election through massive mobilisation for the governorship election in Anambra State billed for November 6. The APC would be contending with the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) that is seeking to extend its unbroken 16-year rule in the state.

Besides APGA, the ruling APC at the federal level also has the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which enjoys some level of support in the state to contend with. APGA and PDP have remained dominant parties in the state and the South- East zone since the country’s return to civil rule in 1999. The PDP held sway in Anambra State between 1999 and 2006 before APGA took over and has been in charge since then. While some people in the state and beyond, particularly in others south eastern states believe that APGA has done well, especially in the area of infrastructure and so deserves to continue in order to consolidate on the achievements of Peter Obi and the incumbent, Willie Obiano.

However, some political leaders in the South-East are of the view that victory for the APC in the Anambra governorship poll is key to the zone’s return to mainstream politics. The ruling party presently controls only two states – Imo and Ebonyi – out of the five south eastern states. While the party won Imo State through the court after the 2019 elections, it gained Ebonyi through defection of Governor Dave Umahi in November last year.

However, APC’s unimpressive performance in the South-East in the last elections is unlikely to count in the Anambra governorship poll. The party, which before now, has little or no presence in the zone apart from Imo State has turned the beautiful bride as it continues to witness the influx of top politicians from the zone into its fold. The massive defection of South-East political bigwigs into the ruling party has buoyed Senator Andy Uba’s ambition of turning the table against APGA on the APC platform.

APC talks tough

The ruling party has been talking tough ahead of the Anambra election. Its chieftains have been drumming it that APC is determined to take over the state in the coming governorship election. To achieve this, the party has deployed its 23 governors to tackle other candidates, who would be squaring against Uba. The APC Campaign Council inaugurated by caretaker chairman of the party, Governor Mai Mala Buni, is headed by Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma. Ebonyi State governor, Umahi, is deputy to Uzodimma, while his counterpart from Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, heads the finance sub-committee.

Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State heads the special intervention sub-committee, while Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, chairs the security committee. Apart from the governors, other members of the council include Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege; Deputy Speaker Idris Wase; Minister of State for Petroleum Timipre Sylva; Senator Orji Uzor Kalu; Senator George Akume; some former governors; ministers; and party chieftains. Buni, who charged the campaign council to ensure that Uba emerges victorious in the poll, also urged its members to reconcile persons aggrieved over the outcome of the Anambra APC governorship primary.

Buni expressed optimism that Anambra would join the rank of APC states after the poll, saying: “I am glad to say with a sense of satisfaction that the growing fortunes of the party in Anambra State and the South-East geopolitical zone, in general, has increased our hope for victory. This will no doubt increase our chance of winning the election with a landslide victory.

“May I call on the committee to concentrate on issues that will add value to the success of the party and avoid issues that may distract us from the path of victory. We should remain resolute, committed, and law-abiding throughout the assignment and beyond.” Governor Uzodimma, in his remarks, assured that the committee will do everything legally possible to win the state for APC. He said that the committee will leverage the Federal Government’s achievements to ensure victory for the party.

“We will speak with the people of Anambra; we will sign a contract with them and I am sure that God willing, we shall deliver. All I ask of us is to work hard so that this opportunity presented by the gubernatorial election in Anambra completely integrates the people of the South-East zone into the national polity. “We are going there committed; we are going there willingly. I have seen a new determination, even among our brothers and sisters in Anambra. God will help us to realise our noble dream. We will not disappoint you,” the Imo State governor said.

APGA not shaken

While APGA is not oblivious of the onerous task ahead of it as it strives to retain its treasure, the leadership of the party is optimistic that achievements of Governor Obiano are enough to guarantee the party’s candidate, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, victory at the poll. National Chairman of the party, Chief Victor Oye, who expressed this optimism, not only dismissed insinuations that the party was engulfed in crisis but declared that it remains focused and poised to win the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.

He explained that what happened was that some street urchins, miscreants and political buccaneers invaded the party with the intention to destroy it but failed. He, therefore, boasted that Anambrarians are poised to rally round the party despite the antics of enemies of the state to drag it backward.

