Anambra Poll: Obiano Mocks APC, PDP over Inability to Choose Running Mates

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has mocked the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for showing signs of ‘unpreparedness for the task of governing the state’.

The governor said two weeks after both parties held their primary elections and elected candidates, they are yet to announce their running mates, “showing that they were not prepared for the contest.”

Obiano was quoted in a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C. Don Adinuba, as stating that such measure of unpreparedness has given his party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) an edge in the forthcoming state election.

According to the statement, “The moment APGA nominated Chukwuma Charles Soludo, the internationally renowned economics professor, reformer and former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, as its governorship candidate, other parties gave up on the election.

“The PDP and APC are in low spirits and disarray right now that they cannot choose running mates two weeks after they held their controversial congresses.

“Professor Soludo has announced his running mate, Dr. Onyeka Ibezim, a medical doctor and accomplished technocrat, a week after his own nomination to the applause of the state.”

Adinuba further quoted Obiano as saying that there was an intense lobbying for Soludo’s running mate, with a good number of solid options, but the party helped Soludo to go for the best.

“The Soludo candidacy is unstoppable, which explains why both the PDP and the APC played every trick in the book and pulled all manner of propaganda stunts to stop Soludo from clinching the APGA ticket, but he ended up with 93.4 percent of the votes cast at the Professor Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre.

“Our congress was televised live and everyone saw that the primary election was free, fair and peaceful, but neither the PDP nor the APC bothered to broadcast its events on television.

“The two parties have, for all we care, given up on the November 6 gubernatorial election.”