Going through a newspaper report in which former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, was asking the Supreme Court to let him off the hook from corruption charges against him evokes a sense of sympathy for the good people of Abia North Senatorial District where the governor is seeking a senatorial mandate. How does Orji’s present plight help the people of the senatorial zone to decide whether or not to elect him their senator? To be sure, Kalu, like any fellow accused of crime, is presumed innocent until the court proves him guilty. But the nature of the case effectively puts the people of the area (Abia North) in a quandary over him.
This dilemma arises essentially because Kalu, apart from being ordinarily liked by his people, has assembled a formidable arsenal for grabbing the senatorial seat through the forthcoming re-run election. Occupying pride of place in his campaign machinery are his media outfits which he is deploying effectively to douse the chances of his opponents, especially the more visible of them, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa.
Ever since the Appeal Court pronounced a ruling to the effect that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should conduct a fresh election for the Abia North Senatorial seat, Kalu’s media machinery, which includes two widely read newspapers, have been unrelenting in its efforts to dim the chances of his (Kalu’s opponents) while, of course, depicting the former governor as the man. Last count, at least six opinion articles have been published on Senator Ohuabuanwa by one of the newspapers since the Appeal Court ruling; all seeking to de-market him before the Abia North electorate. This type of tactics is not entirely new but Kalu seems to have taken it to another level. He has made a mark on how to take advantage of media proprietorship over his political opponents. Anybody who is in doubt should go and ask Senator Theordore Orji, immediate past governor of Abia state and now a Senator. For now, however, T.A. Orji is enjoying a temporary reprieve as the heat has been transferred to Mao who posses immediate threat to His Excellency, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, in view of the forthcoming election.
But while there can be no doubt that media war between a newspaper publisher and an ordinary fellow would more often than not leave the latter bloodied, it does not always translate to electoral victory for the former. The reason is simple. There are many other factors outside media jab that determine who wins an election. In the opinion of many, the Abia North senatorial re-run may provide a test case on this. For keen watchers of Abia state political terrain, Kalu’s advantage in his quest for the Abia North senatorial seat is limited only to his relationship with the media. Outside that, they point at a number of factors that may make it a tall order for him.
Among such factors is his ongoing trial at the courts. To some, however, the trial, which began since 2007, has lingered this long because no prima facie case has been established against Kalu. But whatever will happen on March 18, 2016, the date the Supreme Court has fixed for judgement, remains a matter of sheer conjuncture.
As it is, the planned Abia North senatorial re-run is most likely to come up before that date; meaning that the people of the area will have to continue to grapple with the quandary over what to do with Orji Uzor Kalu whom, many say, is well liked by his people in Bende Local Government Area. But observers are quick to point out that that does not confer on him much advantage over his two opponents, especially Mao, who won the first election in March 2015. Kalu trailed in the third position with 20,000 votes as against Ohuabunwa’s 43,739 and Bourdex Onuoha’s (APGA candidate) 28, 210. Both Kalu and Onuoha challenged Ohuabunwa’s election at the Governorship and National Assembly Election Tribunal but in a unanimous ruling on October 13, 2015, the tribunal ruled in favour of Ohuabunwa.
However, in December 2015, the Court of Appeal, sitting in Owerri, upheld an appeal by Kalu against the ruling of the tribunal and ordered for a rerun. That is where the people of Abia North Senatorial District are now. But, of course, the Abia North rerun is attracting a lot of attention both within and outside the state essentially because of the personalities involved.