Confusion is brewing within the Anambra State chapters of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Labour Party (LP) over the modalities and guidelines for conducting their respective gubernatorial primary elections scheduled for early April.
The three major political parties have fixed their primaries for Saturday, but there are no clear guidelines in place for the elections.
APGA, with Governor Charles Soludo as its sole aspirant, has reportedly finalized plans for an affirmation process, effectively endorsing the Governor’s candidacy.
Meanwhile, the APC has been embroiled in a prolonged crisis for over a month following the controversial outcome of its ward delegate congress, which ended in confusion and protests.
The party has seven aspirants vying for the ticket, but as of the time of this report, none of them has received the election guidelines.
Most aspirants declined to comment, citing the absence of key members of the primary election committee, who are reportedly returning from a pilgrimage and are yet to hold a briefing.
“I cannot say anything for now because they are expected to return from pilgrimage and will most likely meet in Abuja before addressing us,” said one of the aspirants.
Another aspirant lamented: “We are not even aware of the type of primary election they plan to conduct. We have not seen any guidelines or timetable, and that is the major issue with the APC in Anambra State.”
At the Labour Party headquarters in Awka, no officials were available to comment on the Saturday primary election, which features only two aspirants: Chief George Moghalu, who recently defected from the APC, and John Nwosu.
However, the Public Relations Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Anambra State, Ugoma Lechukwu, confirmed receipt of notice letters from the three political parties, saying that the commission has been duly informed about the upcoming primary elections.
“Yes, we are aware of the primary elections to be conducted by the three political parties, and we are set to attend and monitor the process,” she said.
