Anambra Poll: Ngige Predicts Own Victory

Senator Chris Ngige
Barely seven days to the November 16  Anambra State governorship election, the All Progressive Congress,  APC, governorship candidate, Sen. Chris Ngige, has predicted his victory, maintaining that issues canvassed by his opponents in seeking for the votes of Anambra’s peoples votes are either imaginary or unjustifiable.

Ngige who argued that Anambra people seeks  good governance and people-focused administration like he offered them when he served as governor adds that he is ahead of his opponents in all respects.

‘’Going round the State, Ndi Anambra had assured me that they will vote overwhelmingly for me and the APC. Their reason are not far-fetched. From their assessment of those offering themselves for the governorship, I am several kilometers ahead. They can trust me to deliver on my 12-point agenda, my record in the 33 months I spent in office speaks for me’’

In a statement signed by Tony Icheku of the Media and Publicity Committee of Ngige 2014 Campaign Organisation, Ngige, further dismissed insinuations that the APC may be rejected at the polls as it is not an Igbo party.

‘’Ndigbo abhor dictatorial imposition and bad governance. From their political history, they had always sought collaboration and cooperation from either the North or West. There had never been any instance of Igbos secluding themselves from participation in the politics of the Centre, and come 2015, APC is the vanguard for the actualization of Igbo presidency.

‘’The talk about an Igbo party is a myth, a propaganda founded on falsehood. To go down history lane, after the embarrassing failure of Dr. Alex Ekwueme to clinch the presidential ticket in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP twice, some Igbo felt politicians came to the conclusion that the Igbos deserve to have a political party where they could call the shots, like the defunct Alliance of Democracy, AD had early in the dawn of this dispensation.

‘’But that vision of an Igbo party was however sabotaged and hijacked by few selfish politicians who have converted the party to a clannish and personal political enterprise.
This is why despite the presence of late Chief Chukwuemeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu, the growth of the party had been stunted.

‘’Going farther down history, after the General Elections of 1958, the National Council of Nigerian Citizens, NCNC which then had late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as its leader went into an alliance with the Northern Peoples Congress, NPC. The Igbo were not the owners of NCNC as the late Herbert Macaulay were part of its founding fathers.

‘’In the Second Republic, Azikiwe was invited to lead the Nigeria Peoples Party as its Presidential candidate, it had the late Adeniran Ogunsanya and Paul Unongo as its National Chairman and National Secretary respectively.

‘’Even the United Progressive Grand Alliance, UPGA from where APGA cloned its name was a collaboration between the Action Group and the NCNC for the 1964 election, this is the first time a portion of Igbo land had secluded itself in a minor party.

‘’A party can be influential in some sections of the Country, but beyond Agulu where both Gov. Peter Obi and Chief Victor Umeh comes from, where elese is APGA’s presence felt, It does not even have a Senate seat’’

In a related development, sources close to the APC yesterday affirmed that the party has what it takes to win the election as several propaganda issues canvassed by its opponents had failed to impress the people.  Director of Media and Publicity of the Ngige 2014 Campaign Organisation , Chief Charles Amilo,   was quoted as saying that even the pro-Igbo pressure group, MASSOB had distanced itself from APGA and its governorship candidate, Chief Willie Obiano.

‘’You can see that APC is well ahead of others, as even the so-called argument for a candidate from the Northern part of the State had failed to impress the people. The APGA  had been jettisoned by the people of Anambra North Senatorial District.’’

Amilo further joined his voice in urging the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to  persecute  Obiano for double registration.

‘’We have evidence that Willie Obiano is among the 93,526 persons who did double registration, there should be no sacred cow in this matter, INEC should prosecute Obiano without much ado, that is the only way to tell the world that the Nov. 16 polls will be free, transparent and fair.’’