As campaigns open in Anambra State for the November 8 governorship race, the intrigues, issues and personalities involved depict an epic battle.
The unique feature of politics of the state is not strange to political watchers. Anambra, which prides itself as the ‘Light of the Nation’, is associated with the culture of money politics, perhaps, because of its large population of men and women of means.
The question, therefore, has been whether the state would continue in that tradition or there would be a shift.
At the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held sway with Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju as governor. Political observers are always quick to point at the worrisome record of that era with workers in the state. That was when workers were owed salaries for months, leading to a series of industrial actions by civil servants, primary and post-primary school teachers.
Critics of Mbadinuju’s administration claim that some high-profile politicians hijacked the government, leading to the revolt that denied Mbadinuju the PDP ticket, which was given to Dr Chris Ngige in 2003.
The drama that ensued led to the sack of Ngige and the installation of another PDP top shot, Andy Ubah, as governor of the state. But, it didn’t take long before the PDP lost to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) through the courts. Peter Obi took over as the governor of the state in 2006, and thus, began the long reign of APGA in the state.
This year marks the 20 years of APGA control of Anambra Government House. And, it is looking as if the party will go the way PDP did in 2005 after three governors. Major contenders have emerged on All Progressives Congress (APC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Labour Party (LP) and Young Progressives Party (YPP).
Gladiators on these opposition platforms are already engaging in ground-shaking political moves, thereby establishing the November 8 meet as a heated and highly competitive battle. Already, unfolding events and voter enthusiasm indicate that one of the fresh political forces, John Chuma Nwosu, the ADC gubernatorial candidate, as an outstanding gladiator to watch. JCN, as he is fondly called, comes to the field as the youths favourite. The ICT guru is setting the tone for a fiercely contested governorship race in the state.
However, the claim by some political actors that Anambra State APC delegates did not support President Bola Tinubu’s candidacy during the presidential primary in 2022 has been fueling speculations that the President quietly supports Governor Chukwuma Soludo, against the Anambra APC, and this, invariably throws the contest open.
But, APC faithful in the state think differently, as they express confidence that the power at the centre would halt the re-election of the incumbent. At a stakeholders’ meeting of Anambra Central Senatorial District held in Awka recently, APC leaders said it made sense for Tinubu to support them.
“The President told us to go and win Anambra for the party and promised to give us his full support,” said Senator Uche Ekwunife, who is pairing with Nicholas Ukachukwu as running mate in the election.
She faulted the logic behind Tinubu’s support of APGA, dismissing the insinuation as “bogus and false. She branded APGA as a “sectional” party with no growth prospects beyond Anambra.
“How can the President hide his own party and candidate inside a warehouse and then go and promote the product of another party? That’s not possible,” she said.
Ekwunife declared that Tinubu endorsed Anambra APC and mandated the party leadership to “go and win the state.” Anambra APC Chairman, Basil Ejidike, agreed and announced that the APC was focused on “a clean sweep” on November 8.
To achieve the goal, the party is focusing its campaign on local government tours, beginning from Ayamelum.
For the Labour Party (LP) candidate, George Moghalu, after his controversial victory at the governorship primary, the leadership crisis in the party continues to leave a question mark on its acceptability in the state. Muoghalu had stated: “LP remains a formidable force and we are moving like a train with a clear destination: a better Anambra.”
Anambra PDP was yet to conclude its primaries as at the time of filing this report. The likes of Chris Uba, Sen Ben Obi and other political gladiators are holding sway, hoping on early resolution of PDP’s internal crisis at the national level.
No doubt, the squabble would take its toll on the fortunes of the party in Anambra, as the warring party leaders appear not ready to shift ground. In a communiqué issued at the end of an enlarged meeting of the State Executive Committee in May, signed by the Chairman, Chidi Chidebe, the party reaffirmed its “unflinching” support for Ben Obi, its respected leader in the state; as well as the South East Zonal Leader, Governor Peter Mba, and the national leadership on the matter of the authentic national secretary of the party.
Soludo has to contend with the growing disenchantment among the people as opposition is taking advantage of his alleged perceived low rating in governance. Regrettably, former governor Willie Obiano, who was said to have brought the incumbent to power in 2021, had since distanced himself from Anambra politics.
The APC candidate, Ukachukwu, who revealed during an interview with AIT that Soludo did not know anybody and had no structure before ascending the saddle as governor, challenged Soludo’s political credentials. The APC flag bearer insisted that the incumbent rode to power solely on Obiano’s political machinery and state’s resources.
“Obiano brought Soludo, who does not know anybody and has no structure anywhere, to power. Soludo just followed Obiano and his supporters, including me, to campaign and everything,” he stated.
