As Abia PDP Elects New Governorship Candidate Saturday…

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo writes that the Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party will on Saturday, February 4, 2023 hold governorship primary to elect another candidate to replace Prof Eleazar Uche Ikonne, who died on January 25, this year

This is not the best rimes for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State. The party is in shock, pain and quandary as it mourns the passing of its governorship candidate, Prof Eleazar Uche Ikonne. His death Wednesday,    January 25, 2023 has halted the party’s campaign train. The emergence of Ikonne as the governorship standard bearer of Abia PDP was woven in political intrigues and controversies.

At the heat of the succession battle between the old Aba Division and the Old Bende Division, Professor Eleazar Uche Ikonne had emerged “the chosen one” for the Ukwa/Ngwa  political bloc(old Aba Division), spanning Abia South and half of Abia Central Senatorial Districts.

On March 28, 2022, a high powered delegation of Ukwa/Ngwa under the aegis of Old Aba Divisional Forum visited the former Vice-chancellor of the Abia State University (ABSU) Uturu at his Umuahia home.

The mission of the delegation drawn from different organisations in Ukwa/Ngwa was simple: to draft Prof Ikonne into the 2023 governorship race.

Leader of the delegation, Chief Theo Nkire, did not mince words as he told Ikonne that he had been chosen as the consensus candidate of the Ukwa/Ngwa bloc to fly the flag of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said Ikonne “has been tried and tested and we’ve found him worthy of the assignmen” hence every other governorship aspirant from the zone across all political parties would be asked to bottle their ambitions.

The elder statesman assured the retired academic that his expression of interest and nomination forms would be paid for by the Forum. He declared that the former VC had been chosen to succeed Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, his Ngwa kinsman. Ikonne was given 36 hours to make up his mind.

There was no mistaking the hand of Governor Ikpeazu in the visit of the Ukwa/Ngwa delegation to Ikonne. Deputy Chief of Staff in the office of Deputy Governor, Chief Don Ubani assured whoever cared to listen that Ukwa/Ngwa was ready to support Ikonne “whatever it takes” to make him the next governor after Ikpeazu. According to him, the worst thing that the chosen person would do “is to refuse” the collective request of Ukwa/Ngwa clan to enter the 2023 governorship race. As an icing on the cake, former Deputy Chief of Staff, Chief John Nwangborogwu gave the assurance that “we will do the battle” of succession.

It was a mission accompli. Ikonne, “after consultations” with prominent stakeholders, met the deadline set for him to make up his mind.

He joined the 2023 gubernatorial race. Thus, the rumour which had been swirling around concerning Ikpeazu’s choice of his successor became real. The governor had already made it clear that he was going to “point the torch” for the people to follow just like his predecessors did. That was another way of saying that he would anoint his own successor.

With unbridled support of Governor Ikpeazu and government machinery at his disposal Ikonne went ahead and picked the governorship ticket of the ruling PDP. The governorship primary of May 25, 2022 was not much of a contest.

All the major contenders had pulled out of the race, citing “imposition of candidate” anointed by the governor, thereby giving the beneficiary undue advantage over other contestants.

Those that withdrew included the Deputy Governor,  Ude Oko Chukwu,  Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe,  former Abia PDP chairman, Senator Emma Nwaka, Prof Greg Ibe and Engr Chima Nwafor. Ikonne polled 67 percent of the votes after receiving 468 of the 700 votes cast by delegates to emerge victorious.

The outcome of the PDP governorship primary led to high profile defections as the aspirants who felt shortchanged left the ruling party to actualise their governorship ambitions in opposition parties. Ibe left and became the governorship flag bearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Abaribe got the senatorial ticket of the party. Nwafor walked out of PDP and picked the governorship ticket of the Young Progressives Party (YPP).

Following his emergence as the ruling party’s governorship candidate, Ikonne had strutted about the political space of Abia with an air of governor in the waiting. He was very visible at public functions, holding town hall meetings, consultations and other forms of electioneering. However, Ikonne’s political activities waned after the flagoff of his governorship campaign on November 24, 2022 at the Umuahia Township Stadium. There had been speculations about his health challenges and fitness to cope with the rigours of electioneering.

