As the All Progressives Congress (APC) conducts its governorship primaries this week, South-East states of Ebonyi and Imo, offer intriguing scenarios, reports Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, with added reports from Ogochukwu Anioke in Abakaliki and Ukodili in Owerri
EBONYI and Imo are two of the South-East states where All Progressives Congress (APC) hopes to produce the governors in 2015. Because APC is the ruling party in Imo, and its current flag bearer, Governor Rochas Okorocha, is widely adjudged to have performed creditably well, the party is very hopeful to retain the state notwithstanding the array of heavy weights jostling to fly the flag of the opposition parties like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
The hope in Ebonyi, the salt of the nation, touted over the years as a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) state, according to sources, derives mainly from the increasing popularity of the opposition political parties in the state, since 2007.
It would be recalled that during the 2007 Governorship Election in Ebonyi State, the former governor of old Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, contesting on the ticket of the then All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) matched PDP’s candidate, Governor Martin Elechi, on all grounds in what observers described as a keenly contested race. Though he contested on an opposition ticket, many said he only lost narrowly, the power of incumbency notwithstanding.
Taking cognisance of this history, and considering that the same Onu is the leader of APC in the state today, observers of the politics of the state say although the state has been ruled by PDP since 1999, PDP must be worried this time, not only because of the impact opposition political parties have made continuously in the politics of the state in the past seven years but also because the leading opposition today, the APC, as a mega party, comprising many of the political parties that were individually popular in the state, is both very strong and popular in the state.
APC strategists, we gathered, are also poised to take advantage of the deep- rooted misunderstanding and power play in the ruling PDP. Since Governor Martin Elechi adopted Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu as the PDP consensus governorship candidate, the ruling party had exploded
All these factors, we learnt has made APC a viable platform in the governorship race in Ebonyi State, a fact that has resulted in emergence of strong and very influential aspirants seeking to govern the state on the platform of APC. Among the aspirants for the Thursday APC governorship primaries are, Senator Julius Ucha; Dr Ogbonnaya Onu; Austin Edeze and Dr. Steve Egbo.
Julius Ucha
Considered a strong and influential politician, Senator Julius Ucha, who at a time chaired the Senate Committee on Works, represented Ebonyi Central Senatorial Zone twice at the red chamber of the National Assembly. Before going to the National Assembly, he served as the Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
Not new to the opposition politics in the state, Ucha engaged Governor Martin Elechi in 2011 when he flew the flag of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) during the 2011 Governorship Election in Ebonyi State.
After that election, his supporters insisted he dusted the governor and his ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), a belief that made him to contest the result of the election up to the Supreme Court.
Today, his supporters see him as the real leader of the party in the state going by the high number of delegates in the Central and Northern part of the state which he reportedly controls.
Insiders say his financial war chest is also an important factor in the consideration of his position in Ebonyi State PDP and in the run up to this Thursday’s gubernatorial primaries.
Although he left the state Assembly long ago for the National Assembly, he is still considered a grassroots politician as he arguably remains the force behind the party, especially in the Central. This, according to a source, is attested to by the warm relationship between him and the only APC National Assembly legislator from the state, Hon Peter Edeh, who represents Ucha’s Ishielu/Ezaa North Constituency.
This factors notwithstanding, Ucha’s challenge would be the zoning politics in the state. He is from Ebonyi Central (Governor Elechi’s zone), a zone which by 2015, would have ruled Ebonyi for eight years.
PDP, citing the unwritten Charter of Equity agreement, which stipulates power rotation among the political blocs in the state, has zoned it’s 2015 ticket to the South, and has drummed up the campaign that anything contrary would be unjust as Ebonyi South, is the only zone yet to produce the governor of the state since 1999. This is because while former Governor Sam Egwu, Elechi’s predecessor, who also ruled for eight years, is from Ohaukwu Government Area in Ebonyi North and Elechi, the current second term governor, is from the Central, it is expected to be the turn of the South.
This implies that if APC is also to be guided by this zoning principle, Ucha’s ambition may be affected negatively.
Ogbonnaya Onu
Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the former governor of old Abia State, is today widely acknowledged as the leader of the opposition not only in Ebonyi State but also in the South-East geo- political zone. He is one of the key aspirants for APC ticket in the Thursday governorship primaries in Ebonyi.
Since after leaving office as governor, Onu has played a leading role in the opposition politics both at the federal level and in Ebonyi State. A former National Chairman of the now defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), he is currently one of the national leaders of All Progressive Congress (APC).
A source in the state told The Nation earlier that “due to his humble mien, Onu’s popularity cuts across all strata of society and across all the zones in the state.” Many of us, the source said, “consider him as one of the most honest politician in the country. We believe that is why he was made the Chairman of the APC’s Presidential Primaries Screening Committee.”
At the state level, Onu has remained active. On the ticket of ANPP, he contested the governorship in 2007 against Governor Martin Elechi.
Since his ambition to succeed Elechi in 2015 became public knowledge, his popularity has been a subject of scrutiny. Insiders say he is still very popular. In fact, in the South Senatorial District, where PDP has proposed to zone its governorship ticket, informed observers say no APC aspirant, or any other aspirant from any party can truly match Onu’s popularity there.
Besides his popularity at home and the high esteem he is held there, other factors that may favour his aspiration is his control of substantial part of the party machinery across the state and his wide acceptability amongst the national leadership of APC. A source, an insider, confirmed this, pointing out that “Onu is highly respected by other leaders of the party at the national level who are favorably disposed to giving him the ticket.”
But our investigation shows that the primary challenge Onu is likely to face in the realisation of his dream is his alleged icy political relationship with Senator Ucha. We gathered that except the national leadership of the party successfully brokers peace, Ucha-led group in the state, may deny support for an Onu ticket. This will be a big minus during the governorship election. “PDP will be too happy for such a development as it will further ease their way back to the Government House in Abakaliki,” a top APC stalwart in the state said.