His words: “I want to say emphatically that there is no crisis in APGA. When they talk about crisis, it is as if it were a generic thing. There is no crisis in APGA; APGA is still one united party. The thing is that we had invaders, they invaded our party, street urchins and miscreants and political buccaneers, with a master plan to destroy the party for the benefit of a particular aspirant who came here, bought form went through screening, screened out by the screening panel. “He wrote a petition and his petition was dismissed, the same person went outside and organized a phantom group, calling it an opposing arm of APGA or parallel arm of our party to continue to foment trouble.

APGA has no other national chairman and no other national leadership except the one led by me as national chairman and his Labaran Maku as the national secretary. “Our party is waxing stronger and stronger despite the distractions because the whole essence of what is happening is to distract us from focusing on victory in Anambra.

They know that a united and undistracted APGA will win the election massively; they knew what happened in 2017, so they are afraid it will be enacted in 2021 that is why they are doing everything to distract us. This optimism was shared by a former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Chief Chike Anyanonu, who believes that APGA is the party that will sustain the developmental strides and good governance being enjoyed by the people of Anambra State. “Gone are those days when governance is all about sharing money.

Anambra has passed that stage and when you look at successive administrations in the state, you cannot help but to take the state to the next level by leveraging on what the other administrations have done so far. Anambra governance is no longer business as usual and the masses must come first before any other thing.

“I am not saying that Soludo is the only qualified contestant in Anambra but we are looking at what the state needs at the moment. We are looking at someone who will continue this process and not stop it on the road. We are looking at someone who will be the proverbial wood pecker that would dig deep and bring out the best from the state and ensure that the developmental strides of Anambra State do not stop on the way.

“Having been at the apex bank in the country, he is in a better position to understudy Anambra State and its fiscal status and then fashion out ways of managing the finances and that is to his own advantage over and above other contestants in this election. Soludo needs no introduction to any Nigerian let alone Anambra State. “For APGA as a party, the battle has been won more than 50 per cent and being a political party that has the interest of our people at heart, what is left is to do the needful by ensuring that come November 6, he is voted into office as the governor of Anambra State for the good of the people.”

PDP joins the fray

While it is left to be seen how the APC’s “broom revolution” will extend across to the South-East, the PDP, which has strong presence in Anambra is not leaving any stone in its quest to regain power in the state through its candidate, Valentine Ozigbo.

The South-East Zonal Publicity Secretary of the party, Augustine Okeke, who said that the party is sure of victory going by the considerable public interest on the party, noted: “The considerable public interest, commentaries and concerns shown by Nigerians who are worried about the non-inclusion of a candidate for PDP in the list is a testament to the acceptance of the PDP.

“It shows that the PDP is the party that Nigerians and Anambra people implicitly and absolutely trust to deliver good governance for Anambra people.’’ Already, the country’s main opposition party has appointed the senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Uche Ekwunife, as the Director-General of its campaign council for the governorship election.

The governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, who disclosed this while addressing journalists in Abuja after the recent leadership meeting at the Abuja residence of the party’s National Chairman, Uche Secondus, said the decision was reached at the meeting held with governors, members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and some of the aspirants, who participated in the governorship primary election. Fintiri expressed satisfaction with the preparation being made for the election and the reconciliation of all aspirants for the election. “We carried out the directives of our governors and reconciled all the aggrieved aspirants and it was unanimously agreed that Ekwunife be appointed the campaign director and she is so appointed,” he said.

He added: “With her appointment, the campaigns for PDP recapturing Anambra will soon kick off. All aspirants have been reconciled. Anambra State belongs to the PDP and this will be confirmed at the November 6 governorship election.” No doubt, the forthcoming Anambra governorship poll will not be a departure from the past, when such polls were keenly contested given the vast majority of indigenes, who have the financial muscle to embark on such expensive political projects, but where the pendulum swings this time, will determine the direction of the people of the South-East in the 2023 general election.

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