BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
Fourteen high profile politicians are slugging it out today at the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries ahead of the Anambra governorship election billed for November 6 this year.
Former Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and two time Senator Emmanuel Andy Ubah addressing the media while returning his nomination form said he is not a rookie and has confidence that the APC ticket is his for grabs.
He also claimed that having won the state governorship election in 2007 before the Supreme Court scuttled it, he remains the candidate the Party should vest with the responsibility to recover Anambra State from the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
His is one of the too many boasts and claims by these political gladiators from a state known for its moneybags politicking.
Anambra has been under the control of APGA after taking it from the Peoples’ Democratic Party during the Chris Ngige/Chris Ubah saga and has not shown any sign of dumping the Party founded by a very highly respected son of the state, late Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu even in his demise.
However, every aspirant in today’s primaries is claiming that the only opponent APC has is itself because the Party’s decision on who becomes its flagbearer will definitely determine its possibility of adding Anambra State to its governed states in the South East contrlled by the opposition PDP.
Among the towering screened fourteen (14) APC governorship aspirants are Andy Uba, Chidozie Nwankwo, George Moghalu, Paul Orajiaka, Geoffrey Onyejegbu, Azuka Okwuosa, and Nwokafor Daniel.
Others are Ikeobasi Mokelu, Igwebuike Ifeanyi, Godwin Okonkwo; Ben Etiaba, Onunkwo Johnbosco, Edozie Madu, and Maxwell Okoye.
The Party appointed the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, as the chairman of the Primary Election Committee that will conduct the election today in Awka the capital city of the state.
Besides him, the members of the Primary Election Committee include Uba Ahmadu, Goodluck Opiah, Cathleen Nwofor, Shitu Muhammed, Sylvester Imohanobe, and John Enoh who is to function as the secretary.
In this capacity, the seven-member committee is expected to conduct the Primary Election to elect the Party’s Candidate for the Governorship Election for Anambra State in line with the provisions of the Party’s Constitution and Guidelines for the nomination of Candidates.
It could be recalled that since its merger in 2013, the APC has contested the seat twice, in 2013 and 2017 but lost on both occasions to Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) whose constitutionally allowed two terms in office is at its tail.
With APGA engulfed in a seemingly unending crises and PDP aspirants already at each other’s throats even before their Primary Elections, the APC may finally find its way into the Anambra State government house but that largely depends on the outcome of today’s primaries.