Steve Egbo
Dr. Steve Egbo, a political scientist from Ezigba in Onicha Local Government Area of the state, is another prominent governorship aspirant on the ticket of APC.
An academic and Senior Lecturer/ Research Fellow at Abia State University, Uturu, who holds a B.Sc in Political Science and a Ph. D in Public Administration and Local Government, Egbo is today described by his political admirers as the “giant killer.” He earned this appellation following his incredible performance in the recent congresses. One of his ardent supporters boasted during the week that in those congresses, Egbo “succeeded in installing his loyalists in almost all the wards and local governments in Ebonyi South. I dare tell you that “he roundly defeated Dr Ogbonnaya Onu in the battle for the control of Ebonyi South APC. So, Dr Egbo is fast becoming the leader of the APC in our zone,” the source said.
True to the boast, reports on the ward and local government congresses of the party in the state suggest that Egbo’s candidates actually clinched most of the positions in almost all the wards in the five local governments in the South, except of course, the wards in Onu’s Uburu stronghold in Ohaozara LGA.
Besides holding significant part of the party structure in the zone now, another factor that may favour Egbo’s candidacy is the support of Senator Julius Ucha. It is a known fact that Egbo belongs to the Ucha political camp.
Analyzing how Egbo may benefit from this reality, a source in Abakaliki puts it this way: “Since Egbo controls the South, and Ucha controls delegates from the Ebonyi North and Central, Dr Steve Egbo is likely going to beat any candidate from the South for the governorship position, that is if the party zones the position to the South.”
These favorable factors notwithstanding, it must be noted that the popularity that is today being ascribed to Egbo in his Ebonyi South Senatorial District cannot truly be replicated in the North and Central. In fact, his critics say he is little known in these zones. If all the equations remain as they are today, it seems Egbo can only make head way in these zones if Senator Ucha, who reportedly holds the ace there, dumps his aspiration and throws his weight behind him. If this happens, his chances of clinching APC ticket will not only be brighter, but his capacity to match PDP and APGA squarely during the governorship election would be greatly energized.
Another issue his critics are advancing is that he lacks “practical political experience.” This may be true only to the extent that he has not contested and won elections before and has also not held any political office. His supporters however hold that fact as a plus, insisting that he is one of the few “untainted” aspirants and that such a qualification suits the desires of majority of the Ebonyi State electorates clamouring for “genuine change; for a clean break from the past.”
Austin Edeze
There is also Austin Edeze, who served as the Chairman of Ebonyi State Universal Basic Education Fund (UBEB) during Dr Sam Egwu’s administration in Ebonyi State.
Edeze moved to APC during Elechi’s government after he was allegedly sidelined by the Elechi- led PDP in the state.
Sources told The Nation that during the Egwu administration, Edeze, described then ass a grassroots person, enjoyed high popularity. But since the alleged marginalisation under Elechi, it remains to be seen what has happened to his popularity.
Besides the issue of popularity and control of party machinery, another concrete factor that may pose as a challenge to Edeze is the zoning campaign. Edeze hails from Ebonyi North which produced Governor Sam Egwu. Except APC ignores the zoning campaign, he and Ucha would be affected.
Ominous waiting game in Imo
In Imo State, the APC gubernatorial race is both interesting and tricky as all the would-be aspirants still adopt what an insider described as “siddon de look,” attitude, barely few days to the December gubernatorial primaries.
As at Thursday, November 27, 2014, The Nation investigation shows that no aspirant had obtained the form mainly because of the confusion over Governor Rochas Okorocha’s interest in 2015.
While some of his public utterances confirm reports that he has indeed picked the APC presidential form, he has reportedly assured Imo indigenes that he would not seek office outside the state in 2015.
Recently, Okorocha was at the Ranchers Bees Stadium, Kaduna where he reportedly played “guest to a Northern group known as Arewa Consultative Forum,” where his presidential ambition was allegedly discussed.
Although the confusion over his ambition continued, more recent reports, featuring
Front page picture showing Okorocha as APC aspirant, displaying his nomination form, in Kaduna, during a rally, seemed to have confirmed the ambition.
That notwithstanding, reports of his assurances to remain in Imo has not stopped, thus creating a situation where would- be aspirants for the governorship race on the ticket of APC, knowing it would be difficult to contest against the governor for the ticket, have resorted to the ominous waiting game
For example, when he recently addressed APC stalwarts, including appointees, aspirants, delegates and party officials, at the Imo International Convention Centre, IICC, Okorocha reportedly said: “I am not going to leave Imo, I am not going to leave my people, I am not going to leave my projects.”
These contradictory signals is after similar meetings at the Government House, with top government officials and political appointees. In one of such meeting, one of the attendees claimed that Okorocha told them everyone of them is free to pick up nomination form to contest the governorship race.
In another of such meetings at the Government House, another participant, a top public officer, said the governor clearly told them he was still in the game for the governorship in Imo. According to the source, who pleaded not to be named, Okorocha said, he was merely flying a kite by declaring interest in the presidential race, adding that it was because PDP aspirants thought he would not contest, that was why many of them picked their party nomination forms.
It was obviously because of the confusion that one of the aspirants, the first APC aspirant to publicly declare interest in Imo, Charles Onuoha, a former Commissioner for Housing under the current Okorocha ‘s government, had to move over to PDP, where he is now contesting for the office of governor.
Since someone must fly the APC governorship ticket in Imo, it seems plausible to speculate that Okorocha, as the serving governor, would be the sole candidate. This is so because any other aspirant that may emerge now may not have enough time to contest against the incumbent governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
