“Labour Party, regrettably has not grown beyond the spontaneity of its 2023 outing.” —Ebuka Onyekwelu
As of today, Anambra State has been unfortunate with credible opposition political parties and this is a longstanding problem that has become inimical to competitive politics in the State. The People’s Democratic Party – PDP, in Anambra State, for instance, has almost gone into extinction; a former ruling political party in the state whose ticket was synonymous with election victory at the polls.
Today, the party is in its worst position since 1999. For the first time in Anambra, the PDP has no member in the National Assembly and only one member in the State Assembly. Ahead of the November 8 Anambra governorship election, the PDP has not shown to be in any serious position for the contest. Therefore, it has completely lost its place as an opposition political party in Anambra. The worst is the party can’t make claims to serious membership in Anambra today. Summarily, the PDP in Anambra has suffered severe diminishing return and may not be revived.
Anambra APC is currently going through a terrible time, following a fallout from its governorship primary election. This is probably the worst the APC has experienced in Anambra. In fact, the APC has gone through a series of terrible seasons. First, it was called the “boko haram party” and enjoyed massive rejection by the people of Anambra State. But recent grassroots efforts championed by Sir Paul Chukwuma, managed to restore its glory days when it was Action Congress – AC and Action Congress of Nigeria – ACN. It must be recalled that AC and ACN were major political forces and were the opposition to both the PDP and later APGA in Anambra State before the APC came on board in 2013. In the last two years, the party has gone through some major reforms and grassroots revival that has increased the confidence of its members and gave the party some level of acceptance. However, with the party’s primary about two weeks ago, the APC has lost substantial goodwill from its members, hundreds of whom have resigned their membership from the party. Therefore, as of today, the APC is no longer a viable opposition in Anambra State. Given the level of rejection it has suffered from its members, stakeholders, and leaders, there is no way the party can survive that level of internal rejection and remain a force. Only a few months ago, the APC was the beautiful bride and the hallmark of an opposition party in Anambra State, attracting the best possible membership across various political parties. All that has now fizzled out, leaving the party probably worse than it was.
As for the Labour Party, regrettably, it has not grown beyond the spontaneity of its 2023 outing. Aside from the fact that LP in Anambra State has been unable to define its mandate as an opposition in the State, it has also failed to provide its platform as the alternative to Anambra voters. With no fewer than 8 LP members of the Anambra State House of Assembly, the highest number of opposition in the State Assembly in recent memory, yet, there is absolutely nothing to show for it. Not only that this has not translated to anything beneficial to the party in any way whatsoever, but it has also not benefited the Anambra State democratic space in terms of interrogation of government policies and other rudiments of competitive democracy. The LP has successfully been swallowed and appears even more like the ruling APGA than the APGA itself. Ultimately, the LP has failed to project itself as a viable alternative to Anambra voters. The worst is the ongoing national leadership tussle in the party which has created visible lines of divisions across the ranks of the party. As of now, both Chief George Moughalu and Hon. Jude Umennajiego, are parading as candidates of the party for the November governorship election in Anambra State. This doesn’t show any form of seriousness or readiness to compete against the ruling party.
From all accounts, the three political parties that otherwise would have constituted formidable opposition in Anambra State have all lost direction and are dealing with varying degrees of internal crises, while the PDP is hovering on the borderline of extinction. Without a doubt, the Anambra State political space requires a serious and focused opposition figure that will provide the people with an alternative. This is precisely where the YPP and Sir Paul Chukwuma come in and indeed, stand the chance of being that alternative required for robust competitive politics in Anambra State. This is so critical, much so that the need for opposition politics in Anambra State is beyond the November governorship election.
The people of Anambra State deserve to be provided with a credible alternative political platform and not be abandoned and left to go with APGA, even when desiring an alternative. When there is no credible alternative, the people are left with nothing but to remain with the known, even when it is undesirable.
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