Anambra 2021: Will intrigues throw up dark horse?

Realignments arising from recent developments, including a new phenomenon dubbed ‘Akachukwu,’ are poised to throw up a dark horse in the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election, Sam Egburonu writes

FOLLOWING realignments arising from the outcome of the battle of the billionaires and political lords, there are indications that a dark horse may emerge as the next governor of Anambra State.

An insider told The Nation that this development can be traced to, among others, the challenges currently faced by initially tagged frontliners, especially two veteran governorship aspirants in the state, Senator Andy Uba and Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, which confirmed suggestion that such politicians are up against strong forces opposed to their ambition to succeed Governor Willie Obiano in office.

It would be recalled that the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), from which Soludo initially emerged as flag bearer, also produced two additional ‘candidates’ in the persons of Chief Edozie Njoku and Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji. The intriguing aspect of the entire scenario is not only that Soludo’s name was replaced in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s recent list with that of Hon Chukwuma Umeoji but that each of the three ‘candidates’ comes from rival factions, whose governorship primaries were reportedly based on favourable court orders.

Also, according to our insider source, “one governorship aspirant that turned his supposed misfortune into what has become the secret of his staying power in the race is Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo (NAN), the former Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Technical matters.

We gathered that shortly after some APGA chieftains allegedly conspired to screen him out from contention, preparatory to the APGA governorship primary, Nwankpo reportedly accepted his fate with equanimity. Although he contemplated taking the party and its screening committee to court, Nwankpo was said to have found out that those who conspired against him carried out their plot without the knowledge of Governor Willie Obiano, the leader of the party.

Nwankpo was also said to have consulted with stakeholders in the state, particularly in Anambra South Senatorial District and Ihiala Local Government Area, from where he hails and decided to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Incidentally, the National Chairman of ADC, Chief Ralphs Okey Nwosu, is from the same Anambra State and was a foundation member of APGA.

After he joined ADC, Nwankpo participated and won the ADC governorship primary. And while the party proceeded to submit his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APGA was moving from one court to another seeking for different reliefs and awaiting final judicial pronouncement on who, among Ozonkpu Victor Oye, Chief Edozie Njoku and Jude Okeke, is the authentic national chairman of the party.

Going by Supreme Court’s ruling, it is only the National Working Committee of a party, led by its chairman and secretary, that should submit the list of the party’s candidates for an election to INEC. Just like Nwankpo of ADC, who has Pastor Law Ughamadu as his running mate, Prof. Soludo nominated the current Managing Director of Anambra State Oxygen Production Plant, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, as APGA deputy governorship candidate.

While both ADC and a faction of APGA have selected their running mates, the APC and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are still battling in courts over the post-governorship primaries’ hangover.

In the case of Valentine Ozigbo and Senator Ugochukwu Uba, the two rival ‘candidates’ for the PDP ticket, the battle has remained hot in spite of efforts to reconcile them in the interest of the party.

The high pitched intrigues peaked during the week as they fought desperately over inclusion of their names in INEC’s candidates list.

As for All Progressives Congress (APC), there is the fear that the party is also yet to get its acts together due to the insistence of 11 governorship aspirants, led by Dr. George Moghalu, to challenge the emergence of Senator Andy Uba as the winner of the party’s primary.

The Federal High Court, sitting in Awka, Anambra State, entertained a suit by Comrade Maxwell Okoye, which his counsel, B. O. Okemmadu filed, seeking to restrain INEC from admitting or publishing the name of Uba as APC’s candidate for the governorship election.

In his ruling, Justice H. A. Nganjiwa ordered that the 1st and 3rd respondents, APC and INEC, should and must maintain the status quo in the interest of Justice and must not accept, publish or cause to or admit the 2nd respondent, as the candidate of APC in the gubernatorial election pending the hearing of the substantive suit.

In a press conference, Dr. Moghalu had maintained that there was no governorship primary in the state.

He said materials were not provided at any of the 326 electoral wards of the state, while “in a few locations in the state, election materials arrived late in the evening, when it was possible to conduct even a semblance of an election.”

“The committee has abused its authority and participated in the corruption of the democratic ideals of the progressive movement. They have sought to rubbish the hard work and sacrifice that has gone into building the APC in Anambra State. Their actions are an insult to good conscience, bordering on the criminal. And I reject these results in their entirety and without the slightest reservation.”

The impression today is that the many cases before the courts regarding governorship primaries in APGA, APC and PDP may affect the fortunes of these leading political parties.

Speaking on the impact of leadership crisis and court cases on APGA, factional National Chairman, Chief Edozie Njoku, expressed hope that the party would retain the state during the governorship election. He praised the July 1 ruling by Hon Justice H. A. Nganjiwa of the Awka Federal High Court, which ordered INEC to recognise his faction as a big window of opportunity for APGA to contest the November 6, poll.

