Anambra: PDP treading familiar path

About five weeks to the November 18 Anambra State gubernatorial election, the dust raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary is yet to settle.

Some PDP stalwarts, especially governorship aspirants who lost out, are yet to come to terms with the nomination of a former Secretary to the State Government ( SSG,) Mr Oseloka Obaze as the party’s governorship candidate.

The former SSG had garnered 672 votes to defeat three-time governorship hopeful, Dr Alex Obiogbolu and chairman of Capital Oil, Mr Ifeanyi Ubah, who polled 190 and 94 votes respectively.

Prior to the primary election, the party screening committee had cleared six of the seven aspirants who obtained expression of interest and nomination forms to participate in the exercise.

Those cleared included: Obiogbolu, the senator representing Anambra North senatorial zone, Stella Oduah, former minister of State for Transport, Prince John Emeka and member of the House of Representatives representing Onitsha North /Onitsha South Federal constituency, Lynda Ikpeazu.

Chairman of the Screening Committee, Adamu Waziri told journalists that while Ubah “barely got” cleared, Obaze was given a conditional clearance pending the approval of his waiver application by the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC). Waziri, who is also a former minister of Police Affairs, said the seventh candidate, Mr Akolisa Ufodike was disqualified for having dual citizenship. However, Ufodike was cleared to participate in the exercise by the Appeal panel, while the former SSG was given a waiver by the party leadership, thereby setting the stage for the primary.

But in a twist, Emeka,Oduah, Ikpeazu and Ufodike withdrew from the governorship race few days to the PDP primary. With the exit of the quartet from the battle for the Anambra PDP ticket, it became a straight fight among Obiogbolu, Ubah and Obaze.

Eventually, the former SSG won the contest with a wide margin. However, the outcome of the primary is been trailed with allegations of manipulations. Specifically, Obiogbolu and Ubah lodged an appeal with the party National Caretaker Committee, challenging Obaze’s victory.

In his petition, Obiogbolu contended that the former SSG was not qualified to contest the primary election, as he has neither spent the mandatory two years in the party nor obtained a waiver as at the time he was cleared to participate in the exercise, as enshrined in the opposition party constitution. On the other, the Ubah’s petition was based on an alleged manipulation of the delegates list.

Indications that the Anambra PDP primary would not be devoid of controversy emerged about 72 hours to the exercise when a chieftain of the party, Chief Linus Ukachukwu raised the alarm that some PDP big wigs had concluded plans to tamper with the delegates list that would be used in choosing the party’s candidate.

Ukachukwu alleged that in bid to ensure the emergence of a particular aspirant as the PDP standard bearer in the November 18 poll, some serving governors elected on the platform of the party planned to substitute the names of legitimate delegates.

He warned that anything short of a free and fair primary, conducted with the authentic delegates list, would not be in the interest of the party.