2021 Anambra Governorship Elections: Nke a bu nke anyị. Anambra Amaka — This is our own. Anambra is beautiful
Anambra gubernatorial election is just days away and the most prominent candidates participated in a debate that raised a lot of questions about the future of the state. The fact is one of the three who participated in the debate will be the next governor (all things being equal).
The last election was held in 2017 and was won by Willie Obiano, defeating Tony Nwoye of the APC by 234,071 to 98,752. Obiano has completed his two-term and can’t run again. This means Anambra will have a new governor.
Who are the top contenders, and who seems likely to win? @ARISEtv hosted a debate for the top three candidates and it was interesting to watch. Andy Uba of APC made many claims while Soludo of APGA countered. Valentine Ozigbo of PDP remained calm and made subtle jabs at the other two.
One of ozigbo’s statement was “Both APGA and APC have failed Nigerians. These two candidates are the dysfunctional past we are moving away from.” The debate was anchored by Reuben Abati (SA on Media and Publicity to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan) and Ngozi Alaegbu (former newscaster of TVC). Full interview on @arisetv.
The first to take the podium was Senator Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba popularly known as Andy Uba. Andy was elected Senator for the Anambra South Senatorial District of Anambra State, Nigeria in April 2011 under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) platform.
He won with 63,316 votes, ahead of Chukwmaeze Nzeribe of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with 43,798 votes and the incumbent Senator Ikechukwu Obiorah of the Accord party with 24,724 votes.
Uba’s election was challenged by Senator Obiora, the Accord candidate, who claimed that Uba had forged his West African School Certificate (WASC) and had not obtained any of the university degrees that he claimed. A statement that was made by Soludo at the debate.
He defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress in February 2017. Before becoming a senator, he was appointed Special Assistant on Special Duties and Domestic Affairs to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Senator Uba made claims for championing certain bills while in the Senate. What are the facts? From, @placbillstrack website shows Andy Uba sponsored 17 bills and co-sponsored two bills. Eight are yet to be passed. Full list here:
One major challenge facing him is that Anambra is not an APC state, and it will be hard to convince the populace to vote for the party in all 21 LGAS though he has a strong influence in the state.
The second candidate to mount the stage was former CBN governor, Charles Chukwuma Soludo. Soludo needs no introduction. Before being CBN gov, he held the positions of Chief Economic Adviser to Pres. Obasanjo and Chief Executive of the National Planning Commission of Nigeria.
On 16 September 2019, the President of Nigeria, @MBuhari, appointed Soludo as a member of a newly formed 8-member Economic Advisory Council (EAC), which would report directly to the President. Soludo has a rich resume and he was proud to reel it out.
This is not the first time Soludo is gunning for the number one seat of Anambra state. He ran under the PDP against Peter Obi under APGA in the 2010 elections but lost.
He left the PDP in 2013 and joined the APGA. He is the current candidate for Anambra’s ruling party.
The third candidate, Valentine Chineto “Val” Ozigbo of PDP is a fresh blood in the race for governor but a seasoned business executive. Ozigbo served as MD and CEO of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria plc (Transcorp) from October 2011 — December 2018.
There are reports that he is responsible for developing five new projects worth over $500 million, including two hotels in Lagos and Port Harcourt, a 5,000-capacity conference facility, luxury apartments, and the upgrade of existing hotels with additional retail facilities.
He is someone Tony Elumelu is proud of working with. He has many awards which this thread won’t do justice to. He might be riding on the fact that PDP did well at the 2019 general elections with Atiku polling 524,738 votes (86.63% of the total cast).
Anambra Amaka, who is your next gov? Your guess is as good as mine. Two factors to consider. 1. Obiano won all the 21 LGAs. This will be hard for other parties to overturn. Hard but not impossible. The three candidates are from the same local government “Aguata” 2. The IPOB “sit at home” order will make it hard for many to come out and vote.
I don’t have a preferred candidate. However, I predict a lower turnout than the 2017 gov elections due to the insecurity. The fact is whoever becomes governor has a lot of work to do. Let me know who you think will become governor and why?
