Ahead of the August 16 Anambra South Senatorial by-election, the state is set for epic battle over who replaces late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah. OKEY MADUFORO reports

At last, the long-awaited date for conduct of Anambra South Senatorial District by-election has been fixed for August 16, while the primary elections for nomination of candidates by the various political parties is scheduled for this month.

The schedule for the by-elections, which gave a timeline for conduct of primary elections has sealed agitations by candidates who contested the election with Ubah that there should not be fresh primary election and that they should automatically become candidates of their respective political parties.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had contended that with the conduct of the last general election which produced late Ubah the process is deemed to have been completed hence the need for fresh primaries.

The commission, however noted that if political parties chose to renominate the former candidates, it is an internal matter of those parties and INEC cannot interfere in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act. Before the announcement, about 20 aspirants have indicated interest to fly the flags of their respective parties.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) seem to have the highest number of Aspirants totalling eight, All Progressives Congress (APC) – three, Young Peoples Party (YPP) – three, Labour Party (LP) – one though more are being expected, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has one for now.

Anambra South Senatorial District is the zone of Governor Charles Soludo, which explains why the coming by-election would be a test of his popularity ahead of the November 8 gubernatorial election in state.

As expected, Soludo would want to prove to his traducers that he is on ground, while his opponents would want to rock the boat to prove the point the governor is not in charge of the political space and ultimately weaken his support base.

Other political parties like the APC and LP would also use the election to weigh their chances in the gubernatorial election. However, such cannot be said of the PDP, which is fast becoming a ghost of itself given the way most of their chieftains are leaving the due to the unending leadership crisis in the party.

Even the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Jude Ezenwafor, is not campaigning ahead of the November poll and there has not been any rally or meetings held by the party in the last four months.

LP, on its part, appears to be mending fence though its internal crisis persists, while the YPP is still grappling with the lost of its candidate and winner of the 2023 election, Ubah, who before his death, joined the APC.

As it stands, APGA would be the focus during primary elections given the number of aspirants interested in the party ticket, while those of the other parties would likely be mere formalities.

For the APC it is between Azuka Okwuosa and Dozie Ikedife , Labour Party has Chuma Nzeribe, Action Alliance (AA) has Chijioke Onyekaonwu as the only candidate same with the PDP that has only Chief Chris Uba.

Out of seven known aspirants for the ticket of APGA, the contest is likely to be a three-horse race. Top among the contenders is Chief Ebuka Onunkwo (chairman and CEO of Sea Horse Lubricant ltd), who has been responsible for APGA’s stories of APGA in Anambra South Senatorial District.

Several political blocs have already collapsed their structures into the Onunkwo campaign organisation, which has been leaders of the in seven local government areas that make up Anambra South.

It is a public knowledge that from the days of Governors Peter Obi and Chief Willie Obiano to Soludo era, Onunkwo has been the face of APGA in Anambra South hence most party faithfuls see the primary election as pay back time for him.

Some members of the party are of the opinion that with Onunkwo as the candidate of the party, Governor Soludo should go to sleep, knowing that his senatorial district is in safe hands.

For Chris Azubogu, who was APGA’s candidate during the 2023 election, his failed bid to get the party shelve a fresh primary may likely affect his chances as he does not have the time to campaign to the delegates.

Another aspirant and the current member representing Ihiala Federal Constituency, Hon. Paschal Agbodike, on his part, is under pressure from party members to jettison his ambition and focus on his current position as his emergence as a senator would lead to another vacancy, which may take about a year for INEC to conduct a by-election to fill it.

The duo of Akai Egwuonwu and Emma Nwachukwu will battle with divided votes from their Nnewi South Local Government Area first before moving to the other six council areas just as Patrick Ubajiaka will slug it out with Chris Azubogu in Nnewi North Local.

While there is no doubt that the likes of the National Chairman of APGA, Barr Sylvester Ezeokenwa and the state chairman of the party, Barr Ifeatu Obi-Okoye must be on a hot seat at the moment, their predicament is deepened by the silence of Governor Soludo over his preferred candidate.

The governor is insisting that all the aspirants are his friends hence there should be a contest and that the winner would be supported by the party.