Ebonyi voters will be influenced by key factors
In Ebonyi State, the contest may have been narrowed down to the two leading presidential candidates; President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
Both the APC and the PDP presidential candidates have begged for votes from the people of the state. President Buhari, during his visit, promised to refund monies the state spent on federal projects after the review committee concluded auditing of the projects.
The president, who made the promise during an audience with Governor Umahi and other stakeholders at the government house, Abakaliki, lauded the governor for the infrastructural development in the state.
He told the traditional rulers that the plans to invest in agriculture were deliberate to improve the living standard of Nigerians and create an alternative revenue source for the nation.
“But subsequently, we got drunk with oil money and abandoned what kept us intact. But we are going back to that (agriculture).” Buhari assured the monarchs that the South East would benefit from the second Niger Bridge when completed as it would enhance movement of goods and services in and out of the region.
The president, who thanked the people of Ebonyi for the rousing welcome, urged them to vote for him and other candidates of the APC in the forthcoming general elections.
Governor Umahi, who said that the South East geopolitical zone had benefited from Federal Government projects during the visit, added that the Federal Government’s agricultural programme had benefited the state immensely as the state has comparative advantage in agriculture and solid minerals compared to other states in the zone.
The endorsement Mr President got from 140 Ebonyi traditional rulers in the state was seen as a booster for his chances in the state.
The Ebonyi Council of Traditional Rulers had said President Buhari would get the support of many voters in the state at the February 16th presidential election.
During his campaign at the Pa Oruta Ngele Township Stadium in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, the PDP presidential candidate assured the people that they would not marginalise in his government.
Atiku, who said that the greatest transformation the people of the state had been enjoying since its creation happened under the PDP government, implored the people of Ebonyi not to be deceived.
He said: “Having said that, I want to use this opportunity to promise you that Ebonyi will never again be marginalised in the Federal Government. And to the people of the South East let me tell you I don’t know what will happen in future, but this is your best time. Do you know why I said so, you will have a vice-president from South East and you’ll have the wife of the vice-president who is also a South-easterner. Which means you have two over three.
“Let me tell you I have been to many states in Nigeria, I have not seen a mobilisation and organisation like this. I want to single out Governor David Umahi, no wonder you are referred to as Mr Construction. I have been travelling round all over the country, this is the only state where they construct road with concrete. It means your roads are going to be a lifetime road, it is only somebody like Umahi that can do that.”
While Buhari can rely on the likes of the Minister for Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, and former Governor Martins Elechi, Atiku will be banking on the dominance of the PDP in Ebonyi.
However, many factors have been identified to influence the outcome of February 16, 2019 presidential election in the state.
Some of these factors are the issue of stakeholders’ interest, programmes/ manifesto of the candidate, party inclination/ structure, security concern, and the much emphasised 2023 Igbo presidency.
Mr David Okofar, a political analyst living in Abakaliki metropolis, identifies the interest of key stakeholders as one major factor that will determine who the people of Ebonyi State will cast their votes for. Okafor says some key actors who set the voting pattern in favour of the PDP presidential candidate in 2015 election have now moved to the APC, a development that will work for the APC presidential candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari.
For instance, the immediate past governor of the state, Chief Martin Elechi, Sen. Chris Nwankwo who represented Ebonyi North in 2011-2015, the former speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Augustine Nwankwegu, Sen. Anthony Agbo, and Dr Edward Nkwagu, the governorship candidate of Labour Party (LP) in 2015 and a host of others have already pitched their tent with the APC.
But the chances of the PDP presidential candidate and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar cannot be brushed aside as his party has solid structures at ward, local government and state levels. Pundits say the fact that the PDP has been steering the affairs of Ebonyi State since the inception of democracy in 1999 makes Atiku’s chances brighter.
However, Mr Eseni Uko, a politician said the internal wrangling and the rumoured alliance of Governor David Umahi, who is a PDP card carrying member, with the presidential candidate of the APC might deface the existing structures of the PDP.
Analysts say the current administration’s agricultural programmes that have had positive impact on farmers in Ebonyi, essentially those engaging in rice farming are good campaign messages for the re-election bid of President Buhari in the state. The president is also expected to get votes from the beneficiaries of the N-POWER initiative that has engaged over 30,000 unemployed youth who will have support for the initiator of the programme.
The people, some political analysts say, will choose between Buhari and Atiku if they see anyone with genuine interest to end the security challenges in Ikwo, Ohankwu, Ezza North and South local government areas of the state.
Another factor that will determine the choice of the people of Ebonyi State is the clamour for Igbo presidency in 2023. Already, the APC has brought the issue to the frontburner during the ongoing campaigns in Ebonyi and other states in the South East.