By Henry Umoru

Abuja-IF there is any part of the Bible the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), Prince Vincent Eze Ogbulafor, will be reading first every morning before leaving his Asokoro house, that will, without guessing, certainly be Matthew 26:36,”Going a little farther, He fell with his face to the ground and prayed, O my Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me…”

The unfolding events in the Anambra State political quagmire since the adoption of the immediate past governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo, as the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP ahead of the 2010 election in the state would make Ogbulafor pray, like the Lord Jesus Christ, that God should take the cup, which is symbolic of the Anambra PDP problem, from his head and a lasting solution be found.

But waiting for a solution to come with the scenario in place now is like ‘waiting for Godot’ as captured by Samuel Becket.

In finding a solution to the Anambra problem when the 47 aspirants vehemently refused to lock themselves in one room and come up with a consensus candidate as envisaged by the PDP national chairman, he explained that he had to invoke Article 17.1 of the party’s constitution which reads, “The National Executive Committee shall, subject to the provisions of this constitution, formulate guidelines and regulations for the nomination of candidates for election into public offices at all levels and shall be the final authority for resolving all disputes relating to the choice of candidates for the party for any elections and for confirming the names or list of names of candidates for the party for any elective public office in the federation.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 12 of this constitution, the National Executive Committee shall regulate the procedure for selecting the party’s candidates for elective offices.”

Before the commencement of the statutory delegates meeting at Yar’Adua Centre to decide the Anambra gubernatorial candidate after the stalemate and botched primaries in Awka, the Anambra State capital, Ogbulafor who warned that other political parties were mocking the PDP, said he had  never been at the negative side of history and was not prepared to start with the case of Anambra, just as he wondered whether some of the people causing the confusion were working for the opposition.

He added that he was confident that the candidate of the party would emerge from among the aspirants gathered for the meeting and therefore requested for their cooperation.

Ogbulafor said, “We have invited you here today to share a moment of seriousness to see how we can jointly come up with a candidate to represent our party. That is exactly why we have invited you. Therefore, it is a meeting with stakeholders of Anambra State and please, we want it to be as quiet and smooth as possible. We don’t want any disturbance, any misunderstanding; any fracas.”

The national chairman was talking to an array of aspirants including Soludo, Kodilichukwu Okelekwe, Emeka Nwandu, Senator Nicholas Ukachukwu, Senator Annie Okonkwo, Odemezue Chukwura, Damian Okolo, Kenneth Osita Odidika,Chuma Nzeribe,Benard Okeke, Dr. Alex Obigolu, Senator Ikechukwu Obiora,  Prof. Austin Okafor,  Nwoye Tony Okechukwu, Ekwenze Solomon, Mbamalu Emma, Mrs Eucharia Azodo, Barrister Mike Nkwocha, Lady Chinyere Ogugua Agagbo and Ugokwe Jerry Sunny. Others were Mrs. Carol Nwosu, Senator Emma Anosike, Mrs Chika Ibeneme, Princess Catherine Egwu, Engr. E. O. Efobi, Dr Harry Oranezi,  Dr. Emeka Eze, Dr. Amachukwu Ezeike, Chuma Nwofor, Uchenna Emordi, Victoria Uwankwo, Engr Bethram Dim, Mrs Ifeoma Love Eze,  Mrs Nkoli Imo, Chief Okey Muo Aroh, Adimchukwu Calista,  Ogbagu Goodluck Ihuoma, Sussan Ekinumfe Udemezue, Udemba Chinyere, Mba Nkechinyelu, Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu, Mrs Obiageli Okeke-Okwubanego, Mrs Oyibo Obasi, Victor Osita Ezenwa, Ikefuna Samuel, Valentine Ozigboh, Basil Iwuoba and  Chief Tony Ezeani.

Unending backlash: All may now be history as the structure put in place by the PDP National Working Committee, NWC, for the conduct of the congresses stopped at the door steps of Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswan-led ward congresses committee before a court order hindered the party from going on with the state congress that ought to have been conducted by the speaker, House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole.

Since the party took the decision to adopt Soludo as the flag bearer of the PDP with Emma Anosike as his deputy, there have been a back-lash from other aspirants, stakeholders from Anambra State as well as party members especially as they rely on Article 17.2 (b) of the party’s constitution that reads, “In the conduct of primaries for the party’s candidate for the post of governorship of a state, the exercise shall be held at the state congress of the party specially convened for that purpose.”

