With five days to the historic November 6 governorship poll in Anambra, the political divides in that state are getting wider, with the Deputy Governor actively for votes for the All Progressives Congress candidate, Sen. Andy Ubah.
Dr Nkem Okeke, the Deputy Governor, decamped from the All Grand Alliance Party, the ruling party in Anambra, and joined the APC, but he refused to resign from the government.
“Come Nov. 6, I appeal to all electorate to have a deep think and cast their votes for Sen. Andy Uba, the APC candidate, let’s make a huge sacrifice that will better the lives of our children and unborn children,” Okeke said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday.
“This is not the time for sentiments, bearing grudges, blame game or playing politics with our future but let us correct our past political mistakes so as to regain our presence in national politics,” he said.
Governor Willie Obiano belongs to APGA and wants to hand the baton over to a party member. His anointed candidate is Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Many believe that Soludo is distinctly qualified to lead Anambra, given his pedigree, including his experience as a former CBN governor and one-time economic adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Okeke disagrees. According to him, APC’s Uba has a more credible manifesto to turn the economy of the state around.
He said would run an inclusive government that promises a place for both the young and old, all of whom will be involved in the running of the government.
“Knowledge is power, the ability to listen to all strata of persons would provide inclusiveness in the leadership of APC in the state.
“The needs of the people would be sought as your voices would be needed in taking major decisions in the state,” he said.
He also said Anambra people should jettison the notion that the ruling APC is a Fulani party, urging the electorate in the state to rather shift ground and join the party at the centre in the country.
“Let us kill this blackmail, all political parties are just platforms to achieve one’s political aspiration. this is like people doing different types of business or universities to enrich themselves in life.
“Sen. Andy Uba is our brother we cannot wish it away, let rally around him now to get closer to the centre to be able to negotiate easily the agitations we have in Nigeria polity.
“Let us remember that no governor can do as he pleases no matter the connection at the centre because we are in a democratic dispensation, the state lawmakers must pass vital decisions before implementation.
“We have a crop of seasoned lawmakers who are very conversant with their duties and will all times stand against what is wrong, it is not about the governor acting as he likes, if he tries, it would be resisted by the people because power belongs to the people,” Okeke said.
The November 6 governorship election in Anambra has become a key political milestone in Nigerian political history. The Indigenous People of Biafra, which is fighting for self-rule for the southeast, has threatened to scuttle the poll. It has declared a week-long sit-at-home in the whole region from November 5, a day to the election, unless its detained leader Nnamdi Kanu, is leased on Thursday, November 4.
