A looming political upheaval is set for unfold in Anambra State which may see Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo lose his seat as the state’s executive governor.
The showdown started with the recognition of Chief Edozie Njoku as the authentic chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APGA) by the Supreme Court and the kicking out of Ozo Victor Oye.
The correction has been indexed in Supreme Court file and nothing will reverse it, unless the Supreme Court reverses herself.
Victor Oye’s trouble was compounded when he disqualified a former APGA Anambra governorship aspirant, Ikenna Obianeri.
According to some reports, Obianeri was disqualified for not being an active party man, though other reports said that he was disqualified for working for another party in last election.
A source close to APGA revealed to Tori Media that the embattled APGA national chairman is frantically reversing everything to favor Obianeri’s godfather, Chief Emeka Offor as he demanded, which however, seems too little, too late.
Oye’s fate was sealed when, on Apr 6, 2022, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja affirmed the Chief Njoku-led Owerri Convention.
It also affirmed Barr. Hamman Buba Ghide as the authentic National Legal Adviser of APGA.
The court upheld the Supreme Court ruling that Victor Oye’s removal is non-justiciable.
The fate of other aspirants is also hanging on the balance should Njoku choose to sideline them as his signature is the authentic one that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will uphold, unless there is stay is execution issued by competent court.
Meanwhile, the removal of Victor Oye has more far-reaching consequences as it was his faction that produced Prof. Soludo, the winner of the Anambra governorship election held on November 6, 2021.
If the details of the Abuja court are enforced to the latter, Soludo may vacate his seat as the state’s executive governor which will automatically throw the seat up for grabs.
With the impending development, Chief Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Chief Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) are set for battle royale as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidacy and its candidate, Senator Nnamdi Emmanuel Ubah, have been disqualified.
PDP’s Valentine Ozigbo, it could be recalled, finished second, while YPP’s Ifeanyi Ubah ended up fourth.
Reacting to the looming development, political pundit from the state observed that “Anambra may go back to a step forward and three steps backward.”
A pundit, Mazi Odera, warned APGA that if they try to remove Soludo, then PDP has chances of approaching court for interpretation of the verdict and that may remove APGA entirely and crown PDP as the winner.
It may not end there, though, as Senator has a pending court case that may adversely affect Ozigbo and his PDP and see him sworn in as the governor.
“If PDP hesitated then another Imo State verdict will happen and I won’t even cry for the mess that will follow,” he added.
When contacted on the phone, Chief Njoku, however, denied making any move against Soludo.
He said it is unthinkable that he would want to do that knowing fully well that it will derail the course of the party.