More Protests Trail Anambra APGA, PDP Pre-Guber Polls Exercises

 The Guardian Nigeria
Sunday, August 18, 2013

ONE of the aspirants of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the Anambra State governorship election, Mr Oseloka Obazi, declared Sunday that the decision of the party’s appeal panel which upheld his disqualification has brought to an end the process of his candidacy for the polls.

  Wishing his colleagues who had been cleared by the panel well in their campaign, he noted that he was not resident in Nigeria when the previous voter’s registration was done, hence could not possess voter’s card which was a statutory requirement of section 12 (c) of the party’s guideline.

  Obaze, who is  also Secretary to State Government (SSG), in a statement, said: “For me, there was no other way to obtain a card but legally, and through INEC. The first opportunity to do so in Anambra, would be on Monday 19 August 2013 (today).   The APGA appeal panel did not accede to my request to present the card within the 48 hours window, established by Section 12 (c) of the party electoral guidelines, which according to their sitting schedule, commenced at 3.00 p.m. on Saturday 17 August 2013, and should statutorily end at 3.00 p.m. on Monday,  August 19, 2013.”

  Stressing that the appeal panel “upheld the decision of Governorship Screening Panel to disqualify me on what was a mere technicality of not having a voter’s card,” he thanked Governor,Peter Obi, his family, friends, staff and all those who offered their support and prayers while the campaign lasted.
  An elder brother of the immediate past former Commissioner of Local Government /Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Dubem Obaze, he was disqualified alongside a former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, Mr. Emma Nweke, Dr. Chike Obidigbo and Mr. Chinedu Idigo.
  However, there are strong feelers that Obi might restore him as SSG.

  Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Congress Appeal Panel for Anambra State headed by Alhaji Suleiman Lawal Kauru has commenced sitting in Awka, the capital.

  The four- man panel came to look into petitions and bickering arising from the party’s last Monday’s congress in the state held to elect three ad-hoc delegates for the governorship primary scheduled for August 24, 2013.

  However the waiting game for the release of the results of the congress may have ended with the arrival of the appeal panel. There were indications from the Awka secretariat of the congress committee that Chief Udo Ogochukwu, its chairman, has shown a willingness to make results of the congress public.

  The panel, according to Kauru, has so far received no fewer than four petitions which were mainly on “ manipulation of the process occasioning unnecessary and avoidable delays” that marred the congress in some areas.

  On his part, a gubernatorial aspirant of the Labour Party (LP) in the November election, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, has emphasised the need to encourage estate developers for housing schemes.

  He stated that if elected, his administration would pursue an affordable housing scheme and encourage businessmen who build houses outside the state to come back and invest.

  In a statement, Ubah who is the Chairman, Capital Oil and Gas Ltd, said: “Incentives to encourage developers will include allocation of cheap land and provision of sites and services on proposed development sites. Also bureaucratic bottlenecks and hardships in getting certificate of occupancy in Anambra State will be minimised by our administration.

   “Our people, especially the civil servants will be given loans to assist them to acquire their own houses in any of the various housing estates. We will ensure the salaried workers will have their own homes when the retire.”

 Also, an APGA aspirant, Chief Willie Maduabuchi Obiano, has promised to encourage the party’s growth beyond the South-East region.

  Pledging to sustain Obi’s projects, he said his major objective was to provide democracy divided to the people in areas covering health, education, infrastructural development, youth and women empowerment.

   He hailed Obi’s developmental efforts, which according to him, have helped to open up the rural areas, especially by providing roads, electricity and water among others   previously lacking in several communities.

Lawrence Njoku (Enugu), Chuks Collins, Uzoma Nzeagwu (Awka) and Tunde Akinola (Lagos) contributed to this article