PDP crisis alters political calculations (2)

Observers believe that for Uba to win the election, he must work with the Emeakayi group who controls the grassroots of the party as could be seen in his recent outing before the controversial governorship primaries of the party.

For instance, the group has all the ward and local government officials, as well as all the candidates for the postponed local government election.

What happened in 2010 when the party forced the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Charles Soludo on the state as the PDP candidate is still fresh in people's minds and a repeat of such would be a mistake too many for PDP.

Chris Uba
Already, most of the people who were with Chief Chris Uba in his hey days as the political godfather in the state have abandoned him for other political parties. One of them, Dr. Emeka Eze, is presently the running mate of Chief Ifeanyi Ubah, while many others are mobilizing for the LP candidate.

One of them wondered recently how Chris Uba would achieve his objective in the November election since those of them  who were actually doing the abracadabra during the past elections have deserted the family.

For APGA, the wounds inflicted on the party during the leadership crisis between the national chairman, Chief Victor Umeh and Chief Maxi Okwu have not been properly healed. Okwu is still feeling left out and that was why he flew a kite recently by saying that his group had nominated one of those screened out by the party, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, as his candidate for the election.

No further action has however been taken either by him or his candidate since he made the nomination in Awka a fortnight ago, fueling speculation that he may have decided to bury the hatchet.

However, some of the some who were in either sides of the divide during the crisis became victims of the resolution of the crisis and some of them finally decided to decamp to other political parties.

Also, some of those who lost at the party primaries simply vamoosed and have not been responding to the overtures being made to them by Chief Willy Obiano who won the ticket.

Unless something is done urgently, the subdued acrimony may cost the party some votes in some parts of the state.

In APC, there is a lot of manipulation going on and unless the situation is handled with utmost care, the lid may soon blow open with its attendant consequences.

For instance, a former governorship aspirant, Senator Annie Okonkwo and deputy national chairman of APC, who appointed his cronies as officials of the party in the state, is no longer getting the support from many members of the party, including the governorship candidate, Senator Chris Ngige.

With the haphazard manner in which the state congress was held in a hotel in Awka, some members of ANPP and CPC, the two parties that merged with ACN to form APC, have either pulled out or are threatening to pull out of the merger arrangement in the state.

CPC, led by its former chairman, Prince Chuba Ikeagwu has since left APC to join the newly formed PDM, while the former state chairman of ANPP, Chief Pat Orjiakor, who at one point, acted as interim state chairman of APC, is being wooed by the

governorship candidate of Accord Party, Mr. Hygers Igwebuike, to be his running mate in view of what the Accord Party candidate described as his wonderful mobilization ability.

Also, some APC members in the state are complaining that most of the national officers of the party were picked from Ngige's senatorial zone, adding that such appointments did not give the people from the other two zones a sense of belonging.

In addition to this is the Ezemo factor. Mr. Godwin Ezemo, who contested with Ngige for the ticket of APC, is still angry and it would require the intervention of the national leadership of the party to persuade him not to decamp to another political party as being speculated.

It was gathered in Awka that another political party may field Ezemo during the period of the substitution of candidates and if that happens, the ranks of APC would be further depleted.

Concluded