Jonathan Backs Soludo For Anambra Guber Polls

By MAXWELL ODITTA


If feelers from the Presidency are anything to go by, the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra State would retain the governorship seat in the state in the election slated for this October.

In the intricate political trappings, former Central Bank Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, is said to have been pencilled down to contest under the banner of APGA, and he would be supported by the political machine of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Soludo, a new defector to APGA, was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra 2010 election. He finished third in that contest behind Governor Peter Obi of APGA and Dr. Chris Ngige of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

However, as in 2010, Soludo is said to be the favoured candidate of President Jonathan. He is said to have been encouraged by the president and his wife, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, to pitch tent with APGA since the sitting governor, Obi, is outgoing.

This political underplay is said to be against the backdrop of reports available to top political associates of President Jonathan and the Wadata House, the PDP National Secretariat, that the ruling party in the country is no longer popular in Anambra State because of a decade-long leadership crisis in the state chapter of the party which has attracted multiple court cases.

Though the crisis appears to have been largely resolved, the party is still bifurcated along the lines of loyalty to the two contending state chairmen of the party.

“The activities of the Ubas, especially Chief Chris Uba who unleashed mayhem on the state capital, Awka, in 2004 and 2005, have not endeared the PDP to the people of the state. Today, Chris’ big brother Emmanuel Nnamdi (Andy) is a governorship aspirant of the PDP and there is serious doubt that he would emerge victorious at the close of day,” said a PDP source.

Daily News watch learnt that unless for last minute manoeuvring against him, Andy Uba is likely to emerge the flag-bearer of the PDP in the state governorship election.

Andy Uba, a former Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to Obasanjo, is said to have been favoured to fly the PDP flag in Anambra guber contest as part of an earlier rapprochement between President Jonathan and Obasanjo.

Uba and 16 other aspirants, including perennial contestants, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu and Dr. Alex Obiogbolu, were cleared by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) to contest the governorship primaries of the party.

Uba, whose election on PDP platform in April 2007 was nullified by the Supreme Court in Obi’s tenure interpretation case, was denied the PDP governorship ticket in 2010. He vied on the platform of Labour Party, while Soludo was the PDP candidate.

The biggest headache now for the highly influential Uba brothers, especially Andy, is how to upstage APGA in the governorship duel, with the recent reconciliation of Governor Obi and the APGA National Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh.

The Jonathan circle, it was learnt, sold the choice of Soludo to Umeh, Obi and wife of late Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, who is Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain. However, Soludo himself played very important role in the reconciliation of Obi and Umeh.

Indeed, Soludo is not without opponents in APGA, notwithstanding the affirmation of his candidature by the president’s circle. His most credible adversary is Prince John Emeka, a former senator and one-time Minister of State for Transport who hails from Anambra North, from where Obi has always said the next governor would emerge. Another such opponent is the House of Representatives member, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, a thorough-going grassroots political crusader.

But Daily News watch learnt that the fear in APGA circles is that should Soludo emerge as governor, he might ultimately decamp to the PDP, to support Jonathan’s re-election bid.

But a member of the APGA NWC debunked this, saying: “What the Presidency is trying to do is reward Obi and Umeh for their loyalty by leaving them with the control of their home state. Unless you were endorsed by Obi and Umeh, it would be difficult for you to emerge in APGA or even win the governorship. Soludo has joined APGA for good and he would be no-one’s surrogate.”