Kenechukwu Ofomah
Awka
Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano has said the inability of opposition parties, the All Progressives Congress, APC and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to select running mates for their governorship candidates two weeks after their primaries, shows they are unprepared for the task of governing the state.
The governor was quoted by the State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr C. Don Adinuba in a chat with TNC correspondent on Friday, as saying that such measure of unpreparedness has given his party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, an edge in the forthcoming election.
According to him, the PDP and APC are in such low spirits and disarray now that they cannot choose running mates two weeks after what he described as their controversial congresses.
“Professor Soludo has announced his running mate, Dr Onyeka Ibezim, a medical doctor and accomplished technocrat, a week after his own nomination, to the applause of the whole state. Why is it difficult for the APC and the PDP to announce their running mates. The way they are behaving, there may not be the kind of election we are expecting. We are expecting a robust election and the way they are going, we are convinced they are not ready ”, Obiano said.
Obiano expressed doubt that the parties even have candidates as the PDP has two candidates while the APC did not have a primary election.
“The matter is worrisome for APC because up to this moment, nobody can attest to voting in the primary election. In 2019, nobody voted in the Anambra South Senatorial election and at the end of the day, someone was announced as the winner. The same candidate has done it again now at the APC governorship primary. So, we have cause to ask questions- is this their understanding of democracy? Is this what they plan to do on the 6th of November, where someone will stay in the comfort of their homes and write results of the governorship election. So it gives us concern as a party,” he said.
But in a response, the State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Okelo Madukaife said the APC is rather too busy with the its internal efforts to strengthen the party, to bother itself about parties like APGA which he said has derailed from democratic goals.
“APC is not in any way involved in the triple candidate scenario in All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), as alleged by Governor Willie Obiano.
“Our party is rather too busy with the self-purification and organizational process to bother about parties that are hijacked from their original goals.
“Gov. Obiano had told an in-house team of APGA journalists who ended up publishing outside APGA fora, that APC and PDP are responsible for the crisis in APGA and in fact tried to stop one of the three factional candidates from emerging.
“APC has nothing do with such irresponsible affair. PDP will speak for itself,” Madukaife said.
The Anambra APC spokesperson, said rather than worry about APC, Obiano should concern himself with the crisis rocking the party handed over to him and the three APGA primaries of June 24, June 29 and July 21, 2021.
“APC does not engage in gubernatorial gossip.
“What is more? Why would APGA not learn from APC, which takes responsibility for challenges that come its way and end up surmounting same, rather than endless buck-passing that suggests that other parties have equal say and equal blame in the plagues of APGA.
“Is that not why APGA is failing in governance in an only state?
“Despite our silence before now, we see what is going on in the APGA as power withdrawal symptoms which cannot but occur in an outfit that fails on all four pillars of its manifesto and fall back on the sentiments raised from deceased heroes past to stay afloat.
“APC will help APGA develop Anambra State from March 2022, to show that governance is made of sterner stuff that evening jollies and decimation of local governments to plunder their resources.
“Obiano has enough time to write his handover notes,” Madukaife concluded.