Such suggestions were usually dismissed by his campaign team and government officials, who insisted that the governorship candidate was as fit as fiddle to finish the race.

But the cat was let out of bag eventually. The PDP governorship hopeful slumped immediately he ended his address which he laboriously delivered after receiving the party’s flag.

He was hurriedly led to the back stage and eased onto a chair. While he was battling with his waning strength, surrounded by security agents and some aides, who made frantic efforts to screen him out of public gaze, the flagoff ceremony continued. Except some journalists staying behind the podium the rest of the huge crowd at the stadium were oblivious of Ikonne’s struggle with what turned out to be terminal illness.

The state commissioner for trade, John Okiyi Kalu, was visibly alarmed when he noticed that journalists were observing the unfolding drama and he quickly cleared the prying eyes out of the back of the podium. But it was already late. They had seen all.

Apparently, Governor Ikpeazu and his fellow G5 Governors who were also on the podium, did not realise what the man of the day was passing through. At the end of the event Ikonne could not leave with Ikpeazu and his high profile guests.

He stayed behind for quite a while before he was assisted to stand and was aided  to his jeep which was brought close to the podium.

From then, the health condition of the PDP governorship flag bearer was shrouded in secrecy. Despite his glaring absence in public space the people of Abia was made to believe that all was well. The deputy governorship candidate,  Hon Okey Igwe said his principal was on vacation. 

The spokesman of the Ikonne campaign organisation, Uche Aguoru, also kept parroting the deceptive statement to explain Ikonne’s long absence. Not a few eyes brows were raised even in PDP circles as people kept asking a rhetoric question: where is Ikonne.

 As the suffocating silence on the whereabouts of Ikonne persisted, a group known as Abia Transformation Agenda( Network (TAN) took the Abia PDP leadership to task asking them to clear the air on the party’s governorship flag bearer. 

In a release signed by its National Coordinator, Thomas Okoro, the group decried Ikonne’s “continued absence and lack of information about his health condition”. It said  it was “tantamount to Abia PDP playing hide and seek with the collective destiny of Abians”.

However, the Abia PDP Vice-chairman/Acting state publicity secretary, Hon Amah Abraham, disagreed, saying that in matters of health the onus lies on the concerned family to provide information not the party.

Even at that, TAN, which stated that it had been following with keen interest the developments on Ikonne’s absence, insisted that Ikonne’s absence and lack of information about him was already generating tension in the ruling party.

According to the group, vested interests in the ruling party were digging in to profit from the uncertain situation should there be need to replace the candidate.

“We noticed that a faction of PDP who feel they would benefit if a swap happens, has been holding series of meetings on how to scale through the hurdle of replacement of candidate placed by the Electoral Act,” the group said.

Sounding as if it knew that Ikonne was on a journey of no return, TAN warned the Abia PDP to stop foot dragging on making full disclosure concerning Ikonne’s condition. The reasoned that by making full disclosure on the health status of Ikonne necessary action could be taken given that Section 31 of the Electoral Act provides for 90 days notice of withdrawal before the poll for a nominated candidate.

“It is obvious that given the limitation of time and by statutes, the PDP in Abia State has no governorship candidate. Those who are benefitting from this quagmire are busy receiving millions of naira daily for campaigning for a candidate who cannot be found anyway.

“We want to bring to the notice of Abians that members of the PDP who are the architects of this game plan want to go into the elections with an absentee Ikonne so that it will be very easy for them to have unfettered access to the State Treasury in the unlikely event that Ikonne wins,” TAN said.

It was not until January 16, 2023 that Governor Ikpeazu finally admitted to the public that his anointed candidate was ill. Speaking in a programme on a local radio station, the Abia state governor disclosed that Ikonne took ill at the gala night organised in honour of the G-5 Governors at Ikpeazu’s Umuobiakwa country home in Obingwa Local Government. What that meant was that Ikonne was already indisposed coming to the stadium for the campaign flagoff.

He said the former ABSU VC had attended the gala night “where he managed to give a speech and then he took ill”. The governor, however, said  Ikonne was “recovering gradually and progressively” and would “join us sooner or later”.

