The survival of the All Progressives Grand Alliance rests squarely ‎on Anambra State where it has consistently maintained its hold on power, writes Chineme Okafor
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) made history last Saturday in Anambra when the incumbent governor Chief Willie Obiano took the oath of office for his second term. With this victory, the state has witnessed three consecutive APGA to APGA transition in the last decade.
The party also won the rerun election into the Anambra Central Senatorial District conducted last January. The party’s candidate, Chief Victor Umeh secured the feat by winning in all the local government areas in the senatorial district.
One thing that is of great interest is the fact that APGA has survived the exit of a key political gladiator and one regarded as its life-wire, the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Chief Emeka Odimegwu Ojukwu. It had also withstood many leadership conflicts in its short life span. Despite all the challenges, APGA has continued to maintain its ground and dominate the electoral contest in Anambra state.
Apparently satisfied with the performance of the party, the Anambra state governor said that APGA would strive to secure victories in Zamfara, Nassarawa, Abia and Imo states in future elections.
He said: “Of course we are our brothers and sisters’ keepers and we want to make sure we continue to do so. I am confident that after my election, the subsequent elections will bring many more APGA governors from Zamfara, Nassarawa, Abia, Imo amongst many other places and APGA family will grow from strength to strength”.
Just before he went into the governorship election, Obiano carried out an appraisal of his stewardship since assuming office in 2014, and concluded that: “In less than three and half years, virtually all the communities in Anambra state have felt our presence to the tune of N40million. So we want to do more, so that by the time my 8 years is done every community would have very significant infrastructures. This is aside from the roads that we are building, the street lightning that we are doing. In Anambra now virtually all the roads are lit and we have continued to do more.
“We are going to actualize the vision we have for Anambra and that will make the state to be the first choice in investment destination for economic and commercial activities and the mission when we go to work is to create a socially stable and business environment where indigenes and non indigenes can have the opportunity to create wealth. That’s our vision. If you check my mission and vision so far, you will see that substantially we have achieved that.
“My dream when I finish my 8 years as governor is that Anambra will be self sufficient in revenue sources and will not be dependent on Abuja. I have achieved that 65% already and in the coming years I will be able to fully do that and that’s the only way to move the process; making everybody productive, getting people to generate economic activities and creating wealth”.
The party which got its first imprint in the political landmark of the country when it’s candidate Peter Obi emerged victorious after a dogged legal battle to reclaim governorship seat from the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Dr Chris Ngige in 2007 has maintained a winning streak in Anambra.
APGA came into being as a political party in Nigeria in 2003. At the legislative elections held on 12 April 2003, the party won two out of the 360 seats in tthe House of Representatives and no seats in the Senate. Its candidate at the presidential elections of 19 April 2003, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, won 3.3% of the vote cast. The first tenure of the APGA’s administration in Anambra state led by Obi was largely tumultuous, trailed by political intrigues and mudslinging between APGA and the PDP. At the same time, the party at the national level was engaged in a bitter legal tussle between the then national chairman, Chief Victor Umeh and its pioneer national chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie.
Perhaps, this unstable state of affairs in the party accounted for its inability to significantly improve on its fortunes during that period. Another attempt by APGA to make a further inroad into the south east by capturing the governorship seat in Imo state was however short lived. In the gubernatorial election held in April, 2011, Chief Rochas Okorocha (APGA) was elected governor of Imo state, polling 15% more votes than incumbent governor Ikedi Ohakim (PDP). However, Okorocha joined other opposition parties to form a new merger party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). The party had to contend with the unenviable status of being regarded as a regional party because at that time it never won elections outside the South east zone while its leadership was made up largely of persons from the Igbo extraction.
But APGA has remained unwavering in its determination to pursue an ideology of nationalism and true federalism through ensuring restructuring and decentralization of powers. It has also refused to align with other political parties in a manner that could make it lose its identity or be subsumed under a new nomenclature. Although the party was not able to field a presidential candidate in the last two general elections, it nonetheless remained a force to be reckoned with in the political equation of the country. It has managed to retain the third position behind the two big parties, APC and PDP with only one state in its kitty. However, things appeared to be looking up for the party in recent times and the perception of an Igbo party is giving way to an emerging new entity ready to take on other frontline parties in an election.
In the last two years, the fortunes of APGA seem to be on resurgence. The party has notched up several electoral victories under present national executive of the party led by the National Chairman, Chief Victor Ike Oye. While disagreeing with those who call APGA a regional party. Oye said the party had adequately positioned itself as a national party by wining election almost four of the six political zones in the country. For instance, he said that APGA has secured victories in states outside of the south east including Bayelsa and Taraba states and the Federal Capital Territory. He is of the view that the party’s chances of expanding its scope beyond the Anambra enclave is very bright given the level of interest people have shown in the performance of APGA-led administration .
Beyond that, the APGA national chairman also tackled critics of the party’s administration in Anambra state, particularly those who were wondering what the state stands to gain by the re-election of Obiano. He said that he was very happy the way things have turned out for the people of Anambra state because they are in for good times. “The next four years is going to be full of action. At least we are sure of an international airport in Anambra in the next three years. So if you want to fly to America just a fifteen minutes drive to the airport instead of going to Enugu thinking of how to get to Lagos and America. That journey alone will be enough for you to travel half way to America”.
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APGA has remained unwavering in its determination to pursue an ideology of nationalism and true federalism through restructuring and decentralization of powers.
