Politics
Experts Named Key Issues to Influence Governorship Elections in Anambra State
A not-for-profit research group — the Centre for Democracy and Development — has revealed a special report dedicated to the upcoming election is Anambra State.
The experts named the main key issues, which can resolve the elections in the state, which will take place in November 2017.
The key issues are power rotation, godfatherism, intra-party disagreements, and the campaigning for the breakaway of Biafra State.
Anambra State is traditionally considered the commercial, social, and economic center of the south-eastern region of Nigeria. That is why Governorship elections in Anambra State have always been burdened with controversies.
Experts of the Centre for Democracy and Development studied elections in the state starting from 1999. They concluded that together with the old-going conflicts, new and even more severe problems are now added to that dangerous political cocktail in the state.
Power rotation
The study says that the rotating of important political positions to various geographical locations within Anambra state is another key factor that may have an effect on the outcome of November elections. Such a zoning was the biggest political determinant in the state at the dusk of the tenure of the immediate past governor, Peter Obi.
The significance of zoning in the election is underlined by the fact that all the candidates of the three major competing parties in Anambra state (T. Nwoye – the All Progressives Congress, APC; Mr. Obiano – the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA; and Oseloka Obaze – the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP) represent the North of the State.
“No agreement has been officially made on zoning amongst different political parties. However, their leaders are supposed to be silently investigating the issue, each trying to zone the election of their candidates to Anambra north, – the report declared, – and it has already become clear from the finished primaries of the APC, PDP, and APGA, that the State election will be directly contested amongst the top-3 biggest parties and candidates from the Anambra North senatorial region. What will influence the final winner, will narrow down to zoning, religion, party affiliation, rural–urban base and federal power,” concluded the report authors.
Indigenous People of Biafra and the attempt to boycott the November Election
Political analysts are sure that the call of IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) to boycott the elections may be the key problem for the upcoming elections. The group had already declared that no elections in the state would be held by the time the government of the country agreed to the breakaway referendum in the state of Biafra.
According to the newly released report, such an active call for elections boycotting might immediately boost violence in the state, which could grow into the region militarization. Owing to this, people could get frightened. Therefore, the turn out will be low during the poll.
“Such a danger by the IPOB head may inspire fear in the voters’ minds who might not appear to vote on the day of the governorship election,” the authors of the report write. Moreover, the result of the turnout will definitely show the real level of Mr. Kanu’s influence and IPOB’s reputation in the south-east of Nigeria.
Intra-party conflict
At the same time as most important political parties in Anambra state are thinking about how to win the November election, their odds may be hindered by the unsettled intra-party crisis. According to the study, the catastrophe bedeviling the ruling APGA began just after the party’s National Executive Committee led by Martin Agbaso voted for no confidence in the party’s chairman, Ike Oye, and suspended him and two other national officers for misbehavior.
“The crisis keeps on being unsettled with two factions, led by Chief Martin Agbaso and Victor Oye. Each of them announces different dates for the primaries for the nomination of APGA candidate for the election. The primaries have finally been conducted, and candidates have come out with current Governor Willie Obiano,” the Centre for Democracy and Development`s report declared
Correspondingly, the discordant primary of the APC between Mr. Nwoye and Mr. Uba can negatively influence the party’s odds during the November election.
Is the Independent National Electoral Commission ready for the Elections?
The electoral commissioner for Anambra state, Nwachukwu Orji, should do his best to organize the election. Since July 7, 2017, he only has 130 days to make everything work properly during the elections. He has confessed recently that proper logistics was the fundamental trouble of INEC during the forthcoming elections. According to the report exports, it means that late commencement of voting and accreditation, and the delayed delivery of electoral materials may occur because of the poor logistics only.
Among the other INEC future problems are the multiplicity of candidates and voter registers, the threat of violence, and litigation.
The former two-term governor went down memory lane to recall how they founded the APC but were used and dumped.
In his words, “…those calling on us to join APC, we have agreed to join the APC but on clear agreement that protects and respects the interest of my party, NNPP and my political movement, Kwankwasiyya. No state where you go that you don’t have NNPP and Kwankwasiyya. We have gubernatorial candidates, senatorial candidates and others.
“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us.
“We were among the founding fathers of the APC and endured significant persecution from various security agencies while challenging the previous administration.
“Yet when the party assumed power, we received no recognition or appreciation for our sacrifices, simply because we didn’t originate from their original faction.
“We are not in a hurry to leave the NNPP; we are enjoying and have peace of mind. But if some want a political alliance that would not disappoint us like in the past, we are open to an alliance. Even if it is the PDP that realised their mistakes, let’s enter an agreement that will be made public,” Sen. Kwankwaso stated.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed long-standing claims that he once sought to extend his tenure in office, insisting he never pursued a third term.
Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Chief Obasanjo said there is no Nigerian, living or dead, who can truthfully claim he solicited support for a third term agenda.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” the former president declared.
Chief Obasanjo argued that he had proven his ability to secure difficult national goals, citing Nigeria’s debt relief during his administration as a much greater challenge than any third term ambition.
“I keep telling them that if I could get debt relief, which was more difficult than getting a third term, then if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he said.
He further cautioned against leaders who overstay in power, stressing that the belief in one’s indispensability is a “sin against God.”
On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan said any leader who failed to perform would be voted out of office if proper elections were conducted.
Describing electoral manipulation as one of the biggest threats to democracy in Africa, he said unless stakeholders come together to rethink and reform democracy, it may collapse in Africa.
He added that leaders must commit to the kind of democracy that guarantees a great future for the children where their voices matter.
He said: “Democracy in Africa continent is going through a period of strain and risk collapse unless stakeholders came together to rethink and reform it. Electoral manipulation remains one of the biggest threats in Africa.
“We in Africa must begin to look at our democracy and rethink it in a way that works well for us and our people. One of the problems is our electoral system. People manipulate the process to remain in power by all means.
“If we had proper elections, a leader who fails to perform would be voted out. But in our case, people use the system to perpetuate themselves even when the people don’t want them.
“Our people want to enjoy their freedoms. They want their votes to count during elections. They want equitable representation and inclusivity. They want good education. Our people want security. They want access to good healthcare. They want jobs. They want dignity. When leaders fail to meet these basic needs, the people become disillusioned.”
The dialogue was also attended by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto diocese of Catholic Church among others who all stressed that democracy in Africa must go beyond elections to include accountability, service, and discipline.
The Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu elapsed on Wednesday midnight.
President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule on September 17, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties on September 18.
The plenary was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The conference hall has served as the lawmakers’ temporary chamber since their official chamber at the assembly complex on Moscow Road was torched and later pulled down by the state government.
The outgone sole administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, could not complete the reconstruction of the assembly complex as promised.
Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the prolonged political standoff between Fubara and members of the House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
He subsequently suspended the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and lawmakers for six months and installed a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to manage the state’s affairs.
The decision sparked widespread controversy, with critics accusing the president of breaching the Constitution.
However, others hailed the move as a necessary and pragmatic step.
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