.As Catholic, Anglican draw first blood
By Okey Maduforo,
Correspondent (Awka)
The unending confusion in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Anambra State over its leadership has deepened the woes of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the party’s choice of gubernatorial candidate this year.
As at the last count, five powerful members of the PDP last festive season defected to the APC which include Chief Arthur Eze, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, Senator Andy Uba, Comrade Tony Nnoye and Chief Obinna Uzoh.
Aside Eze, who is the benefactor to Tony Nnoye, the rest of the PDP defectors are battling without end to pick the governorship ticket of the APC, hence threatening the political fortunes of old APC aspirants, Chief George Muoghalu, Engr. Bath Nwibe and Chief Johnbosco Onunkwo.
Though the state chairman of APC, Mr. Emeka Ibe, had told The Niche that all aspirants would be given a level play ground to contest the primary election, sustained pressures are on the neck of the party leadership in Abuja and the South East leadership such as Sen. Chris Ngige, Dr. Ogbonna Onu, Governor Rochas Okorocha from the PDP defectors to choose either of them as the anointed candidates of the party.
Sen. Andy Uba, whose former boss, Chief Olusegun Obansanjo, has been frequenting Aso Rock to impress upon President Buhari to hand over APC ticket to his boy, spent over nine hours at Sen. Ngige’s country home, Alor, with his entire family on what he called Christmas visit. But a dependable source confirmed that it has to do with the governorship primaries of the party.
“Andy Uba was here and he came with his family and they left late in the night and this one is extra ordinary”.
When contacted, the Minister for Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, merely laughed it off, noting that there was nothing wrong in a brother paying a brother a visit in the spirit of Christmas.
Similarly, Chief Arthur Eze after joining the APC with his godson, Tony Nwoye, announced that he has the capacity to deliver APC in all the states of the South East, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to consider his candidate, Nwoye.
In the last one month, the PDP defectors have visited all the electoral wards in Anambra State, building structures that at the moment created a deep divide in the party.
An executive member of APC in Anambra told The Niche that “our party is already in crisis. But people do not know.
“These PDP people have divided our party and half is with the old APC members while half is with the PDP members and very soon they will divide the executive.”
Confirming the development, one of the governorship aspirants and a founding member of the party, Engr. Bath Nwibe, while making his official declaration to the state executive, said,
“They have abandoned their party for APC, a party they addressed as anti-Igbo, Boko Haram, Islamic fonder mentalists. I believe that our state executive is mind full of their agenda in our party. If any of them is given ticket, they would certainly push every one aside and all those who labored in the past for the building of the party would become tenants in a house they built. I appeal to the executive not to allow themselves to be used to actualize this plot”.
Chief George Muoghalu, who is an aspirant and currently a BOT member of APC as well as National Auditor of APC, described them as interlopers.
“Yes, they are all in APC and what they have come to do is to cause confusion in APC. Some may have been sent to derail the ambitions of our party to take over Anambra State. They may be working with the ruling party in the state to make sure that we remain in crisis until November 2017 governorship election. But I bet you they will not succeed”.
Anglican – Catholic showdown
The Anglican community in Anambra State has entered the war trench and has resolved to stem what it described as the perpetual subjugation of its denomination by Catholics in the state.
At an exclusive meeting in Awka which had in attendance senior clerics of the Anglican church recently, the issue was raised and emotions went wild over the alleged marginalization of the Anglican Church by successive governments of Catholic extraction.
It was their resolve to support a governorship aspirant of Anglican extraction, contending that their Roman Catholic brothers have pushed their luck too far.
According to the Chairman, Cathedral Laity Council and Diocesan Director of Ecumenism of the Anglican Church Awka Diocese, Arch Okey Chukwuogo, “I am not aware of such meetings and it did not hold with the Anglican Bishops present. But people have in meetings, I mean the Anglicans, moved motions for us to support a gubernatorial candidate from Anglican Church. There have also been meetings by the laity people in Anglican Church where all analysis of all aspirants and political parties and their denominations were made and their respective advantages to the Anglican Church.
“Before now, Chukwuemeka Ezeife became governor of Anambra State as a member of Salvation Army and that time there was nothing like denominational politics in Anambra State. Also Chinwoke Mbadinuju won the election as governor as a Pentecostal member and this type of politics were not being played.
“After him, six Anglicans and one Catholic nominated Chris Ngige and installed him governor because denominational politics was not there as it were.
“But when Peter Obi became governor of Anambra State for some reasons he started appointing Catholics in positions resulting in our having eighty percent Catholics, 18 percent Anglicans and two percent pagans.”
Chukwuogo noted that “the imbalance and incrimination got down to the civil service promotions, appointments and recruitment of workers, adding that even non-Catholics had to carry rosary beads and do sign of the cross to get elevated in the office or get political appointment”.
He however spoke the mind of the Anglican Church, insisting that just look away. Any governor that will keep creating this kind of imbalance in the state will really have himself to blame.
“The same imbalance is happening in Obiano’s administration, all against not only the Anglican Church but non-Catholics.
“Yes, the Anglican Church would want to have a governor of Anglican extraction and it is only fair that they have such to create what looks like a balance.
“Even the two Anglicans who were deputy governors to Peter Obi, Virgy Etiaba and Emeka Sibudu, were made redundant and it is no longer news what the two Anglican deputy governors suffered in the hands of Catholic governor.
“We are not even sure if Obiano’s Deputy, Dr. Nkem Okeke, would return again as deputy governor if at all Willie Obiano wins again”.
When contacted, top and senior clerics of Catholic declined to comment on the allegations, promising that at the appointed time they would talk.
They were also silent about the alleged endorsement of Governor Willie Obiano for a second-term by the Catholic Church in Anambra State.