Governor Ikpeazu’s optimism didn’t materialise. Ikonne never came back to join the campaign trail. He has quit the governorship race and sailed on to eternity. The erudite professor of Optometry had served his state as Rector of the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba and the Vice-chancellor of the Abia State University Uturu(ABSU).

When he joined the 2023 governorship race, his intention was to serve God’s own state at the highest level of becoming the chief executive of the state. Ikonne wanted to run the whole race and possibly breast the tape as winner but the great reaper had other ideas.

Barely 24 hours after Ikonne’s family announced his passage in a three paragraph statement, signed by his son, Dr Uche-Ikonne Chikezie, political electioneering got frozen in Abia.

Both the party of the deceased candidate and opposition parties halted their campaigns in honour of the exported governorship candidate. While Governor Ikpeazu ordered flags to be flown at half mast at PDP offices statewide, the Vice-chairman/Acting state publicity secretary of the party, Hon Abraham announced suspension of all political activities for three days.

The governorship flag bearer of the main opposition party,  All Progressives Congress (APC), High Chief Ikechi Emenike, announced freezing of his campaign for seven days.

The governorship hopeful of Labour Party,  Mr. Alex Otti and his All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) counterpart, Prof Greg Ibe and Chima Nwafor of YPP have also halted their campaigns.

Ikonne’s death has pushed Abia PDP back to the drawing board and exposed the party to fresh round of crisis.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said that there is still window of opportunity for the party to replace its governorship candidate for Abia.  The electoral umpire went ahead and directed PDP to conduct fresh governorship primary for the purpose of nominating Ikonne’s replacement.  Citing Section 31 of the Electoral Act(as amended), the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye said that PDP has 14 days to nominate a replacement for the deceased candidate. 

According to him, “the case in hand is different from the issue of withdrawal of candidates. The issue at hand is death and the candidate died when the period of election is still a month away. The Electoral Act permits the party that nominated him to conduct fresh primaries for the purpose of replacing him,” the INEC spokesman said.

He therefore warned that if PDP failed to conduct fresh primaries “within 14 days of the death of the candidate, they will not have a candidate in the election. The situation is different if the candidate dies just when polls are about to commence but has not commenced”.

Expectedly, the PDP leadership has commenced complying with the directive from INEC. It has fixed the fresh governorship primary for February 4 at Umuahia Township Stadium. The party’s spokesman in Abia, Hon Abraham, said sale of forms commenced on Friday January 27, and  ended on Wednesday,  February 1, 2023.

He said  all interested aspirants should collect the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms from the PDP Headquarters at Wadata Plaza, Wuse Abuja.

Obviously the bereaved party is running to beat the deadline hence the screening of aspirants held at the PDP National Headquarters,  Wadata Plaza Abuja, on Thursday February 2, 2023 at 11:00 am prompt.

“All the aspirants are expected to present themselves to the State Working Committee, SWC, of the Abia PDP on Friday, February 3, 2023 at the State Secretariat, Finbars Street, Umuahia by 12: 00 pm,” Abraham said.

It is not clear if the party would waive nomination fees for aspirants that had participated in the primary that produced the late governorship candidate. The fresh primary would also throw up the contentious issue of power rotation which compelled party leadership to doublezone its governorship ticket to Abia North and Abia Central Senatorial Districts.

And since Ikonne, who won the ticket for Abia Central has by stroke of fate left the political stage, the Abia North members of PDP may see it as an opportunity to heal the wound inflicted on the zone when it was denied the ticket against the zoning arrangement. Their argument remains that power shift started from Abia North in 1999 and after eight years moved to Abia Central and then to Abia South  from where Governor Ikpeazu emerged as governor. Based on this arrangement Abia North PDP faithful have continued to insist that power should return to the zone at the end of Ikpeazu’s eight years in office.

However, the Abia PDP leadership intends to navigate the issue of Ikonne’s replacement which would certainly reopen old wounds and festering grievances that made many governorship aspirants to dump the party last year.

To avoid further polarisation of the ruling party in Abia, some party elders and chieftains, it was learnt, have started calling for a consensus arrangement to nominate a fresh governorship candidate. This, they believe, would avert a possible fractious outcome of a fresh primary.