IKENNA OBIANERI writes on the dilemma of the people of Anambra State as they grapple with choosing between the two presidential candidates from the state ahead of the February 2023 general election
As candidates and various political parties continue to intensify campaigns and rallies across the country in the build-up to the 2023 general elections, the political turf in the country is already turbo-charged as the major gladiators, the presidential candidates traverse the country to woo voters to their sides.
Since the presidential candidates of the various political parties emerged earlier this year, they have been consulting widely with some power brokers who have political clout across the country to woo them ahead of the February 2023 elections. This was months before the Independent National Electoral Commission lifted the political campaign ban in late September.
Among the presidential candidates who painted the country red ahead of the political campaigns are Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Political Party. With what has happened in the last few months, one can conveniently pick three of these candidates as the leading candidates to watch in the February 2023 presidential polls.
In the 36 states of the federation, Anambra is going to be one of the centres of attraction in the February 2023 poll. This is because two presidential candidates are from the state – Obi of the Labour Party and the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Justice Peter Umeadi – who will be battling each other for the votes of their home state.
This is because Obi, who is currently making waves across the country with his “Obidients” movement, was a former governor of Anambra State between 2006 and 2014 under the platform of APGA before he moved to the PDP shortly after he left office and then to the Labour Party earlier this year.
APGA is the ruling party and a strong force in Anambra, and interestingly, the party’s bigwigs have publicly told its supporters and the voting public in the state to vote only for the candidates of APGA in 2023.
Since politics is first a local game, the performance of Obi, who has garnered so much popularity in the last few months with his ‘Obidients’ movement in his home state, will speak volumes of how much acceptance and popularity he still wields in a state he governed between 2006 and 2014.
This is especially as APGA, the ruling party in Anambra and the party on whose platform Obi became governor for two terms, has come out on several occasions to publicly declare that it is not aligning with the presidential ambition of the former governor because, according to APGA, doing so would be detrimental to its own candidate.
APGA’s decision to support its own candidates rather than those of the Labour Party has further thrown Anambra voters into confusion regarding choosing between the two presidential candidates.
Unlike in the 2015 and 2019 general elections where APGA practically adopted the candidates of the PDP, for the 2023 elections, it is not the case as the party has emphasised its commitment towards working for APGA candidates.
Although not much is known about Umeadi, a retired justice, his party, APGA, wields so much influence in Anambra because of the loyalty factor that the Anambra people have exclusively reserved for the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu — a loyalty they have popularly referred to as “Nka bu nke ayin,” which means “this is our own.”
This is the primary reason they have been voting for the party in the state since 2006.
If the utterances, body language and actions coming from the camp of top members of APGA as regards whether APGA will align with the presidential aspiration of Obi in Anambra is anything to go by, the former governor, whose ‘Obidients’ movement is sweeping across the country like a wildfire and the LP should expect a herculean task ahead of the February poll.
The plan of APGA to vote for its candidate has put Anambra voters in a dilemma on who to pitch their tents with between the former state governor and Justice Umeadi, the APGA candidate.
The signs of what to come first emerged in August, when Obi visited the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, shortly after clinching the presidential ticket of the Labour Party. At the end of what was described as a “private meeting” between both men at the Governor’s Lodge in Amawbia, Anambra State, it was later disclosed through a press statement that both leaders had a mutual discussion behind closed doors.
Soludo’s actions and display after the meeting with Obi did not explicitly suggest any declaration of support or endorsement, as he remained undecided in a diplomatic manner as to whom to support between the candidate of the Labour Party and that of APGA, his party. Soludo is the leader of APGA by being the only governor elected on that platform.
In a statement, he issued to journalists through his Press Secretary, Mr Christian Aburime, shortly after his meeting with Obi, Soludo said, “Today, I received in the audience my brother and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, in a private meeting at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia. Mr Obi is one of the two illustrious sons of our dear state gunning to be the President of Nigeria. The other is Justice Peter Umeadi of our great party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance. As the governor of these great sons of the state, I am proud of this moment in history. And I wish them the best of luck.”
Indications of another dilemma for Anambra voters ahead of the February poll also emerged a few days ago when Soludo denied working against Obi’s presidential aspiration. This was after a widespread rumour made the rounds that the governor had ordered members of APGA to work against Obi at the polls.
Soludo was said to have, during a routine private meeting with APGA members, told them to work against Obi because he (Soludo) was dreaming of the presidency after Atiku Abubakar, an allegation the governor quickly denied through a press statement.
In denying the allegation in a press statement, the governor claimed that at no time during the meeting was Obi discussed.
Also, the National Coordinator, APGA Media Warriors Forum, Mr Chinedu Obigwe, insisted that APGA would work against Obi in the 2023 general elections, stressing that voting for the APGA candidate is the right thing to do.
While speaking to our correspondent on the matter, Obigwe maintained that it is in the best interest of APGA faithful to work against Obi, as every candidate is in the presidential race to win, while vowing that APGA has remained committed to working in favour of all its candidates in the coming elections, which, according to him, is the right thing to do.
He said “Governor Chukwuma Soludo does not need to tell APGA faithful to work against Peter Obi because they already know that it is the right thing for them to do in the interest of our party, APGA. The evil plot of Obi for APGA candidates to suffer bandwagon effects in this 2023 general election will fail. It will die a natural death because the APGA faithful are committed to working in favour of all APGA candidates in this 2023 general election. “
Umeadi’s campaign structure is still strategising, according to one of his media aides, who did not want his name mentioned, and they will “powerfully” hit the streets with vigorous rallies across the country after they “powerfully” hit the streets with vigorous rallies.
On whether the APGA candidate will enjoy the maximum support from Anambra voters ahead of the Labour Party candidate, he said, “APGA is the ruling party in Anambra and the people of the state will remain loyal and faithful to their candidate irrespective of any other candidate. There is no cause for alarm; when the time comes, the people of the state know where to pitch their tents.”
Also, speaking to our correspondent on the outlook of the February presidential poll and the expectations of Anambra voters, the Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party in the state, Mr Clement Ojukwu, on his part, dismissed the chances of APGA in Anambra as far as the presidential election is concerned, saying that this time around the loyalty factor of APGA will not work as, according to him, the people will vote for personalities and not parties.
