•APC, PDP, APGA trade words
Governor Willie Obiano’s second term quest ruffles the political landscape of Anambra State even as the ballot is still about two and a half years away.
Suspicion and accusations are in the air four weeks after the Willie Obiano Support Group was launched in Awka ostensibly to a prelude to the formation of his campaign structure.
Both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have held separate meetings in Abuja, Awka, and Owerri to fashion out how to filibuster Obiano early.
PDP alleges misappropriation of N75b
A source at the meeting convened by PDP leaders in Abuja disclosed that “they are uncomfortable with the campaign of calumny peddled by Obiano’s aides against the PDP.
“They even accused him of playing to the gallery with the three fly-overs being constructed in Awka which they described as a conduit pipe for the monumental fraud being committed by him under the guise of infrastructural development.
“Also at the meeting, the PDP leaders looked into the N75 billion handed over to Obiano by his predecessor, Peter Obi, which they accused him of misappropriating and using to buy personal properties in Nigeria and abroad.
“They would soon go public with what they called the midterm probe of Obiano.”
The source said the PDP state congress in Awka in July “was aimed at fine tuning the party structure in preparedness for a full showdown with the APGA (All Progressives Grand Alliance) government.”
Former Information Commissioner, Joe Uzodike, who was sacked by Obiano as Political Adviser, told TheNiche that Obiano cannot win a second term ambition and APGA may not even give him the ticket – an argument dismissed by APGA National Chairman, Victor Oye.
Said Uzodike: “I know about the Obiano Support Group. While I was there as a Political Adviser I structured that body but the hawks around him conspired to stop it. After I left due to the actions of the same cabal, they went ahead to launch it.
“What has he done to merit a second term? Who will give him a second term? Not even his political party. We in the PDP are taking over and we are returning to Government House, Awka.
“Obiano is under bondage and I have my fears if he can pull himself out of their stronghold. Quite frankly, he is a good person. We schooled together at Christ the King Catholic College, Onitsha.
“But with what is going on now, I wonder if he can survive this till the end of his first term.
“Our next gubernatorial candidate will come from Anambra South Senatorial Zone because Anambra Central was there for 11 years. We may also go to Anambra North where Obiano comes from, depending on the basketing and framework of our PDP stakeholders.
“But in the case of the incumbent coming back, I think they are dreaming.”
APGA kicks
Oye countered that the dream of the PDP of returning to Government House would be a nightmare.
“The essence of launching the Willie Obiano Support Group is because he has done well. Look at projects all over the state,” Oye pointed out.
“Other states in the country, including APC and PDP states, are owing salaries but here in Anambra, where APGA is in charge, we are paying as at when due and we have also increased workers’ salaries.
“Who says Obiano cannot go for a second term? He is coasting home in the next election in Anambra State.
“Those cavorting and dreaming of the PDP returning to Government House will meet their waterloo. They will certainly have a nightmare.
“Even those who were with us in APGA before and are now in the PDP cannot succeed in their so-called plot. Anambra is APGA and the PDP crisis cannot end. The APC is non existent in Anambra State.
“The two parties lost in the House of Assembly election, with the PDP having only two seats while our great party has 28 seats.”
Oye argued that with APGA’s political structure “firmly on the ground” it is a no win situation for both the PDP and the APC, and by the end of Obiano’s first tenure nobody will be talking about those parties.
“Some people who left us are trying to come back. You know those I am talking about. They are all welcome but they must show sufficient remorse before we can accept them; and when they come they will simply fall into line.”
Obiano recently announced that if Obi wants to return to APGA from the PDP, he will be welcomed.
APC lampoons ‘cheap talk’
However, state APC Secretary, Chukwuma Agufugo, described APGA’s position as cheap talk because it is too early to talk of Obiano’s second term.
His words: “Talking is cheap and people are free to say whatever they want. It is not up to two months and APGA is talking about second term.
“What has Obiano done so far to merit a second term? We already have a team and a think thank understudying what he is doing in terms of infrastructural development, and at the appointed time we shall come up with our report.
“It is on record that despite the cash crunch in the country, Obiano collects N800 million monthly as security vote and there is nothing to show for it.
“Let us compare him with the regime of our leader, Senator Chris Ngige, and you will agree with me that Obiano has done nothing to warrant his re-election.
“Within two months, the APC government in Nigeria has done so much and we are now doing bailouts for state governments to pay salaries.
“We remain the party to beat in Anambra State.”
Get cracking, or else…
Former House of Assembly member and a chieftain of the APC, Okonkwo Okom, told TheNiche that “this is a show of desperation by the APGA government. Obiano has to hit the ground running and prove to Anambra people that he deserves a second tenure.
“If he starts to talk about a second term now he will practically do nothing in office and that would be very easy for the APC to push him out.
“We in the APC are not interested in fighting Obiano, but if he chooses to abdicate his duty as a Governor, he will have himself to blame.”