Anambra State people will go to the polls to elect a governor who, to a large extent, would determine the destiny of the state and its people for the next four years. This time round, people had expected that the campaigns would be robust with relevant issues of governance. That, however, may just be a far cry, if the way and manner the candidates and their parties are carrying on, is anything to go by. What seem to be uppermost in the minds of the candidates are the percieved shortcomings of their opponents. On their manifestoes, all of them talk about the usual, hackneyed issue of bringing heaven down to the state without any convincing arguments on how to accomplish it. In the absence of issues, they have resorted to brickbat and mudslinging. The takeover of Labour Party candidate, Ifeanyi Ubah’s company, Capital Oil and Gas by Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) and his running battle with the Economic Financial and Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been an albatross hanging on his neck. His opponents, especially All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as represented by its candidate, Chief Willie Obinao, has made it a campaign issue that Ubah was very broke and looking for an avenue to reposition himself and that if elected, the state would be mortgaged to revive his ailing business. To buttress their point, APGA said it was based on this that Ubah is having a running battle with EFCC. The Ubah group is not taking all the darts in its strides. Apart from defending the position of Ubah’s Capital and Oil and Gas company with AMCOM, the group is telling the people how Governor Peter Obi drafted his business partner, Obiano, to take over from him in order to protect his interest. Obiano was executive director at Fidelity Bank when Obi was chairman. According to Ubah, Obinao has not, from his speeches, demonstrated his capacity to deliver as governor if elected.Ubah is also accusing Obiano of trying to copy the manifestoes of the Labour Party. According to them, while Ubah has promised to build a cargo airport in Anambra, Obiano has said that he would construct an international cargo airstrip. For, as they told the APGA candidate, there is nowhere an airstrip could take care of international cargo considering the weight of cargo plane. Sentiments about where the governor should come from is also taking the centre stage. For instance, the other candidates are accusing Governor Obi of fanning the embers of discord because he wanted Obiano, who is from Anambra North that has not produced a governor. APGA is accusing Ubah’s running mate, Dr Emeka Eze, of involvement in the looting and razing of government properties during the reign of Senator Chris Ngige as governor. All the candidates have taken their campaigns to churches, seeking endorsements by members and clerics. This, remotely or directly, might have led to the death of over 30 worshippers in a stampede at a prayer vigil last Saturday at Uke. There have been accusations and counter-accusations over who was responsible for the disaster. In this regard, while APGA is pointing fingers at Ngige for the tragedy, the Ubah group said Obi was the cause of the avoidable disaster. To make political capital out of it, Ubah has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to, as a matter of urgency, institute a judicial commission of inquiry to get to the root of the disaster. One of the founding members of League of Anambra Professionals, Oscar Onwudiwe, had in August, decried the negative role religion was going to play in the election, noting that it was going to be dangerous. According to him, “another dangerous thing that will happen is religion. Religion is wearing very ugly heads that shouldn’t be encouraged anywhere at all. You are talking of a state where over 99.9 per cent are Christians. I pray that this anomaly will be gradually nipped in the bud before it leads to something untoward.” As Onwudiwe had warned, the unexpected happened when worshippers died in a stampede. The ‘deportation’ of Igbos from Lagos to Anambra by Lagos State governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, also of APC is being used against Ngige by APGA. Even though Fashola had apologized, some people are making political capital out of it. Right now, some of the candidates are carrying out some philanthropic activities, which before now, were not associated with them. For instance, Ubah has introduced free transport scheme for commuters in some local government areas. Whatever donation Governor Obi is making, his opponents say, has political coloration and intended to garner support for his candidate. Recently, the governor donated vehicles to some clergymen. In all of this, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been silent because of its internal wrangling. Now that its problems appear to have been resolved and a flag-bearer has emerged, the party may now jump into the fray. And like the other parties, it is not expected to do any better in terms of campaigning on the basis of issues. Meanwhile, while the party flags off its campaigns today, there is already the issue of certificate scandal involving its candidate, Tony Nwoye, which necessitated Nicolas Ukachukwu to approach the court to stop him as the party’s candidate. Analysts believe that whoever wins the election may not be the best candidate as other variables might be responsible for his victory.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 15:12:43 +0000
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