The Senator representing Anambra South in the Senate, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah is taking a shot at the Anambra governorship seat, reports David-Chyddy Eleke
Oil mogul and lawmaker, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah won his seat in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly in 2019, on the platform of the Young Progressives Party (YPP). He is a first timer in the Senate, but is shinning bright with motions and bills to his credit, to the level of being referred to as the Prince of the Senate in a very short while.
Ubah will in November this year be slugging it out with governorship candidates of other political parties in the Anambra State. Already, there are over 40 aspirants currently jostling for the Anambra governorship seat from various political parties, all of which are waiting for the primary elections of their political parties to know if they will proceed with their contest or not.
But one man who one can surely predict without fear of failure that he would be the candidate of his political party is Senator Ifeanyi Ubah. Before now, there had been rumours that Ubah after using the platform of the YPP to ascend to the Senate may dump it for a better known political party to actualize his governorship ambition, but so far, events have shown that the Prince of the Senate as he is recently known is not in a hurry to leave the YPP, rather, he intends to actualize his governorship ambition on its platform.
Many political analyst have stated that Ubah, coming from a minority party in Anambra is approaching the contest with an assurance of victory, something that is known to be rare in Anambra. Most analyst who try to espouse on the chances of the parties in the state have most times listed only the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the dominant political parties in the state, giving Ubah’s YPP no chance at all. As much as many acknowledge that Ubah is a force to reckon with, they have always added that he is running on a less known party, fueling the belief that Ubah may dump the YPP for a more known political party when the proper contest begins. But as the elections draw close, he has remained steadfast in the YPP to the point of dismissing rumours of his jumping ship.
Recently, rumours that Ubah was negotiating to join the APC flooded the media, but reacting on behalf of the senator, his Media Aide, Chuks Kamen insisted that the rumours was unfounded. He said in a press release, “My attention has been drawn to the news making the rounds that the Distinguished Senator Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, who is the National Leader of Young Progressives Party, has defected from YPP and pitched tent with All Progressives Party (APC). I would have laughed this off for what it is , which is the usual pranks of a frightened opposition that is almost running out of fresh ideas, having tried several evil plots , propaganda and hatchet stories, all deliberately planted in the hope that it will reduce or whittle down the massive appeal that the Distingushed Senator currently commands in the State.
“Unfortunately we have received several calls from our friends, political allies and well wishers all trying to find out the veracity or otherwise of the story hence this rebuttal. I wish to categorically state, that the Distingushed Senator, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah is the National leader of Young Progressives Party (YPP) and has no intention whatsoever of leaving the party for any other platform . YPP is the next vehicle that Ndi Anambra have zeroed in on, and Senator Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah is the driver of that incoming status quo change, poised to trigger the economic revival of Anambra.”
In the release, Ubah claimed that he had rejected the ticket of the APC two months to the 2019 Senatorial election, and settled for a then little known YPP and still won the Senate election with a landslide. He called on his teeming supporters to disregard the latest attempt by an obviously frightened opposition to trigger confusion amongst his supporters, saying that he remains in the YPP, and that his membership of the party was sacrosanct and unshakeable as the party remains the vehicle for the emancipation of Anambra.
A number of factors have however positioned themselves to work for Ubah, irrespective of which platform he chooses to actualise his political ambition. Ubah has over the years built a well oiled political structure in Anambra which is mostly populated by young people whose life he has touched. There is no doubt that Ubah’s philanthropy in the state has remained unequalled, and this is strongly linked to his political structure, which is named – Afa Igbo Efuna, Igbo words which means ‘let the Igbo name not go into extinction’. Ubah ranks as one of the aspirant for the governorship seat of Anambra State who has a cultlike following from young people and women, all of whom are ready to swim and sink with him.
Another of Ubah’s selling point is his performance in the Senate and the ability to touch lives. Within two years in the Senate, Ubah has moved from just moving quality motions and sponsoring bills that will impact on the people to executing serious projects, not only within his Anambra South senatorial zone, which is known to be the largest senatorial zone in the state, but beyond as his projects can be seen in all parts of the state. His projects include roads, Bridges and other infrastructural projects, which he has embarked upon for the public and sometimes for institutions.
Besides all other advantages, Ubah is feared by many for his deep pocket. In 2019 when Ubah ran for the Senate seat in YPP against many known names and political parties, chief among was Senator Andy Uba of APC, Chief Chris Uba of PDP and Evang Nicholas Ukachukwu of APGA, he showed his might, and has steadily stated in many fora that the will to finance his governorship aspiration was no problem of his.
Though Ubah has a challenger; Chief Emma Nkwocha in the YPP, where he will expectedly vie for the ticket of the party, it is already clear that Ubah remains the only aspirant who for now is sure of the ticket of his party for the election. As the election which is slated for November draws close, Ubah has also started to mobilize for the election, giving members of the party the hope that victory is assured for him.
