From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
Less than two months to the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State, the political atmosphere in the state, at the moment, does not really depict one where an all important election would be taking place soon.
Unlike the experiences in the previous governorship polls in the state when the political climate was usually charged, it seems that the political parties that fielded candidates in the upcoming election are not really sure of what the future holds for them.
As at the time of filing this report this weekend, there has not been any open campaign in any of the 21 local government areas of the state by any of the political parties that fielded candidates for the election.
Rather, in what looks like a new strategy, political parties and their governorship candidates appear to have made social media their new campaign grounds.
Thus, in Anambra, the excitement and frenzy that usually come with the election year are yet to begin. Businessmen and women, including the ordinary people who usually expect every election year with joy because of the brisk businesses they make at the campaign grounds are now grumbling.
Some use the opportunities provided by elections, especially a governorship poll, to get contracts to supply certain campaign materials in the past.
For example, some merchants may have bought brooms in large quantities hoping to sell them to the All Progressives Congress (APC) members and their supporters. In like manner, some might have also placed tender to produce umbrellas for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with their colour design on it, among others.
However, Sunday Sun checks revealed that a number of factors have contributed to politicians in Anambra State to be lying low.
Some people claimed that it could be because of the nefarious activities of gunmen who have killed many people in the state, mostly security operatives.
Some others suggested that the non-commencement of open campaigns in the state might have to do with the incessant sit-at-home orders often issued by the leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Whichever way, the reasons may not entirely be far from these. Particularly, the activities of gunmen have been a source of great concern to the people of Anambra State. Also, the incessant IPOB’s sit-at-home orders may have worsened the situation.Also, investigation showed that there is this fear by some politicians that one of the political parties was plotting to rig the election against the wishes of the people.
Those who nurse this fear of suspected rigging plot, therefore, believe that spending their hard earned money on elaborate campaigns might be a waste of resources.
Already, the APC and some other parties have traded words in the media over the alleged rigging plot. They accused the APC of plotting to foist their candidate on the people even when, according to them, he was not popular.
For example, the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) recently raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the APC to rig the November 6 election.
Chairman of the party in the state, Mathias Aninwachukwu, during a stakeholders’ meeting of the party held in Nando, the hometown of their governorship candidate, Chief Nnamdi Nwawuo, in Anambra East Local Government Area, said that the party got the information from a former Senator from Kogi State.
“Something that happened to Imo State cannot happen in Anambra, whether Andy Uba or not. If God says it is Andy Uba, so be it, but in terms of rigging the election, there is no way we will allow that to happen.
“Let the people that feel that they can use federal might, let them not try it. Let them not try it at all because Ndi Anambra are ready to fight it to the last. We will make sure that any party that genuinely wins the election shall be announced the winner not by rigging.
“But it cannot happen in Anambra because we are ready for them in any way they want it; unless they don’t need peace anymore in this country. Let’s allow the person the people want in Anambra to take over from Governor Willie Obiano”, Aninwachukwu said.
But the APC dismissed PRP, describing it as an unknown party that exists only on paper. It said that PRP’s allegations were empty talks designed to gain cheap publicity.
Coordinator of Andy Uba’s Media Office, Arinze Igboeli, in his reaction, told Ndi-Anambra not to withdraw their “massive support for Uba” and his party, the APC, because of PRP’s wild allegation.
“Is that party even recognized? Is it in existence? Does it have structures on ground? How will a party like PRP without structures; a party that only exists only on paper accuse the APC of planning to rig?
“They know that the APC is going to win this election. They know it; they could feel it in the pulse of the people; and now they want to play to the gallery and accuse us of plotting to rig the election. Such things should not even be heard in the media”, Igboeli said.
As it concerns insecurity in the state, about 20 security operatives including the police, the navy and the Nigeria Correctional Service personnel have been killed from February to date.
Just recently, precisely on September 10, gunmen killed the former traditional ruler of Mkpunando community in Aguleri, Chief Alex Edozieuno, near Ezu Bridge, Otuocha in Anambra East Local Government Area of the state.
Edozieuno was one of the 12 monarchs suspended last year by Governor Willie Obiano for visiting President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja with Prince Arthur Eze, an international oil mogul. He was subsequently dethroned by the governor.
The former monarch, 62, was killed alongside his driver, Chukwuemeka, around 10:00a.m. It was not clear what led to his assassination.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, confirmed the ugly incident; describing it as man’s inhumanity to man.
He said that the new Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Tony Olofu, has ordered immediate investigation into the incident.
But the tragic death of the deposed monarch sparked controversy in the state; leading to a media war between the APC and the APGA.
While the former accused the latter of sponsoring hoodlums terrorising the state, APGA fired back, saying that it has a record of APC’s violent activities in the state.
Director General of Andy Uba Campaign Council, Paul Chukwuma, and the state chairman of the party, Basil Ejidike, at a press conference in Awka, the state capital, labelled Edozieuno’s killing as a politically motivated one.