 

ADC HOPES TO REAP FROM THE BIG BATTLES:

One political party that hopes to feast on the observed disagreemets in APGA, APC and PDP, is the African Democratic Congress (ADC), whose National Chairman, Chief Okey Nwosu, hails from Anambra Central Senatorial District and was formerly a founding father of APGA.

Those who subscribe to this view said ADC presents a very balanced leadership structure, because with its governorship candidate, Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo, coming from Anambra South Senatorial zone, and his running mate from Anambra North, the National Chairman, Nwosu, would help the party mobilise votes from Anambra Central, which is not fielding any candidate based on zoning principle.

Nwankpo recognised this factor while delivering his acceptance speech. The ADC candidate stated: “My gratitude goes specially to my brother and friend, Chief Okey Nwosu, (Ikolo, Awka). I am grateful to him for being tenacious in doing things that are right. From the time he was in APGA till today, he has been a founding member of ADC. He has sustained a character of focus and honesty. It is his deserved focus that has kept all of us here today.”

The former Presidential aide disclosed that there were those who did not believe he would make it to the governorship ballot, especially those who “felt I have no money and no connections.” Alluding to the way he was screened out in APGA, Nwankpo declared: “Those who stole it in the first party I went to, will see they have stolen nothing. Let me assure you that the type of madness you see in every election, where ‘big men with money’ trample on everybody will end with us. I assure you that we will stop that madness.”

Nwankpo assured the people that he would bring back the beauty of family values and restore the dignity of Igbo race, noting, “Today, Igbo people all over Nigeria move around with fear because they have nobody to protect them.

“I assure you that under this party, we will build a Nigeria that will protect the pride of the Igbo people. We will respect our neighbours. We will not insult them because Igbo culture supports the brotherhood availed by neighbourliness.”

As ADC continues to wallow in public goodwill, some stakeholders allege that Governor Obiano may have advised Nwankpo against taking APGA to court, but to join another party to contest the governorship election. But, some Nwankpo’s supporters said it is just the hand of God that propelled their leader to defect to ADC.

It should be noted that having traversed PDP and APGA, Nze Akachukwu’s massive fund of goodwill seems to be coalescing support from members of the embattled big parties and could be defining feature of the November 6 governorship poll.

Comrade Harris Chuma-Odili, Director of Media and Publicity of Akachukwu Nwankpo Gubernatorial Campaign Organisation, said with Nwankpo and Ughamadu on the ADC ticket, “the journey to elect the most qualified successor of the amiable Governor Obiano has begun in full throttle.”

While stressing that it is only God and not man that makes kings, Chuma-Odili said Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo represents the face of Obiano’s successor, stressing that “in the fullness of time, over-fed detractors and doubting Thomases will come to terms with the obvious reality.”

On what prompted his exit from APGA, the Director General explained: “I left APGA largely due to the gross injustice meted out on my principal, Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo “Oputa Ife adi.

“The saddest day of my political life in Anambra remained the day Ozonkpu Victor Oye and his co-travellers brazenly disqualified a man who was not only qualified, but eminently qualified to participate in APGA guber primary election 2021.

“It was during the season of “let’s go south” advocacy, that he was approached to run for governorship. Ironically, those who encouraged Nwankpo to run the guber race were the same people that regrouped, ambushed and sniffed out the APGAness in him. He was denied equity and justice in the party he laboured and invested so much to brand and market.

“Nwankpo was stripped of his hard earned money and left in the cold to freeze to death. And, when everyone was expecting an aggressive confrontation with the cabals, my principal, Nwankpo, remained calm, and instead called for a peaceful approach to the issues emanating from the screening results, as it were.”

Chuma-Ofili narrated how Governor Obiano publicly eulogized Nwankpo during a gathering of all APGA leaders in the state and declared him a man of honour and profound respect.

“To the chagrin of everyone, he told Nwankpo that he will go places politically. He promised to keep the friendship even after he might have vacated office. Tears dripped down my cheeks as I sat in the governor’s dome watching as my principal’s virtues were extolled by the APGA number one man, the hardworking executive governor of my dear state.”

“Days after the solemn visit to the governor, the opportunity beckoned, and we moved over to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), where he was screened and rated far above the contenders. Consequently, he was okayed to contest for the governorship primary election of the party,” he be said.

As the election draws nearer and the battles of the big lords remain unresolved, informed observers say a candidate like Nwankpo, who is dismissed by opponents as a dark horse, is likely to emerge the next governor of Anambra State.