APC’s win in Anambra will reconnect South East to national political grid – Ganduje

• Anambra stakeholders meet with NWC

From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has claimed that the victory of the party in the November Anambra State off-cycle governorship election will reconnect the South East geopolitical zone to the national political grid.

Ganduje spoke during a peace and reconciliation meeting involving the National Working Committee (NWC), the seven screened and cleared governorship aspirants, members of the state executive, and other major stakeholders of the party in the state.

Speaking during the meeting, Ganduje emphasised that only unity among the aspirants and stakeholders can guarantee the ticket for the party, frowning at four political parties controlling the five states in the South East geopolitical zone.

He said: ‘A lot of pressure is going on; we have more states from the South East, that is a fact that must be admitted by everybody. But having five states controlled by four political parties is not good arithmetic.

‘Where is the unity when five states control four political parties? Where is the cooperation? Where is the political investment there? We have a company, a limited liability company, with many shareholders of almost equal shareholding. Who is the alpha and omega of the limited liability company? None.

‘So, you can see that the marginalisation starts at home due to lack of synergy, due to lack of cooperation. Luckily enough, we have two states for APC out of five, but still, we want to pick more, we want to get more.

‘As we have been saying, if not because the military came in 1983, your son, Alex Ekwueme, would have become the President of Nigeria in the NPN. He had a good relationship. If we get more, then the South East has a political investment where things will happen as they happened before. I was in politics even at that time; he had a good relationship with Shehu Shagari. There was high confidence in him, but the military came,’ he said.

Talking to the stakeholders, the APC chairman said: ‘What we are saying is that we need your cooperation. We, members of the National Working Committee, are just catalysts. Catalysts are not part of the chemical reaction, but we are catalysts.

‘We aid, we give an open environment so that the election, the action, will take proper shape. We are not fighting anybody among you. All we want is to have one of you that we can put forward.

‘We urge, we beg you: no litigation, no anti-party activities, no sitting on the fence, and no lukewarm attitude. All we require is your active participation. All of you will be gainers if we have an APC government in a number of states. You will be fixed to the national grid.

‘As we have been saying, you are now on rural electrification, which is a very weak link. So, help us to help you. You are all equal as far as we are concerned. You are all our children – all the aspirants. So, please, don’t have any stereotype about any of our members concerning this contest.

‘We are all for you. Once one of you emerges, we beg you to rally around him and become the foot soldiers so that we win this election. We don’t want the Andy Ubah episode,’ he warned.

The state chairman of the party, Basil Ejidike, equally pleaded for unity among the aspirants, expressing confidence in victory once the party organises a peaceful primary.