•APGA set to crown Umeh senator, make another history 
By Okey Maduforo (Correspondent, Awka)
At last the people of Anambra Central Senatorial District can now enjoy physical representation at the senate chambers following the planned re-run election to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Presently the people of the zone are in high spirit ahead of the election, ready to elect their own senator after barely three years their seat at the National Assembly has been vacant.
It would be recalled that the Appeal Court in Enugu had in a judgment in 2015 ruled that Senator Uche Ekwunife, then of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), was not properly elected, nullified the poll that brought her to the senate and ordered for a re-run.
Since the Appeal Court judgment, the seat of the senatorial District has remained vacant, no thanks to the litany of litigations at the respective courts of law by interested parties demanding the non-conduct of the re-run.
One of such cases was the one in December 2017 by a Federal High Court filed by Chief Obiora Okonkwo who said he was the rightful person to have stood for the election and not Ekwunife.
A Federal High court had asked the INEC to declare Okonkwo as the winner in the election which he did not stand for on the basis that he was to be the rightful PDP candidate for the election.
Before the judgment in the Okonkwo’s case, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced that it would conduct a re-run in the Anambra Central zone on January 13, 2018 based on the judgement of the Appeal Court, the final arbiter in matters of election as they concern the senate.
The confusion that trailed the Federal High Court judgment in the Okonkwo case included another matter filed at a Federal High Court, Abuja where he urged the court to grant an order restraining INEC from conducting the re-run this Saturday. There is another suit praying the court to allow all the political parties to participate in the exercise including the PDP which the Appeal court had earlier bared from participating.
Unfortunately, the High Court could not grant the plaintiffs’ prayers as the presiding judge returned the suit, insisting he is a vacation judge and does not have the power to entertain the matter.
Going by the judgment of the Appeal Court only the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will not take part in this Saturday election, but the All Progressive Congress (APC) would however not take part in the election since its candidate Senator Chris Ngige declined to be part of the exercise.
Consequent upon this development, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Chief Victor Umeh appears to be the only top contender to the Senatorial seat and it is widely believed that the former National Chairman of APGA would emerge victorious.
Umeh was instrumental to the nullification of the 2015 Anambra Central senatorial election based on its invalidity and has patiently waded through the courts – High, Appeal and Supreme courts – to prove his case.
Having seen the hand writing on the wall, the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), a body of political parties in the state led by Bart Igwedibia that had earlier hailed the Federal High Court judgment in favour of Okonkwo, has made a volt face, supporting INEC’s constitutional right to conduct a re-run election.
“It is sad that Anambra Central Senatorial Zone has practically lost out in-terms of Senatorial Representation and it does not mean well for our state. We urge the INEC to conduct a free fair and credible election for us to have effective representation in the Senatorial Zone.
“We urge our members who are chairmen and secretaries of the 14 political parties to field candidates for this Saturday election in Anambra Central.”
Meanwhile, members of APGA in Anambra cannot wait to roll out their festive drums after the election as they await the first elected senator from their party at the National Assembly.
National Publicity Secretary of APGA, Ifeatu Obiokoye told TheNiche that: “Aside from APGA being a political party that has the interest and welfare of Ndigbo at heart, the man Victor Umeh would certainly make the difference in the senate. APGA has always clamoured for a strong voice that will ventilate the feelings of Nigerians and Umeh is the voice.
“This would also be the plat form for re-lunching the party at the National Level. Umeh understands the party and he is a foundation member of the party and former National Chairman for more than 10 years.”
Obiokoye noted that, “for the informed people like us in Anambra Central Senatorial Zone we are ready to have a senator at that National Assembly so that we can attract the federal presence to our zone.”
So far APGA has two seats at the Federal House of the Representatives occupied by Dozie Nwankwo of Anaocha, Dunikofia, Njikoka Federal Constituency and Gabriel Onyenwife of Oyi-Ayamelum Constituency.
Apparently excite by planned conduct of the re-run Governor Willie Obiano at a campaign rally for Umeh in Awka North and Awka South Local Government Areas explained that “we are sure that APGA would have a seat at the senate chambers and that also tells you what would happen in 2019 General Election.”
“Our party would expand to other states in Nigeria or at least the South East and you can agree with me that in the next eight years the party would be larger and stronger,” the governor said.
