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2015 Elections: A Time to Choose…2
15 Jan 2015
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The Verdict By Olusegun Adeniyi email;[email protected] HOME > NEWS
2015 Elections: A Time to Choose…2
15 Jan 2015
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The Verdict By Olusegun Adeniyi email;[email protected]
2015 Elections: A Time to Choose…Part 2
15 Jan 2015
ABIA: The Ukwa/Ngwa people believe it is their turn to produce the next governor based on a “charter of equity” that had been agreed to at the beginning of the current democratic dispensation in 1999. And perhaps with that in mind, the outgoing Governor Theodore Orji is clever enough to have anointed an Ngwa man, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as the PDP candidate. Other contenders in the race include Chief Chinenye Nyerere Anyim of the APC, Chief Chikwe Udensi of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and of course Dr. Alex Otti of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
As things stand, the only formidable challenge that the ruling PDP would face in Abia is from APGA. The party has found strength in Otti, the immediate past Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank, who brings to the race his wealth of experience in the private sector. Otti has been running a robust campaign but he is facing an uphill task owing to the political sentiments in the state about power shift which Governor Orji and the PDP leadership have tapped into.
What is going for Otti is that many of the prominent Abia people, who feel sad about political developments in their state (where there is a clear absence of quality governance) see him as the surest bet to turn around the fortunes of the state.
Therefore, what Otti lacks in political structure, he has in abundant goodwill across the state but whether that is enough to guarantee him victory at the polls in a state where the entire infrastructure is now put behind Ikpeazu of the PDP remains to be seen. Yet if there is anything that depicts the sordid state of affairs in Abia State today, it is the deplorable condition of the legendary Aba, a city which in every way symbolizes the enterprising spirit not only of the people of Abia State but indeed of all Ndigbo.
Whatever may be Otti’s qualifications, however, the PDP machine is formidable in Abia State where President Jonathan is expected to sweep the polls on February 14. That would also be an advantage for Ikpeazu who is carrying the PDP banner. However, given the experience of Governor Orji before he broke away from the shackles of godfatherism (plus godmotherism!), what most people count against Ikpeazu is the charge of not being his own man. That is why so much hope is being put on the aspiration of Otti who, as the APGA gubernatorial candidate, remains the most credible contender for the Abia Government House.
