THE battle for Abia South senatorial  seat is principally  between the incumbent Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a philanthropist and business mogul, Chief Chris Nkwonta of the All Progressives  Grand Alliance (APGA).

Abaribe initially  wanted to contest for the governorship slot but buckled at the eleventh hour purportedly under the directive of President Goodluck Jonathan to seek re-election for the third time into the Senate.

Abaribe is from Obingwa Local Government in Abia South, the same council where the PDP standard bearer for the governorship of Abia State. Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, hails from, whereas Nkwonta is from Ukwa East Local Government Area of the same senatorial zone.

The decision of the PDP to hand back her senatorial ticket for Abia South to Abaribe till date has not gone down well with many members of the party and the people of the zone for various reasons.

Firstly, the senatorial seat had rotated between Ukwa and Ngwa after every eight  years of two tenures since 1999.

Between 1999 and 2007, former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, from Ohambele, in Ukwa-east, occupied the position. In 2007, Abaribe, from Ngwaland, succeeded him. It was a mutual understanding between the two ethic nationalities of Ukwa and

Ngwa to allow the position to rotate between them in the interest of equity, fairness, justice.

Moreover, with the decision of the PDP to zone her gubernatorial ticket to the Abia South which comprises of Ukwa and Ngwa, it was expected for equity sake that the two

positions of governor and senator should rotate between the Ukwa and Ngwa people.

But against this  expectation  the PDP in its wisdom, decided to cede both positions to Obingwa Local Government Area of the state.

Abia South is made up of six local governments of Obingwa, Ugwunagbo, Aba North, Aba South, all Ngwaland, and Ukwa East and Ukwa West.

The zone had cried of marginalisation that since the creation of the state 22 years ago, they have not occupied the position of governor and the PDP, under Governor T.A. Orji, decided to appease them    by zoning the slot to them.

Now Ukwa people are crying that same equity which made the PDP to shift  the governorship slot  in favour of the zone should be implemented by sharing both positions between the duo. They are wondering why two positions meant for two brothers should be taken by one.

In 2011, Nkwonta contested the senatorial position under the PDP  but was told to allow Abaribe complete his tenure. Despite the fact that he was the popular and preferred candidate and was coasting to victory, he was pressurized at the eleventh hour to step down for Abaribe.

He accepted the decision of the party and resisted all  pressures to dump the party. Instead, he collapsed his political structure to support the PDP. Many members of the PDP see him as one of the most loyal members of the party.

In 2014, he was said to have indicated interest in the governorship race after the position was  zoned to Abia South.

But he was said to have been told by the leadership of PDP in the state to  jettission that  ambition  and run for the Senate. This was after  he had  traversed the Abia North and Abia Central  zones

consulting and selling himself to the people . It  was gathered that he was enjoying overwhelming  support of the people

before he was told to terminate the  ambition for an Ngwa man to take the first shot at governorship.

It was reliably gathered that the PDP had pencilled  him down for the senatorial seat until a day to the primary of the party when the President was said to have directed that Abaribe be returned.

He felt disappointed and had to dump PDP for APGA and  there  is no doubt that his defection coupled with the overwhelming  influence of the change’ message of the governorship candidate of the APGA in the state, Dr  Alex  OTTI,  is giving the PDP sleepless nights.

Moreover , many PDP members and people of Abia South sharethe opinion that Abaribe has failed to give the zone effective representation  as there as nothing could be pointed at for his eight years in the Senate.

APGA is the most virile opposition in the state  and has become a change song in  the lips of majority of Abians  and they are parading candidates  jostling to wrest power from the PDP.

Analysts  believe Abaribe  is attempting to  scuttle the mutual understanding between  Ukwa and  Ngwa people.

If the crowd that received Nkwonta at Ward Five, home of Abaribe and other wards of Obingwa  council and comments from politicians from the area are to be relied upon, Abaribe may be disappointment with his third term ambition of going to the Senate.

Comrade Henry Nwaigwe,an activist and co-ordinator ,Abia Rescue Movement (ARM), in a statement recently, said that the PDP has in the past 16 years of its administration the state failed and that the entire state is desirous for change.

He said: “Go to all the  streets, villages and communities  of Abia South and the entire state and seven out of every registered voter would tell you, it is APGA and the people are determined to effect a change of leadership in the entire state”.

Okonta’s philanthropy across Abia speaks volumes and people say, if  given opportunity to go to the Senate, he would not disappoint.

Over 140 students in tertiary institutions are studying under his scholarship through Chris Nkwonta Foundation.