Daily Independent Online.
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Thursday, June 17, 2004.
PDP meets over Uba, Ngige
By Okey Maduforo
Correspondent, Awka
The fate of Anambra State Governor, Dr
Chris Ngige, and that of his estranged godfather, Chief Chris Uba, will be
determined today in Abuja at a meeting summoned by the national working
committee (NWC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and chaired by its
Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh.
The meeting could not hold last week as the
governor and some other interested parties in the lingering crisis were
unavoidably absent due to the nationwide strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress
(NLC) over increases in the prices of petroleum products.
It was learnt that the meeting would be
more of a harmonisation and reconciliation move to settle the bumpy political
storm in Anambra State, which is however coming at the peak of the gridlock in
the state over the list of nominated candidates of PDP for the local government
elections in the state.
Ngige had earlier rejected the list on the
grounds that it was doctored and did not reflect the agreement reached in
series of harmonisation meetings of PDP at the zonal and national levels to
produce an all-embracing list of candidates for the polls.
At Government House Awka on Wednesday, over
300 party men and women, including local government caretaker committee
chairmen and former party executives, were seen boarding luxury buses stationed
in the area enroute Abuja for the meeting.
According to the former council Chairperson
of Ogbaru Council, who is also the erstwhile Publicity Secretary of PDP in the
state, Mrs Calista Nwachukwu, “The secretariat should give Ngige the
party leadership because any leadership that cannot work in tandem with the
governor stands the risk of failure, and just like the party did to other
governors, Ngige should not be different. It would be unfair if the party
imposes a list of candidates or executive that would threaten the peace in
Anambra.”
But Chief Ifeatu Obiokoye told Daily
Independent that Ngige was present at the meeting where the list was
drawn, adding that for him to claim that the list was doctored is very
unfortunate and unbecoming of a governor.
The nominated candidates for the polls and
other unresolved issues had led to the shifting of camp by the governor’s
faction Chairman, Chief Dan Ulasi, to Uba’s camp, with Ulasi alleging
that the governor deceived him into making disparaging remarks against
President Olusegun Obasanjo, while noting that the Ngige’s position over
the list depicts untruthfulness.
Daily Independent also learnt that though
the meeting appears promising, the recent gang-up by Chief Joseph Okonkwo and
Dan Ulasi against the governor makes the meeting suspect as fears are being entertained
in some quarters that this could be a ploy to remove the governor
systematically.