Another controversial issue is where Soludo claimed that the eight local government areas, once choked by gunmen, breathe free now. The incumbent governor had, in a recent lecture delivered at University of Nigeria Nsukka, claimed that the newly launched ‘Agunechemba’ security outfit had driven kidnappers, ritualists and cultists out of town, adding that “Onitsha touts are now ghosts”, with traders thriving free.
The perception in the state is that the governor accomplishes more with his mouth than with his hands in measurable performance. At the height of the rising incidences of insecurity in the state, some residents called for his resignation, arguing that such deplorable development was not heard of all through the eight years of Peter Obi as governor.
For Rev Fr Emmanuel Obimma and many Anambrarians, the APGA governor failed to discharge his primary responsibility of safeguarding lives and property.
“Our people are comparing the performance of Soludo of Anambra with that of Alex Otti of Abia State and Peter Mbah of Enugu State. Otti and Mbah are two years in office, while Soludo is clocking four years in office.
“The problem with Soludo is that he has failed in every campaign promise he made to Ndi Anambra. He has failed to make Anambra the Dubai-Taiwan metropolitan city. The first project he commissioned was the Amansea axis of the Old Enugu-Onitsha express road. His road projects are not up to Obi’s standard. The quality of his leadership is not what he promised and never what we expected; it is still business as usual. His tax reform seems to have failed, as he reverted to using touts to harass taxpayers.
“But Otti and Mbah have positively impacted their people’s lives through disruptive innovation in governance. In Enugu, although many of the citizens lament the huge payment of tax imposed on them by the state government, the governor’s aggressive development of infrastructure in the state is unparalleled. Otti has turned Aba City around,” Dr Agadigbo Ezeaku said in an interview.
To worsen the fortunes of the ruling party, many founding fathers of APGA have deserted the party, largely due to perceived high-handedness, unhealthy rivalry and indifference by the party’s leadership.
In a keynote entitled ‘Anambra State 2030: Envisioning the African Dubai, Taiwan and Silicon Valley’ at the 2nd Anambra Development Summit, organised by the League of Anambra Professionals, last year, in Awka, Soludo noted that Anambra was having all the crucial statistics to make grand progress.
“With a population of 4.1 million and a landmass of 4,887km2, Anambra has the second highest population density after Lagos State. The landmass is so small that the entire state can conveniently be organised into one large industrial park or free trade zone,” the governor said.
If the old breed governorship contenders in APGA, APC, LP and PDP cancels themselves out by virtue of poor performance, unpopular and troubled platforms, the field would be left open for the fresh entrants in YPP and ADC. This realization may explain the rising political fortune of the ADC.
The party’s contender, JCN, emerged as a major contender in the race through his accurate analysis of the challenges and fitting explanations. While predicating the place of integrity and pedigree in leadership recruitment, the ADC candidate maintains that integrity is like pregnancy.
“You are either pregnant or not. You either have integrity or you don’t. If you lose your integrity, it’s like a miscarriage. There is hardly any recovery. Pedigree is a given. If you have it and protect it, there will always be benefits,” he noted.
For Nwosu, integrity and pedigree must work in tandem in leadership recruitment, stressing that, above all, in Anambra State, “we must restore faith and trust in our leaders. (Because) The distrust gap between our leaders and the led remains quite wide.”
“Governance,” he asserted, “is simply about expeditious and sustainable service delivery. I am bringing into governance a commitment to best practices and efficient service delivery with our Security, Health, Education, Economy, Environment, Markets and Social welfare governance platform.
“We will replicate and improve on Obi’s Anambra Integrated Development Strategy governance model. Most of our leaders no longer have the fear of God.”
If character, credibility and management of wealth are used as a yardstick to elect political office seekers in Nigeria, then Nwosu, the ADC flag bearer in the poll, has brighter chances to win.
Little wonder, Nwosu told journalists in a recent interview, “I am an entrepreneur, a good creator and manager of wealth and people. I have effectively operated in the organised private sector for over three decades. I understand the business culture and practices; what works and what does not. In both business and governance, we must strive for cost-effectiveness.”
“While in business, the bottom line is the profit margin; in governance, frugality and effective management of resources will always be a priority. Operating within available resources means not spending frivolously or borrowing carelessly.”
He extolled ANIDS (Anambra Integrated Development Strategy) governance approach developed by Governor Peter Obi, describing it as an optimal governance model aligned to the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Nwosu stated: “The Obi blueprint remains available as the best option and model for developing the 21 local government areas and 179 communities of Anambra simultaneously.”