They said that the deposed monarch was murdered not long after he publicly joined their party, the APC; saying that there was more to it than meets the eye.
It insisted that APGA and some officials of the state government would need to explain to the Anambra people what happened to the late monarch.
The APC exonerated IPOB from the criminal activities in the state, alleging that the APGA government has been sponsoring hoodlums terrorising the state.
The party seemed to suggest that the alleged hoodlums were already being deployed by APGA to muzzle political opponents as November 6 draws near.
Chukwuma said: “We have had instances where criminals under the watch of the state government will go and cause havoc and they will turn around to blame IPOB.
“I want to use this opportunity to make it clear that we must distinguish and differentiate criminals from genuine IPOB members who are agitating for one thing or the other.
“The people in charge of APGA in this state have also boasted that they are in charge of the security apparatus in this state. They have boasted that they can do anything they like and a federal lawmaker boasted that no party, especially the APC, should be allowed to campaign in Anambra.
“My question now is: what are our security agencies doing? Do they want to wait until all of us are killed before investigations on these issues crystallize?”
The APC state chairman, Ejidike, on his part added that “there have been threats; serious threats from Obiano’s administration.”
But the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment in the state, C. Don Adinuba, described the allegations as baseless.
Adinuba said that APGA has a record of APC members’ violent activities in the state.
“Some people with a notorious record of violence will be accusing us of violence. All the people accused of killing the Igwes – the lawyer and his wife, are today in APC; whether they’re responsible for the deaths of Igwe and his wife I don’t know.
“But they’re believed to have killed them. All of them are in APC today. The people accused of killing a musician from Ekwulummili, they’re in APC”, the Commissioner claimed.
However, some of the party leaders in the state have given reasons they have not started open campaigns.
In separate chats with Sunday Sun, the party stalwarts summarily said that they were trying to make adequate preparations.
Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr Webster Okonkwo, told Sunday Sun that his party and its candidate, Chief Obinna Uzo, are making preparations to flag off their campaigns.
Okonkwo, however, blamed insecurity in the country, saying that it has changed a lot of things including how political parties approach electoral campaigns.
“The security situation in the Southeast in particular and the country in general is actually trying to reset our electoral process. Maybe at the end of this electoral season, the whole electoral process would have been changed so that campaign now will not be something that is done in the open, but something that is done behind the scene.
“And then you have pockets of individuals coming together to discuss politics and then do their campaign. It will not all be that type of jamboree where people converge on a stadium or a big field to start chanting party songs and things like that.
“I think we may eventually be seeing serious changes in our electoral process caused by this insecurity and maybe, the threats of IPOB. You can’t take IPOB for granted.
“The situation in Nigeria today calls for changes in the way we do things; and I think the Anambra election is the starting point of that change”, Okonkwo said.
But APGA holds a different opinion. The Secretary of the party in the state, Anthony Ifeanya, a lawyer, said that Anambra remained the safest state in the country.
“IPOB has nothing to do with that because their sit-at-home is only on Mondays. It cannot be a reason we have not started our campaign”, he said.
He said that the party was preparing to commence open campaigns that would take them to all the local government areas in the state, disclosing that already, the party has started sharing shuttle buses to the 326 wards in the state.
“We are doing what we should do as a party that is on ground. We have started sharing shuttle buses to the chairmen of the 326 wards in the state which no other party has done and which no other party is ready to do.
“We are waiting to flag off in a very big way. That should be around 25th of this month. It could have taken place, but we shifted it. APGA is on ground; anytime, any day”, Ifeanya said.
On its part, the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) said that it would commence campaigns as soon as it concludes its ongoing inauguration of Local Government Area Campaign Councils.
Publicity Secretary of the party’s Campaign Council, Afam Dozie Ofomata, told Sunday Sun that the party and its governorship candidate, Dr Obiora Okonkwo, are making strategic plans and that they would soon flag off their campaigns.
“Every party has their own strategy. What we started was the inauguration of the local government campaign councils. We are already campaigning, but it’s not open the way you described it.
“When we round off, then we take off. We have started campaigns, but not open campaigns; so to say. As soon as we finish our LGA inaugurations next weekend, we’ll start”, Ofomata said.
The APC said that it would be flagging off its campaigns next week Saturday. Coordinator of Andy Uba Media Office, Arinze Igboeli, told Sunday Sun that the party shifted the date from this week’s Saturday to the next because of a little challenge.
“We are trying to ensure that everybody is in line with the campaign. We are supposed to have started this Saturday, unfortunately, there were some logistics issues, not finances, which we needed to solve.
“So, the campaign flag off has been shifted to next week Saturday to enable us ensure that we have a mother of all flag offs in the history of political campaigning in Anambra to show you the popularity of our candidate”, Igboeli said.