A Titanic Battle

Chris Uba

Chris Uba, foremost godfather of Anambra State politics, commence a deft move to make good his promise to recover the state for his party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP)
By Okechukwu Obenta, Awka
Chris Uba, member,
Board of Trustees(BOT) of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) representing the South east geo-political zone, and foremost godfather of  Anambra State politics has perfected plans to storm  the local government areas in the State as part of moves to make good his promise to recover the state in the forthcoming gubernatorial election from the incumbent All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) government.
Ahead of his planned campaign tour of the local governments, the purpose of which is primarily to mobilise voters’ support for the PDP in the forthcoming gubernatorial election, the newly reinstated  Uchenna Emodi-led executive of the party in the state has been touring the various local governments in the state to sensitise and mobilise the leaderships and stakeholders of the party to make sure that Uba’s campaign tour record huge success.
Besides, the dynamic politician has since the past few weeks been piling up assorted items, including vehicles, motorcycles, clothes and grinding machines to be distributed as campaign gifts to the people. The premises of his Guest House at the popular Udoka Housing estate in Awka, the state capital, has been transformed into a mini industrial site since the past two months as motorcycle technicians work day and night fixing the motorcycles which the parts are being moved in there in containers.
As at last Wednesday, June 24, the Emodi executive had visited about 14 out of the 21 local governments in the state to sensitise and mobilise  members of the party towards Uba’s campaign scheduled to commence next month, July. Some National officers of the PDP, especially those from the South east zone are expected to be part of the campaign exercise. The Emodi executve is expected to conclude its  local government tour by the end of this month.   The local governments already visited by the Emodi executive are: Orumba North and South, Dunukofia, Ogbaru, Onitsha-South, Ayamelum, Anambra East and West, Awka-North and Oyi, while the  remaining local governments are Onitsha North, Ihiala, Ekwusigo, Nnewi North and South, Awka South and Aguata. The arrowheads of the local government tour included Emodi, the state chairman of the party; R.O.C Okpalaoka, State Secretary; Ben Odeozor, state deputy chairman; Tessy Ezechukwu, state Women’s leader; Afam Ilouno, State publicity secretary; Chuks Okoye, legal Adviser while all the party’s local government chairmen and some other selected stakeholders were also part of the entourage.
Basically, the Emodi executive during the tour used the occasion to make sure there was no power tussle in the leadership of any of the local government chapters of the party. They also encouraged the leadership and members at the local chapters to make sure that people from their area, especially all those who earlier left the party to other parties in the wake of the crisis were wooed back to the party  and to assure them that the party was committed to recovering the state’s Government House, Awka in the forthcoming 2010 gubernatorial election.Emodi also used the tour to showcase his leadership as the authentic executive of the party in the state, recognised by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), as he always urged the party faithful not to entertain any other group that might come parading itself as the state executive.
Meanwhile, at each of the local governments, hundreds of PDP faithful turned out to receive the Emodi executive. But most spectacular reception was recorded at Idemili South where the Anambra PDP executive were received at a civic centre hall in Nnobi, country home of former Governor Chris Ngige, Uba’s estranged  political godson.
At the reception, Chuks Okoye, the party’s state legal Adviser and indigene of the area on behalf of the  people of profusely apologised to Uba over what he described as “betrayal” and “show of ingratitude” to him by “our son.” They told Emodi to convey their apologies to Uba over Ngige’s behaviour  and stated that they knew that their son was merely telling lies when he told the world that he (Uba) demanded three billion naira from him (Ngige) in the face-off that broke out between him and their son(Ngige) shortly after he was sworn-in as governor in 2003.
“We are sorry for the manner our son, Dr. Chris Ngige betrayed your leader, Ochiagha Ndigbo (Chris Uba) after he used his personal resources to make him governor. Tell him (Uba) that Idemili South Local Government is solidly behind him. He should, please, forgive us for the sins of our son against him, we know that he never asked him for even a kobo, not to talk of N3billion. We know that if Ochiagha’s interest was to make money in 2003, he should not have sponsored our son who had nothing then, since there were many other people who were ready to give him any amount he wanted so that he can make them governor. We, the people of Idemili South are earnestly sorry,” Okoye declared on behalf of his people. His apologies was given a defeaning  acceptance by hundreds of the party faithful gathered in the hall.
Meanwhile, the peace move by Uba to bring other factions opposed to the Emodi group have started yielding positive results as some members of the Ifeatu Obi-Okoye group have started crossing over to the Emodi leadership. Among such people Chief Emma Udegbunam and some women who are known supporters of the Obi-Okoye faction.  Senator Annie Okonkwo and his supporters have already joined forces with the Emodi executive, thereby bringing to a dead end the existence of the Tony Nwoye faction.
Although none of the members of the National and State Assembly members have shown physical presence in identifying with the Emodi executive at any of the local government areas visited, some of them including Representatives Uche Ekwunife, (Anaocha, Dunukofia, Njikoka) and Onyema Ugochukwu (Ogbaru) sent representatives when the group visited their constituencies. The Source gathered that most of the elected National and State Assemblies members from the state were only distancing themselves from the Emodi group as a ploy to be approached so that they can bargain to be allowed to retain the party ticket for second term in the 2011 general elections.
Sources within the party told The Source that all those who are currently serving in both the National and State Assembly from the state under the PDP platform have not been patronizing the party due to the crisis.
And because virtually all of them were hand-picked by Andy Uba, the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the 2007 general election and given the party’s ticket to run, they have not been patronising members of the party.
Meanwhile, as part of his grand plan to reposition the party, Uba has pledged that internal democracy would be entrenched in the party in the state and as such, anybody who would fly the ticket of the party in any future election must emerge through primaries conducted through a fair and credible process.
In each of the local governments visited, the Emodi executive emphasised the fact that the party and its members have been losing office as a result of the crisis that engulfed the leadership over the years.
The party, they noted, lost Anambra State in 2003 as a result of the mistake of refusing the then Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju a second term ticket.
Notedly, Mbadinuju was the only PDP governor throughout the federation–out of the 21 governors the party produced in the 36 states– that was refused a second term ticket. In protest, Mbadinuju had decamped to the obviously unpopular Alliance for Democracy (AD) where he ran for second term in the 2003 general election but lost. Though the PDP gubernatorial flag- bearer in the election, Dr. Ngige lost to the APGA candidate, Peter Obi, the former was however to be illegally declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which awarded him fraudulent results. The victory was later nullified after three years and three months by the courts which held that the election was actually won by the APGA candidate, Peter Obi.
Now that another round of the state’s gubernatorial election is around the corner, only few months away, Uba has vowed to recover the state’s number one seat from Obi, even though not only a few political watchers in the state are of the view that the task would be an obviously difficult one for him and his party to achieve. The task of wrestling the Government House from Obi, many political watchers believe, would certainly be an uphill task for anybody to accomplish because of the huge accomplishments of his administration in the state within the past three years.