By Okey Maduforo Awka
An estimated thirty four persons are currently jostling for the Running Mate tickets of political parties contesting for the November 8th gubernatorial election in Anambra state.
This is also coming as leaders of the Roman Catholic and Anglican church in the state are set to determine the fate of the gubernatorial candidates in the coming election.
Aside the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA and the Young Progressive Party YPP other political parties are yet to produce the Running Mates of their candidates a development that is currently brewing crisis in those parties.
Gov Charles Soludo of APGA re chose the Deputy Governor Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim while Sir Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressive Party YPP chose the Deputy Chief Of Staff to former governor Willie Obiano as Running Mate .
Deepening the choice of Running Mate us the alleged insistence by some church leaders and members that the position be shared among the Roman Catholic and Anglican church denomination as a balancing process.
Gov Charles Soludo belongs to the Roman Catholic church while his Running Mate Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim is an Anglican and younger brother to the Anglican Arch Bishop of Awka Diocese while Sir Paul Chukwuma is a Roman Catholic Knight and his Running Mate Uzuegbunam Okagbue is an Anglican.
A source close to the All Progressives Congress APC confirmed that it’s gubernatorial candidate Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu a former Anglican and now a member of the Pentecostal denomination is seriously shopping for a Roman Catholic or an Anglican as Running Mate.
“We have a problem here our candidate Ukachukwu is divided between chosing a Roman Catholic or an Anglican as Running Mate and this is where we are now and the Running Mate must come from Anambra Central Senatorial District ” he said.
It was equally gathered that a former National Assembly member from Anambra Central Senatorial District who incidentally is a Catholic has been under pressure to accept to be Running Mate to Ukachukwu but as at the time of this report it is not clear the turn of events while talks are still on with the former Ambassador to Burundi also from Anambra Central District .
For the People’s Democratic Party PDP the weather is not clear the in house hose trading in the party as it is still being speculated that there may be substitution of candidate before the choice of a Running Mate.
However the Labor Party candidate Chief George Moghalu has stated that his party has imputes to make over the choice of a Running Mate adding that the denomination and Senatorial District of his Running Mate would not be an issue.
Meanwhile the gubernatorial election campaigns have moved to the churches as countless of candidates have been frequenting the Roman Catholic and Anglican Bishops of Awka , Onitsha, Nnewi seeking the support of the church.
Similarly the Pentecostal churches are not left out in this campaign as most crusades have in attendance gubernatorial candidates of the parties.
