By Okey Maduforo Awka.
The contest for the candidacy of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA ahead of Anambra South Senatorial District primary election has finally been narrowed down to three aspirants led by CEO and Chairman of Sea Horse Chief Ebuka Onunkwo.
With this development all eyes are on Gov Charles Soludo to decide among the three aspirants who would become the candidate of APGA in the coming by election for Anambra South Senatorial District.
At what appears to be Electoral College primary election conducted by Gov Charles Soludo where six out of the seven local government party Chairmen voted , Onunkwo pulled three votes , Paschal Agbodike got two votes while Emma Nwachukwu scored one vote but the chairman of Orumba North local government didn’t participate in the election.
Recall that Gov Charles Soludo had advised the six aspirants for the primary election to go into conclave to nominate one among them as the candidate of the party in the July by election which party members are still awaiting the outcome of the meeting.
Before the Electoral Collage primary election of the party Council Chairmen, Paschal Agbodike had presented a resolution claiming to have been signed by the seven party Chairmen that he has been endorsed but Gov Charles Soludo insisted that the Chairmen should repeat the primary election before him
The Governor last night called a meeting of the aspirants for the vacant Anambra South senatorial district seat.
Also invited to the meeting were the seven local government chairmen of the party in the senatorial district and the seven executive Mayors
The Governor in the bid a to remove rancour and encourage the Igbo spirit of” Be Your Brother’s Keeper ” in the process, leading to the emergence of a candidate that will fly the flag of the party to complete the tenure of late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah.
The aspirants were asked to vote for any of their fellow aspirants apart from themselves.
The result of that voting was that the aspirants got one vote each, apart from Hon Agbodike, who got none. Emma Nwachukwu got two votes.
It became the turn of the local government party Chairmen and local government Mayors to vote but on of the Mayors was unavoidably absent hence thirteen persons voted .
At the end of voting, Chief Ebuka Onunkwo won by garnering five votes followed by Hon Agbodike with four votes, Emma Nwachukwu got two votes and Mr Orajiaka got two Votes as well.
When the two processes were added to the aspirant’s voting exercise, Chief Ebuka Onunkwo led the process with six votes in total
The voting by the local government Chairmen and party Chairmen merely confirms what is already common knowledge in the party who the candidate for the by election would be.
It was also resolved that the successful candidate will not be eligible to contest the election in 2027 as the solution Governor intends to officially commence zoning arrangements within the senatorial district.
In response Gov Charles Soludo said that with the outcome of the primary election, he would use it as a working document for the party to finally nominate who would be the candidate of APGA for Anambra South Senatorial District by election
Consequent upon this development other aspirants such as Patrick Ubajiaka, Hon Chuka Mouma , Akai Egwuonwu appears to have been systematically eliminated from the contest as well as three other aspirants who had at the close of purchase of nomination forms joined the race.
However a source close to the seat of power at the Government House Awka noted that the governor might also jettison the three top aspirants and chose from the other aspirants that could not make it to the top three.
“It is not a finality because Mr Governor may decide to chose from those who couldn’t make the best three but it is may not be likely since the entire process happened before him ”
“Only the Governor knows the last card to play and he has it close to his chest and you cannot predict what he is going to do next ” the source stated.
