Abia guber race: 29 Aspirants challenge Gov Ikpeazu

As the 2019 governorship election draws near, 29 others from different parties are ready to contest with the incumbent governor, Okezie Ikpeazu over Government House, Umuahia.

Though the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in Abia says a total of 30 candidates are jostling for the governorship position in the state, only 29 candidates’ photocopied forms were displayed at the state headquarters of the election umpire in Umuahia.

The parties include the ruling party in the state, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, All Progress Alliance, APC, All Grand Progressive Alliance, APGA, and Social Democratic Party, SDP, as well as Labour Party.

This display also brought to a close the contentions of who are the parties’ governorship candidates in factionalized parties in the state, basically the APC and the APGA.

In APC, it was Dr. Uche Oga instead of Chief Ikechi Emenike, while in APGA, it was Dr. Alex Otti instead of Chief Chikwe Udensi.

More interesting is the sudden decamp of a two-time Abia House of Assembly member representing Aba North, Lady Blessing Nwagba from PDP to the SDP to become the governorship candidate of the party.

Nwagba had contested for the candidateship of PDP for House of Representatives (Aba North and South) and failed only to emerge as the SDP guber candidate unceremoniously and to the bewilderment of many who had expected her to remain in PDP as a good party man and loyalists.

Of the 30, predictions indicate that the governorship battle is actually going to be by individual, not by party as more court cases are expected in APC and APGA as the disfavoured aspirants like Ikechi Emenike of APC and Chikwe Udensi of APGA are in the forefront of springing up surprises, especially through the court system.

If so, this will afford the ruling party, PDP an edge over the others at the 2019 polls, especially as Abians are of the opinion that the unwritten Abia Charter of Equity should be allowed to play out by voting Okezie Ikpeazu for the second time to enable Abia south Senatorial zone complete its second tenure under Ikpeazu as Abia North did under Orji Uzo Kalu and Abia central under T. A. Orji.