One of the aspirants, Chief Chuma Nwofor, accused Soludo of offering eleven of them N35 million each to drop their agitation against him. He spoke under the aegis of a group tagged, “Integrity Group.” Nwofor had earlier, on behalf of twenty aspirants, rejected the adoption of Soludo, describing it as rumour and totally unacceptable to the people of the state. He demanded that the way forward was  for the party to conclude the stalemated primaries.

Also on that day, over hundred delegates from the state stormed the national secretariat of the PDP, Wuse Zone 5, demanding same. But while reacting to the allegation of N35 million each to the aspirants, Soludo, who described it as spurious, unfounded, rubbish, baseless and arrant nonsense, stressed that if they had any proof, they were free to come up with, adding that the last time he saw Nwofor was a week ago, even as  he explained that he never met with any aspirant or Nwofor in particular.

Also not satisfied with the former CBN governor’s candidacy, the problem, last Thursday, took a new dimension when a former commissioner for works in Anambra State and a member of the PDP, Chief Ken Emeakayi, approached a Federal High Court in Awka to stop Soludo from parading himself as the PDP governorship candidate. To douse the fire that the emergence of Soludo as the Anambra governorship candidate has ignited, the PDP leadership has set up a 14-member reconciliation committee.

According to a statement by the party’s national vice chairman, South East, Chief Olisah Metuh, the committee, with elder statesman and member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Onyeabo Obi, as chairman, has Chief J.O. Okonkwo as deputy chairman while Hon. Chudi Offodile would serve as secretary.

Sought after emperor
The members of the committee are Chief Mike Nwakalor, Chief Dan Ulasi, Chief Frank Oramulu, Hon. Chuma Nzeribe, Chief Okey Muo-Aroh, Comrade Tony Nwoye, Chief (Mrs) Oby Okwubanego, Chief (Mrs) Chika Ibeneme, Barrister Nkechi Mba,  Soludo and  Anosike.

Besides the setting up of the committee, Soludo must reach out to Chief Chris Uba, as he is seen as aggrieved having spent heavily on the party only to be schemed out of the game.

He must tell Soludo that he is ready to work with him, as he is believed to be influential in Anambra PDP. He reportedly controls a number of delegates and if the Anambra PDP congresses had taken place, Chris Uba should have been the emperor, the much sought after.

He has men like  Nwofor who do not appear to be  ready to forgive the party and accept Soludo. One question has been asked: Why did the party, to avoid stalemate  from the beginning, not trim  the number of aspirants when they appeared before the minister of state for foreign affairs, Alhaji Jibrin Maigari’s screening committee.

Indeed, the panel,  reduced the number, but when they appealed to the screening appeal committee headed by the deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, his committee cleared fourteen governorship aspirants that were earlier disqualified by Maigari to contest the primary election.

It was at that point that the likes of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, Barrister Mba Nkechiyelu, Bernard Okeke, Prof. Ilochi Okafor (SAN), Dr. Solomon Ekwene, Kenneth Odidika and Obigeli Okeke-Okwubanego, Victor O. Ezenwa, Udemzue Chukwura, Ifeoma Ebe, Susan Ekwunife, Engr. Emmanuel Efobi, Basil Iwuoba and Okolo Damian Chibuzo returned to  the race.

Part of the complaints by some persons is that since this option of adoption was in the bag as a rat that could be let out anytime, the party ought to have reduced the number of aspirants to a manageable one rather than allow all the forty-seven aspirants in the NWC Canoe, then throw forty five into the river leaving only two to ‘survive.’

Will the other male aspirants who paid N7.5 million each for Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms get their  money back? What  will happen to the eleven women who paid N250,000 each for the Expression of Interest Forms? Will the NWC return the money to them or treat the matter in the usual umbrella family way?

These are some of the questions begging for answers. Soludo must beg, crawl, if need be, for the likes of Ukachukwu, Okonkwo, Odidika, among others, as these are real grassroot politicians.

They have been in the game before now. Yes the PDP flag bearer may be experienced in the world of economics, but he has entered another world, where  an illiterate may be more versed: Politics.

The task ahead of Soludo if all is well at the end of the day is how he would wrestle it out in the contest with Dr. Chris Ngige of the Action Congress (AC), Peter Obi of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Ralph Nwosu of ADC and Mrs Uche Ekwunife of the PPA in the February 6, 2010, Anambra State governorship election.