“Anambra State appears to be on the brink of bidding farewell to APGA after nearly two decades.” —Ebuka Onyekwelu
The inauguration of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission – ANSIEC, by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, signaled full preparation for the conduct of the Local Government Election in Anambra State for the first time in ten years. The six-member Commission, with two persons each from the three senatorial zones, now has the mandate to fix a date and conduct the local government election for Anambra State in the coming months. But there is more. With the leadership change in APGA which persists still, what is certain is that Chief Edozie Njoku’s led APGA which remains the legitimate APGA leadership, is yet to resolve differences with Governor Soludo. What then does this portend for the coming local government election in Anambra State, the governor and APGA?
First of all, despite being the ruling party, APGA’s participation in the local government election from that vantage position is uncertain. In other words, Governor Soludo’s support for APGA in that election is unclear and would remain so as long as Chief Edozie Njoku is recognized as the National Chairman of the party. This exacerbates the existing de-motivation of sorts in APGA under Governor Soludo. To this end, not only is there little doubt that the governor who is the National Leader of APGA will support the party in the local government election, the party is equally not prepared for the election. The import of the development is that it waters the ground for the governor’s eventual use of another political party to run for his reelection bid in 2025. The implication is that Governor Soludo might have perfected plans to seek refuge in another political party and use the local government election to test the political waters, ahead of his reelection bid in 2025.
If that were not the case, there is no plausibility in setting up full machinery to conduct a local government election where the governor practically speaking has no platform or at best a shaking platform. If Governor Soludo is still stuck with APGA, his best bet would be to negotiate with Njoku and resolve the APGA leadership impasse. Subsequently, although it is said that politics is an art of the possible, in this particular case, Chief Edozie Njoku’s led APGA can’t work closely with Governor Soludo who has not acknowledged him as the new National Chairman of the party. Given this background, it is likewise impossible for the duo to work towards harmonizing a list of APGA candidates for the twenty-one local government areas in Anambra State, for the local government election that the governor is busy preparing.
Therefore, while the governor is making an impression by conducting the local government election for the first time in ten years, he will also be making a name as perhaps, the last APGA governor given the glaring options he is bound to go with, in the coming local government election. The option of using the state apparatuses to support another political party to win the election will be the beginning of the end of APGA in Anambra State and it is still vague where that option will lead to in the next year’s governorship election. But for sure, if the governor remains unable to upturn the current leadership in APGA, his chances of winning the next governorship election in Anambra State on a new platform is to be modest, further unclear. This is for so many reasons. Among other reasons, any party the governor might support in the local government election he is planning will not be subjected to real political tests. For instance, there might not be any serious primary election that will produce the governor’s preferred candidates for the exercise. There will surely be no level playing field for other political parties. Also, the candidates in the Governor’s adopted party might not be the preferred choice of voters in their local governments. Again, in no uncertain terms, the governor might be able to pull through and ensure that they are returned, but in a real political contest like his reelection bid, such a “head start” would amount to absolutely no advantage.
In the end, as Anambra state gears up for local government election, even if a mere formality or selection of the governor’s preferred choices; the state is also preparing to begin a gradual farewell to APGA either way, after eighteen years. Except Governor Soludo can remove Chief Edozie Njoku as the APGA National Chairman and reinstall Barr. Sly Ezeokenwa; since he is unable to discuss and reach a common ground with Chief Njoku
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