Two days after the stipulated date for party primary elections expired ahead of the November 8th gubernatorial election in Anambra State, the All Progressives Congress (APC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Labour Party (LP) are all facing cracks within their ranks.
Confirming these cracks is the mass defection of APC members to the Young Progressive Party (YPP), who alleged irregularities in the conduct of the party primary election that led to the emergence of Nicholas Ukachukwu as the APC candidate.
Recently, no fewer than six APC Local government party Chairmen resigned from the party.
In Nnewi South LGA, several APC stakeholders and leaders also resigned. In Njikoka LGA, specifically Nimo ward, almost all the executive members of the party have resigned.
The Anambra State APC in Ihiala, Ogbaru, Oyi, Anambra East, and Dunukofia, among others, may collapse completely, with both LGA and ward officers leaving the party.
Ralph Okeke, a former member of the House of Representatives and a former member of the APC Board of Trustees, resigned from the APC to join the YPP, where he has now become a member of the YPP’s Board of Trustees.
Similarly, Mike Ejezie, an APC stakeholder in Ihiala and a former State Chairman of the ANPP, left the APC and was appointed as the YPP’s Southeast Zonal Chairman.
Jude Osude, from the Aguata local government chapter of the APC, also resigned.
While defections continue in the APC, the candidate of the PDP, Jude Ezenwafor, who was the only aspirant before the party’s primary election, is under intense pressure to hand over the party’s ticket to one of the frontline contenders who lost their party primaries.
Although the names are being kept secret, it was gathered that the pressure is coming from three aspirants who have been meeting with top PDP chieftains and urging Ezenwafor to bow to their demands.
When contacted, Ezenwafor stated that he remains the candidate of the party and had no intention of handing over his ticket during the substitution of candidates.
“I remain the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and I am contesting to win. Nobody has approached me about this, and whoever is telling you this is just being funny because they know me. No amount of inducements can make me change my mind,” he said.
“Where were those people when I bought the nomination forms, went for the primary election, and ultimately became the candidate of the party?” he asked.
Meanwhile, in the Labour Party, there is a different issue altogether, following the alleged conduct of another primary election.
Members of the party are alleging that there are plots to distract their candidate, George Moghalu, from focusing on the election.
According to Emeka Nwuche, a chieftain of the Labour Party: “This planned blackmail is coming from the ruling APGA government, which is uncomfortable with the clout and status of our party and our candidate, George Moghalu.
“Another arm of the blackmail is from the APC, a party known for producing candidates in the most undemocratic manner. We’ve learned that people are abandoning the party in droves, and they have resorted to all manner of blackmail.
“But you all know that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has enlisted the name of George Moghalu as our candidate, not the interlopers who have been parading themselves as candidates,” he said.
