Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah and His Journey to the Senate

Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah and His Journey to the Senate

It was never an easy ride for Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah to be in the 9th Senate, as some may think, It was all about patience, dedication, grace and a bit of luck. As the inauguration to the 9th Senate kicks off properly today, we share with you what went down prior to his rejection by some parties, his big lone moves and the audacity that got him to this very point. We break down this series in three parts namely

* The Political Journey
* His Failed APGA Senatorial bid
* The Big One, His Victory

The Political Journey.

Successful oil businessman and the CEO of Capital Oil Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah started out his political journey a few years back. Before his foray into mainstream politics as a participant, he supported politicians and friends to one political position or the other. In 2012, he made his debut in the political ring, it was loud as he entered with full force. He had a big dream to govern his state, having shown a lot of affluence as a youth, he believed to crown it all is to become the number one man in “political hostile” Anambra. He made some daring moves at some point when he got entangled in the web of party politics even as a new breed. He stood with the then party chairman and BOT member, Chief Victor Umeh. They were some court cases to save the party that he personally financed and the rest is history. He was to be compensated with the Governorship slots but things fell apart.

Ifeanyi Ubah tried out his luck with a growing party(Labour Party), where he ran one of the most expensive campaigns without the help of any godfather or whatsoever. It did not end up well even as he only won his Local Government , one of the most populous in the state.

This did not deter him, he went back to business, had big contracts and resurfaced in 2015. He spurred up an idea to run Goodluck Jonathan presidential campaign, it was an independent structure that boosted Goodluck Johnathan’s campaign then but did not see the light of the day as the Northerners were alleged to have rigged it.

Moving ahead, he was instrumental to some Governors, Senators, Rep Members, etc. emergence.

READ ALSO: Nnewi based F.C Ifeanyi Ubah to host Akwa United FC

Politics in Nigeria is not a gentleman’s business, he tried out different political parties, some were to his favour, while some weren’t.

His Failed APGA Senatorial bid ;

You don’t have to love him or his personality, but one thing you can’t take away is that Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah did a lot for APGA as a party. Starting from supporting too many court cases to sponsoring their causes and joining in their campaigns. He was instrumental to Governor Obiano’s 21/21 campaign, where he used his structure “Afa Igbo Efuna” to make a statement. As one that understands the role of media in shaping narratives, he unleashed his indefatigable new media team and his media brands(Authority Newspaper and Radio) to support the Governor’s bid. He and some stakeholders delivered Nnewi with her wide massive voting population to APGA, In return, we heard the Governor promised to compensate him with APGA senatorial ticket for Anambra South.

He was also in full force as regards Senator Victor Umeh’s 7/7 senatorial success, he campaigned rigorously to the cause. He also supported in his own way. At the end of the day, his senatorial bid for the party was lit. He started out with massive grassroots mobilization. He visited almost every ward, prior to the APGA Senatorial primaries, he was loved by all as he connected directly with local stakeholders. His style of campaign planted a seed of love amongst party folks(That makes up the majority of the voting population), he was to be compensated later in the polls.

We learnt the problem started when the Governor called him to step down for a particular candidate, he wasn’t really surprised because there have been some rumors to that effect in some quarters. He went ahead with his campaign, he continued despite the Governors stance. The things he did actually stood for him aftermath of the brouhaha. In the cause of the campaign, he compensated 6 out of the 7 LG Party chairmen with cars, he compensated women leaders with shuttle buses and gave out over 120 motorbikes to ward secretaries.
Then came the one that broke the camel’s back ; Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah was disqualified. It was one that almost stopped his political moves, he thought about it, discussed with some political big wigs, and made some moves.

READ ALSO: Why I Supported Ahmed Lawan-Ifeanyi Ubah

The Big One, His Victory;

Then came YPP, Young Progressive Party. A relatively new political movement, one that was billed to fail according to naysayers. Dr. Patrick joined his Nnewi brother “Kingsley Moghalu” the presidential candidate of the party, as at then to prove a point in the party. As usual, his entry into the party spurred up the party image, citing his perfect use of media. He got lots of followers and supporters to jump in with him, he also aligned with those he has supported politically in time past. An independent campaign team IUSM(Ifeanyi Ubah Support Movement) under the leadership of Micheal Nweke also surfaced. They contributed their quota in the 7 LG that makes up the Anambra Senatorial District. They , out of their capacity and grassroots strength, got their principal to invest in them. He used them to achieve his aim while his popularity won loyal voters for him.

His use of media was another force that stood for him. His radio station(Authority Fm) was key to his emergence. He used it to steadily to share his narrative and the tagline “Recovery Of The Igbo Economy” really helped in winning more voters for him. The force of one of Igbos’ most successful businessman and one of the richest in Nnewi, Chief Cletus Ibeto was a perfect edge to stamp full authority in his Local government.

Then came the election proper, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah polled a total of 87,081 votes to defeat his closest rival, Chris Uba of the PDP who amassed 52,462 votes, and Nicholas Ukachukwu of APGA who had 51,269 votes. Andy Uba, the incumbent senator recorded a meager 13,245 votes. His victory was resounding as it shut the mouths of naysayers and unbelievers.

He actually won with a party that is less than 2 years old. It goes to show how much political capacity he wields.

READ ALSO: PANTHERS SPORTS CLUB (NNEWI) CONGRATULATES IFEANYI UBAH, AZUBOGU

The victory of Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah is the definition of the quote “Winning isn’t everything–but wanting to win is.”
He wanted to win, he went out of his way and did the unimaginable, his persistence sailed.

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