APGA is a prominent party in Nigeria. It has had its flag fly in two southeast states -Imo and Anambra but currently, it has its flag flying in only one state in the country – Anambra state. And this makes Anambra a state it should hold onto at any cost.
One would expect a certain level of tact in the way APGA would conduct itself in the forthcoming guber elections in its singleton state. Let us see how that plays out.
As a party, it is dancing some tunes that we have heard before from parties like PPA, AC who allowed frivolities to pour ice on their hot coal.
Anambra 2021
The coming elections in Anambra 2021 will determine APGA’s fate as a party and as a ruling party in any state in the country. Looking at the party’s behaviour in the last couple of months since the primary, there is a high level of disintegration which is not uncommon for a political party, however, it is unbecoming of a party like APGA that is clinging to its only surviving hope- Anambra state.
There are two factions in APGA at the moment, the court recognizes Chief Chukwuma Umeoji while Prof. Chukwuma Soludo is the winner of the initial primary election which was characterized by dubious disqualifications. A factional election was held by another faction led by Jude Okeke saw Mr. Umeoji emerge as the candidate of APGA. This was taken to an Appeal court where Umeoji was recognized as the candidate of the party. Chukwuma Soludo filed a suit at the supreme court whilst still campaigning and going to courts.
These discrepancies are telling poorly on their chances of winning the guber seat come November, if this happens, APGA will not only lose the only state it has had a grip on for 15 years, it will lose its chance at ever becoming a national party. Don’t get me started with the party’s revenue.
Where will this lead, afterwards, its strength will dwindle, party members will naturally decamp, APGA will be another name on the ballot paper by 2023 with no sentiments attached to it.
The persistent factions
Faction is every party’s nightmare. Its origin is as basic as one dissatisfied candidate or as some may put, sore loser. Factions are normal, but the existing faction in APGA at the moment is weighty, weightier than obtainable in all political parties in Nigeria at the moment. This is because it involves two big guns in the political sphere- Chief Chukwuma Umeoji the former CEO of Transcorp Hilton Abuja and Chief Chukwuma Soludo- the Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
These are men of means who have the wherewithal to keep going to court for as long. If INEC made a dollar for each court injunction it has received since June 23rd, it will be the richest enterprise in the country. These men are determined to draw legal blood. Let’s watch it unfold.
Party Leadership
APGA’s party leadership is a comic author’s delight. There are three APGA party Chairmen, three.
Victor Oye was the party’s chairman in 2020, he attempted holding the party primaries but was suspended by the party’s NEC and reprimanded from holding any party elections. Chief Edozie Njoku was appointed the party’s chairman alongside Jude Okeke as his deputy.
On another plate of covetousness, Chief Edozie was suspended and his deputy Jude Okeke made the party’s chairman. Edozie filed a case in court contesting the processes of his suspension, Victor Oye still parades himself as the party chairman damning the NEC’s decision. Jude Okeke calls himself the lawful chairman of the party.
Victor Oye went ahead to hold the primaries in contention in June 2021. The NEC annulled the primaries giving Jude Okeke’s second primaries the wings to fly. This is why, lawfully, Chief Chukwuma Umeoji is the party’s flagbearer except the supreme court’s judgment favors his opponent.
As the party’s NEC and INEC recognize Jude Okeke as the party’s chairman, a large number of the party members and stakeholders still recognize Oye as the party’s chairman – his suit still sitting pretty at the Appeal court’s shelf. APGA is saddled with chaos at every turn, the recipe for a dwindling enterprise.
The party’s leadership is a mess, starting from a NEC that is not in order. This is a poor tale on a party that intends to survive in the coming elections.
Governor Obiano’s 8 years in Office
Peter Obi branded APGA as a party with integrity, keeping the party’s sheet clean. This endeared many to the party, gave hope as a party void of corruption.
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Every person in a position of authority receives doses of criticism, it is not new, what is new is a unanimous concession that Chief Willie Obiano Akpokuodike Aguleri, the incumbent governor of Anambra state has performed below the benchmark set by his predecessors.
The last 8 years have been characterized by insecurity, lack of central authority, embezzlement, incompetency at the levels of appointment, civil service deterioration, lack of infrastructure, lack of focus which is the problem for most intellectuals.
During the handover in 2014, it was clear Obi had set the state’s priority right – Education, security, infrastructure, increased favorable policies for businesses to thrive, and so on. 2021, which is Obiano’s hand over and it is largely unclear what the state has focused on, or the state’s direction.
This has told poorly on APGA, a lot of intellectuals are pulling out of the party.
The party’s dubious MO on a National Outlook
APGA’s defeat in other states has been characterized by its inability to put its acts together. There are always disgruntled parties after every election. No APGA election has gone without instances of rigging as seen in the 21/21 house of assembly elections of 2019, deceits as seen with Imo stakeholder Chimezie Uwakwe who was deceived into signing an expulsion document against Njoku exploiting his inability to read and write as an advantage, among all these, the party is dipped heavily in malpractices on different fronts in different states.
There is a really slim chance that APGA as a party will be relevant in 2023 if it does not contain its chaos.
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