By Okechukwu Onuegbu

Awka





On November 6, 2021, electorate in Anambra State would elect a successor to governor Willie Obiano whose tenure ends on March 17, 2022. Obiano who is of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) is surely rooting for his party to retain the seat.



Other political parties are equally working to grab the seat through democratic means. Seventeen out of the eighteen registered political in the country would participate in the November poll having concluded their gubernatorial primary between June 25 to July 1st deadline stated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). They are APGA, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressive Congress (APC), Action Alliance (AA), Young Progressive Party (YPP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord (A) and Action People’s Party (APP).



Others are Nation Rescue Movement (NRM), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Labour Party (LP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and African Action Congress (AAC).



However, the just concluded governorship primary was riddled with issues ranging from court cases, parallel elections, claims and counter claims among different political parties. The ruling APGA, specifically, produced three governorship candidates from its three factional National and States Executives.



Chief Victor Oye led APGA which is where governor Obiano pitched interest, elected the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo as flag bearer. Chief Edozie Njoku emerged gubernatorial candidate of his own faction, while Chief Jude Okeke’s APGA produced the member representing Aguata Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji, as a governorship candidate.



Interestingly, Umeoji and Soludo are from the same Aguata Local Government Area (LGA) in Anambra State, while Njoku is from Imo state although he has was born in Onitsha, and has been playing active politics in Onitsha North and South LGAs. The fate of the three factions are in the hands of court which is where their battles have been shifted as INEC plans to publish names of candidates for the poll.



There are also two other political parties in the same fold; although with two factions each. They are People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Action Alliance (AA). PDP in a parallel gubernatorial primary produced Mr Valentine Ozigbo and Senator Ugochukwu Uba as candidates. Ozigbo emerged in a primary conducted by the National officers of the party led by Prince Uche Secondus, while Uba is the brainchild of Chukwudi Umeaba state faction of PDP loyal to Chief Chris Uba, acclaimed political godfather.



Similarly, AA produced Barr. Mrs Doreen Ifeoma Maduka-Arisa, and Mr John Ikeotuonye as parellel candidates. Maduka-Arisa is the sister of Dr Godwin Maduka, a guber aspirant of the PDP who scored five votes in the election conducted by Secondus faction. The National Chairman of AA, Hon. Adekunle Rufai Omoaje conducted the election where she was pronounced a sole candidate, just as Mr James Vernimbe, who introduced himself as the National Secretary of AA officiated the election of Ikeotuonye.



Other political parties participating in the forthcoming election with one candidate each are All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Andy Uba; Young Progressive Party (YPP), Senator Ifeanyi Ubah; African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo; Action People’s Party (APP), Mr Azubuike Echetebu; and the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Lady Uchenna Adaobi Okpeke.



There are also Action Democratic Party (ADP), Chief Afam Ume-Ezeoke; the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief Arinze Ekelem; the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Chief Nnamdi Nwanwuo; Labour Party (LP), Chief Obiora Agbasimelo; Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Chief Uche Ugwuoji; the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Sir Emeka Ohajimkpo; Accord Party (A), Mr Alex Nwankwo; and African Action Congress (AAC), Mr Obi Sylvester Chukwudozie.



It’s observed that majority of these candidates are from Anambra South, the Senatorial Zone agitating that it was its turn to govern Anambra. Anambra South comprises of seven Council Areas namely Aguata, Ekwusigo, Orumba North, Orumba South, Nnewi North, Nnewi South, and Ihiala. Five of them namely, Aguata, Orumba South, Nnewi North, Nnewi South, and Ihiala LGAs have strong candidates in the gubernatorial poll.



The two factional​ candidates of APGA are from Aguata LGA, just as the two factional candidates of PDP and that of APC. In fact, Senator Andy Uba of APC, Senator Ugochukwu Uba of PDP, and leader of the faction that produced him, Chief Chris Uba are siblings (brothers from the same mother and father) from Uga, which is close to Amesi town where Valentine Ozigbo hails from. Soludo is son of Isuofia town while Umeoji hails from Ezinifite (Ezinifite-Aguata). This same Aguata LGA produced the first civilian governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife (January 1992 to November 1993), an indigene of Igbo-Ukwu town.



Similarly, Nnewi North has Senator Ifeanyi Ubah of YPP, while the candidate of Labour Party, Obiora Agbasimelo is from Ezinifite (Ezinifite-Nnewi) in Nnewi South LGA. The former Acting governor of Anambra State, Dame Virgy Etiaba who held sway between November 2006 to February 2007 is from Nnewi Town, Nnewi North LGA like Ubah.



Ihiala LGA, Okija town, precisely is home-town of Akachukwu Nwankpo, the ADC standard flag bearer. This council area is also home to the former governor of Anambra state, Dr Chinweoke Mbadinuju (1999 to 2003).



Relatively, Orumba South LGA is most likely to have Dr Godwin Maduka, an American based medical doctor in the ballot. Maduka is from Umuchukwu. Even though he didn’t make it in PDP primary, last week Saturday, he told his teeming supporters in Awka that he would still participate in the election and ‘win’ whether PDP gives him ticket or not. It was gathered that his younger sister, Barr. Doreen Ifeoma Maduka-Arisa is the factional candidate of AA, while his media aide, Mr Alex Nwankwo is the candidate of Accord (A) party. Political analysts believed that one of these two candidates would have their names substituted with Dr Maduka’s name before the election, while the other would collapse structure in his support.



However, despite the agitations by stakeholders from the Anambra South that all political parties should thrown in candidates from the zone, some of the Governorship candidates are from Anambra Central and Anambra North Senatorial zones respectively. Among them are Mr Obi Chukwudozie of AAC, Azubuike Echetebu of APP and Chief Uche Ugwuoji of ZLP (Anambra Central), and Chief Nnamdi Nwawuo of PRP (Anambra North). The candidates would be affected by the clamour for zoning in the main election.



Anambra Central comprising seven LGAs such as Anaocha, Awka North, Awka South, Dunukofia, Idemili North, Idemili South, and Njikoka, had former governors Chris Ngige (2003 to 2006) and Peter Obi (2006 to 2014). Also, Anambra North is where the incumbent governor Willie Obiano hails from. The zone includes Anambra East, Anambra West, Ayamelum, Ogbaru, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, and Oyi Local government areas.

All eyes are in Anambra state as the 2021 gubernatorial poll draws closer. .