The lingering leadership crisis in the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, would soon end, albeit temporarily. This is because the central characters in the struggle – Governor Peter Obi of Anambra state and the party’s national chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, seem to have agreed to sheathe their swords. The motivating factor is the forth-coming November 16, gubernatorial election in the state and the need for the party to control the state beyond March 16, 2014, when Governor Obi is expected to leave office.
Indeed, some clergymen in the South-East geo-political zone had foreseen the futility of prolonging the leadership tussle, and so had pleaded with the combatants to give peace a chance in the overriding interest of the party and ‘Ndigbo’.
For instance, the fiery Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Anglican Communion, Dr. Emmanuel Olisa Chukwuma, reportedly accosted Governor Obi and Chief Umeh at a burial ceremony in Asaba, the Delta state capital and warned them of the consequences of prolonging the leadership crisis in APGA.
Bishop Chukwuma was said to have pointedly told the duo that the party would lose the next gubernatorial election in the state if they failed to work together ahead of the polls. Beyond that, the clergyman reportedly told Governor Obi and Chief Umeh that the party would die a natural death if the leadership crisis was not resolved amicably.
Okuli Jude Ejike, chairman, Enugu state chapter of the party, had filed a suit at an Enugu High Court, challenging the process that led to the re-election of Chief Umeh as the party’s national chairman at the party’s convention held in February 2011. Okuli argued that Umeh was re-elected through voice vote rather than by secret ballot as contained in the party’s constitution.
The court presided over by the state is chief judge, Justice Innocent Umezulike, ruled that the election that threw up Umeh in February 2011 was procedurally defective. The court therefore, sacked Umeh as national chairman, alongside members of the party’s National Working Committee, NWC.
However, the decision of the Enugu high court was later upturned by a Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu. In its ruling, the three-man panel of justices ruled that Ejike had no locus standi in the first place to file the suit against Chief Umeh. Ejike had last week filed a notice of appeal at the Supreme Court.
Governor Obi has consistently distanced himself from Ejike’s struggle to oust Chief Umeh through the courts. Even then, not a few say that it’s a case of Jacob’s voice but Esau’s hand. Ejike is alleged to be working for Governor Obi.
The rift between the governor and Umeh reportedly started as soon as the governor announced that his successor would come from Anambra North Senatorial zone of the state, on the basis that the zone is yet to produce a governor since the state was created on August 27, 1991, by former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida.
The decision did not go down well with Umeh. He prefers the party’s governorship ticket be thrown open to all aspirants from the three senatorial zones of the state, rather than zoning the slot to a particular senatorial zone.
And because Umeh was opposed to the governor’s decision to zone the party’s governorship ticket to the North senatorial zone, the governor allegedly began a deft move to remove him as the party’s national chairman. But the court of appeal has scuttled that move, at least for now.
With the development, it became clear that for Governor Obi to pull through his desire to have a candidate from the North senatorial zone fly the APGA gubernatorial ticket, he must have the support of Umeh, who as the authentic national chairman of the party reserve the power according to the law to endorse and submit such person’s name to the INEC before the person would be accepted as an authentic candidate of the party.
Nevertheless, it would be difficult if not impossible for an APGA candidate to win the gubernatorial contest without the support of Governor Obi who as leader of the party in the state, controls the party’s structure, and also has the financial wherewithal to prosecute the election.
Against this backdrop, it became imperative for the duo to forget their grievances and work together towards achieving a common goal – winning for the party, the next gubernatorial election in the state.
LEADERSHIP gathered that part of the agreement between the two warring parties is that the governor will nominate a consensus gubernatorial candidate probably from Anambra North Senatorial zone, while Umeh continues to function unhindered as the party’s national chairman.
But the development notwithstanding, the forthcoming gubernatorial contest in the state promises to be an interesting battle between APGA and candidates of other opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
But those opposed to the zoning of APGA’s governorship ticket to a particular senatorial zone say it’s ‘undemocratic’ as it does not allow the electorate to choose the best candidate.
Interestingly, political observers are optimistic that the outcome of the forthcoming election would largely be determined by the votes and not by rigging. Also, the credibility of the candidates would largely dictate who the people would cast their votes for, and not even necessarily on the basis of political party platform and or senatorial zone of origin.
The Anambra electorate is said to have become politically enlightened, and will this time around, go for the best gubernatorial candidate. According to a political observer, “not even the amount of money a candidate has or the amount he or she will be willing to distribute will influence his or her chances of victory as many people will collect your money and still vote for a candidate they believe is more credible”.
Though it might be difficult to predict for now the political party that would produce the next governor, nevertheless, not a few say that the candidate who enjoys the backing of the governor stands many poles ahead of other contestants.*
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