SEEING Dr. Willie Obiano, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the November 16, 2013 governorship election on Sunday, November 17, 2013 when Professor James Epoke, the state returning officer in the election declared the election inconclusive, and last Wednesday when he joined some South-East and South-South governors in a group photograph after their meeting in Awka, it was obvious that he is already looking beyond tomorrow’s supplementary polls.

Having garnered 25 per cent of votes in 18 of the state’s 21 local government areas and having for now, the highest number of votes, Obiano is waiting for Sunday to be declared winner.

After addressing reporters at the Governor’s Lodge in Awka, Governor Peter Obi beckoned Obiano, who was among the crowd, to come and the governor introduced him to the visiting governors as the man who would soon join them.

One after the other, the governors – Liyel Imoke of Cross River, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta, Godswil Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Theodore Orji of Abia, Sullivan Chime of Enugu and Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Dave Umahi – took a close look at Obiano and were perhaps weighing how he would fit into the murky waters of Nigeria’s politics, if he eventually wins.

Going by the voting pattern in the already concluded elections, it would be very difficult for any party to surpass the number of votes he has secured. About 113113 votes would be in contention tomorrow in about 211 polling units. For the PDP or APC to surpass him, one of them has to secure at least 85,000 votes with APGA scoring no vote.

Three parties, APC, LP and the campaign organization of the PDP candidate, Comrade Tony Nwoye, have said they would not participate in the supplementary election, but the PDP leadership is insisting that it would participate in the supplementary election. Already, the disagreement among PDP members has led to the suspension of the director general of Tony Nwoye Campaign Organization, Prince Okey Ezenwa.

Anambra State chairman of PDP, Prince Kenneth Emeakayi, at the party’s state secretariat, announced the suspension of Prince Ezenwa and his director of publicity, Mr. Ken Arinze from the party over their alleged comments on the Anambra governorship election. Emeakayi said their suspension was in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution, Chapter 10 Section 57 (3).

He said: “Following developments in our party regarding the unauthorized publications in the media credited to some members of our party over the supplementary governorship election scheduled for November 30, 2013, the State Working Committee of PDP, at a meeting, reviewed the whole situation and resolved to suspend Prince Victor Okey Ezenwa and Honourable Ken Arinze from PDP for anti-party activities.

Both breached the provisions of the party’s constitution. The relevant chapter provides that a member could be suspended for a period not more than one month, after which it could be reviewed.”

Emeakayi said the two suspended members have been referred to the PDP disciplinary committee for appropriate action, adding that most members of PDP have condemned the action of some members who have been insulting the national publicity secretary of PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh for expressing the position of the party’s leadership on the Anambra election. The chairman said Metuh has been doing his job well and should be commended.

However, what appears to be baffling PDP members was when Emeakayi said he has been in touch with the party’s candidate in the Anambra election, Prince Tony Nwoye, adding that “Nwoye and PDP have agreed to participate in the supplementary election on Saturday because they were deceived by one of the opposition during the rerun of the election in Obosi in Idemili North where, he said, the APC earlier said it would not participate only for the party to send agents and ensured that the party was voted for.

He said the votes in Obosi helped APC to narrow the gap between PDP and APC and insisted that PDP would not allow that to happen again on Saturday because the party would want to maintain it second position.

According to Emeakayi, “what it means is that the campaign team and the candidate are not on the same page on the issue of the supplementary election and we regret that the campaign team has been deceiving the public and bringing PDP into public ridicule. I want to state that the best way to ensure unity in PDP is to maintain discipline and the leadership of the party would never relent in striving to achieve that.”

But while APGA is hoping to coast to victory tomorrow, the court action instituted by Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, one of the party’s governorship aspirants praying that Obiano be disqualified based on alleged double voters’ registration, is causing disquiet in the state. Ekwunife has already filed the court processes at the Federal High Court, Awka. The federal lawmaker was said to have said that her action was to ensure that APGA did not lose out in the event of Obiano losing the position.

But the National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, told Vanguard that what Ekwunife did was unacceptable to the party and wondered what she stood to gain knowing very well that her action was an exercise in futility because Obiano never committed the said offence.

Umeh said: “Ekwunife wanted to be governor and she did not get it. She wanted to be deputy governor and did not get it for obvious reasons. That is not the reason she should be desperate and there is no basis for her action.

“She is bringing her political career into disrepute. This is somebody who contested against Governor Obi in 2010. After that, she came into APGA and we accepted her and gave her ticket for House of Representatives. She has indeed embarrassed the party. She is a lady after my heart, but on this issue, she is on her own.”

With many governorship candidates saying they would participate in the supplementary election, it is to be seen if APC will eventually direct its supporters to participate in the exercise.

The ADC candidate, Chief Anayo Arinze said his colleagues have agreed to participate, saying: “I wish to appreciate and commend the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on its decision to conduct a supplementary election in some 201 polling units in Anambra state on Saturday 30th November, 2013 to make-up the perceived deficiencies in the November 2013 governorship election in the state.

“Given INEC’s declaration of the November 16, 2013 governorship election in the state as inconclusive, we in ADC believe that only a supplementary election will afford the disenfranchised voters another opportunity to exercise their civic responsibilities. I humbly appeal to all disenfranchised registered voters in the affected polling units and local government areas to ignore any negative call and come out en masse and participate in the electoral process that will produce the next governor of Anambra State.

“Anambrarians should stand by INEC to successfully complete the electoral process and announce the eventual winner of the election. Voters in Anambra state and INEC should disregard any call for outright cancellation of the entire election because it is the handiwork of forces from outside Anambra State, who want to set our state ablaze while developing theirs.

“I plead with my co-contestants who are aggrieved over some irregularities perceived at the election to sheath their swords and resist being pulled by external forces to destroy our state. It is true that there were some irregularities which have been acknowledged by INEC but that cannot vitiate the fact that the November 16, 2013 governorship election was the freest, fairest and most peaceful election ever conducted in the history of Anambra state. It is therefore, against natural justice, equity and fairness if INEC is forced to cancel the entire election because of the little challenges it encountered in about 201 polling units out of over 5000 polling units.

“The call for outright cancellation of Anambra state governorship election is evil, mischievous and unpatriotic and should be ignored by all well-meaning citizens.

“Let me use this opportunity to call on my fellow party flag-bearers in Anambra governorship election to continue to participate robustly in the electoral process to enable a clear winner emerge. After all, of the 23 of us, only one person can be governor and that person must be an Anambrarian. We must all come together to move our state forward.”
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/anambra-supplementary-polls-obiano-waits-coronation/#sthash.ReOI69Bi.dpuf

APGA has won awaiting coronation..