Ngige Wins Anambra APC Primary

Senator Chris Ngige

Senator Chris Ngige Monday won the Anambra State All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries conducted to elect a standard bearer in the state. Ngige defeated his rival, Godwin Ezeemo, by 63,255 votes to 9,564.

The Chairman of APC Primaries Election Committee for the state, and former Governor of Kano  State Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who announced the results at Emmaus House in Awka also issue the Senator with a certificate of return.

In a brief acceptance speech, Ngige thanked the party supporters for reposing confidence in him and urged all to teem up with him to win the November16, governorship election.

Meanwhile, Ngige and his rival in the primaries, Chief Godwin Ezeemo, traded words over the outcome of the election.

While Ezeemo blamed the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, for manipulating the electoral process in favour of Ngige, long before the party adopted an open direct primaries, Ngige himself described Ezeemo as a political neophyte.

  The commencement of the primaries, it was gathered, was peaceful as APC members in the state’s 326 wards trooped out en masse to be accredited as early as 9 a.m. by electoral officials.

Ezeemo, who polled 354 votes in his Umuchu ward 1, Aguata local government area of the state, where Ngige scored 89 votes, had alleged that Okorocha manipulated the exercise to his (Ezeemo) disadvantage.

“This is a planned deal that stated long ago. But I will fight. We will have to do everything to stop it. The election has been manipulated highly in Idemili North, Idemili South and Dunukofia areas, where we saw violence. What do you expect? The defenceless electoral will always run for their dear lives. My expectation is nothing. What Rochas Okorocha has done already has come to fruition,” he said.

At Ezeemo’s ward 1, however, Ngige’s electoral agent, Vincent Offor, said after voting and counting had taken place, his supporters went to Umuchu ward 2 to drag voters, whose names were not in the register to vote, adding that the result in ward 1 showed that Ngige had scored 89 votes, while Ezeemo polled 354.

“All those people that came later with membership voters’ card that belonged to Orumba South and North local government areas, instead of Aguata local government area will not be allowed to vote and that is what Ezeemo supporters are planning to do and I will protest at the end of the day,” offor said.

At Alor ward 1 in Idemili South local government area of the state, where Ngige voted, 674 votes were recorded in favour of the former governor of Anambra State and Senator representing Anambra Central senatorial district in the National Assembly, as against one vote scored by Ezeemo.

Fielding questions from journalists, Ngige said Ezeemo’s allegations of planned manipulations were akin to that of a political neophyte, adding that he was still new in politics.

“Today is a no contest. The man is a neophyte and he is trying his luck in gambling and I don’t think he understands politics. November 16, is the date and we are going out to meet opponents from other parties and if he is a real APC member, we expect him to come to Awka and accept the result. This is because the result getting into my phone from all the wards showed that we are coasting home to victory,” he said.

He said the essence of the direct open balloting used by APC at the primaries was to test the strength of APC in the state, as the party, according to him, had about 700,000 registered members, good enough to dictate any electoral fraud in the November election.

Earlier, Shekarau, described the primaries as a major outing for the party, adding that only two aspirants would slug it out in an open primary. He said the aspirants had signed an undertaken to accept the outcome of the primaries.

Meanwhile, the Maxi Okwu-led faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Monday, announced that it had chosing Dr. Chike Obidigbo, as its standard bearer at the governorship election.

Obidigbo was picked at a special congress of the faction, which was attended by about 450 delegates, where Obidigbo was the sole aspirant in the race.

The National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh-led faction of the party had last week chosen Chief Willie Obiano, as its candidate for the election.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reported that the Chairman of the faction’s screening committee, Chief Chris Eze, while speaking at Monday congress, said the party had come out with “a most qualified and well-known candidate.’’

He said Obidigbo was returned unopposed with a score of 450 votes, and Okwu later handed the party’s flag to him.
Commending the delegates for their large turnout, Okwu expressed the confidence that the standard bearer would win the governorship election on November 16 in the state.

“Obidigbo will take over the mantle from Governor Peter Obi. It is my honour to present the flag to you to fly it high,” he said.

In his reaction, Obidigbo said APGA was one indivisible political party, while also commending the state Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, for “the good job he had done to lift the state to enviable heights.”

  He urged the party faithful from various parts of the state to work harder to deliver the state to the party during the election.

“I will not disappoint you if you vote for me during the gubernatorial election on November 16 to take over from Obi in 2014,” Obidigbo promised.