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By Okey Maduforo

A reported plan by members of three major political parties to back the candidacy of Chief Ebuka Onunkwo of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is unsettling political calculations in Anambra South Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 National Assembly elections.

The anticipated protest vote is said to stem from what some party members describe as unjust treatment of Onunkwo during the last senatorial primary process of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Onunkwo had withdrawn from the 2025 by-election contest for the seat left vacant by the death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, reportedly under pressure, before what his supporters describe as being frustrated out of the party ahead of APGA’s most recent primary. He subsequently emerged as the NDC’s candidate.

According to reports, elements within APGA, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and remnants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are said to be lining up behind Onunkwo’s candidacy. The ADC is currently contending with litigation over its authentic candidate and the conduct of its primary election, while some APC members are reported to lack confidence in their own party’s candidate.

Chief Ignatius Ikechukwudere Nnubia, CEO of Nowas Oil and Gas Ltd and a leading stakeholder in Anambra South politics, told reporters that Onunkwo’s candidacy enjoys wide acceptability across party lines, with members of APGA, the PDP, and the APC reportedly rallying behind him regardless of his own party affiliation.

“At the moment the number of APGA members with him and supporting him; one wonders what is left of that party,” Nnubia said, adding that the contest would ultimately come down to a “game of numbers” in which voters would follow their conscience rather than party loyalty.

Nnubia argued that party affiliation was not a decisive factor in the race, saying voters were focused on what their representative could deliver rather than which platform he ran under, and predicted that the limits of incumbency would play a decisive role in the 2027 outcome.

APGA’s continuing strength in the district

Despite the reported defections and cross-party support building around Onunkwo, APGA remains a formidable political force in Anambra State generally and in Anambra South specifically. The party currently holds the Anambra South senatorial seat, having won the August 2025 by-election for the seat with a decisive margin over the APC. APGA also controls the Anambra State governorship under Professor Chukwuma Soludo, whose political base draws heavily on the South district under the state’s long-standing zoning arrangement. Any erosion of APGA support in the district ahead of 2027 would therefore mark a notable shift in a senatorial district the party has continued to contest competitively in recent cycles.

Outlook

With the ADC still tied up in litigation over its leadership and primary conduct, and sections of the APC reportedly uncertain about their own candidate’s prospects, the 2027 Anambra South race appears increasingly fluid. Whether the reported cross-party support for Onunkwo translates into actual votes — and whether APGA can consolidate its base against a candidate drawn from its own recent primary dispute — is likely to be a central storyline in the district as campaigning intensifies.