For the first time in many years, the upcoming Conservative election looks unexpected.
This is at a time when some state governors seeking re-election or who have put their preferred successors in a state of panic ahead of the March 11 election for governor.
This development is the fallout from the shocking performance of the opposition, especially the Labor Party, LP, in the just-concluded presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25.
Looking at the results of last week’s presidential and National Assembly elections, many conservatives are worried because now the outcome of the election is unpredictable. Labor won, against all odds, over incumbent Conservatives as well as tested politicians who were hoping to join their former colleagues in the National Assembly.
Notably, the Labor Party was highlighted by its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who had joined it just eight months before the election and pushed the “obedient movement”.
Prior to the presidential election on 25 February, the LLP was thought to be unable to make headway in some of the states it won.
However, the party made a giant stride by winning twelve states, including Lagos State, All Progressives Congress, and CPP, to the shock of many.
Data from election results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed around a dozen governors lost their states to opposition parties, including the Liberal Labor Party, during the presidential election.
POST reported how the rulers of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu); okezi ekbizu (apiah); Ben Ayada (Cross River); Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta); Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Simon Lalong (Plateau) and others lost their states to the opposition.
If the trend that emerged in the February 25 presidential election is repeated in the gubernatorial election, some state governors may not get a second term or exit their successors, a prospect that generates fear and anxiety in some of them.
Enugu
The Liberal Party was very successful in Enugu in the presidential and National Assembly elections, winning seven out of the eight seats in the State House of Representatives. He also won one of the three seats in the Senate.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the candidate in the election, was badly defeated by the Labor candidate, Okey Ezea, in the contest for the highly coveted seat in the Enugu North senatorial district.
The development has since destabilized the entire political structure in the country.
It was alleged that the state’s People’s Democratic Party-led government recently met with Catholic Church leaders in the state, and appealed for the support of its candidate, Peter Mbah.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Party’s candidate, Chigeyuki Edeuga, who is seen as a threat to the candidate by DPP supporters, is seriously hoping to capitalize on Obi’s votes.
Speaking to the DAILY POST, state LP party chief Hon Malachy Okey Onyechi said the party will take the lead in the gubernatorial election just as it did in the presidential election.
Onichi, who is also his party’s House of Representatives candidate for Nsukka West constituency, said Ideoga represents fresh air for the people of Enugu and will work to save the state from decay.
We have no fear of the upcoming elections. We will come out on top as we did in the presidential elections. Our candidate represents fresh air for the people of Enugu.”
Lagos
Lagos state governor Babatunde Sanwo-Olu is seeking a second term. However, the outcome of the presidential elections in his state was lower than he expected.
The Daily Post reported how Peter Obi of the Labor Party, the elected president, defeated Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos.
The LP was also able to win four seats in the National Assembly.
Days after the presidential election, there were plenty of intrigues aimed at winning support from the Igbos, who supposedly had the most important vote of the bloc after the indigenous people in the state.
There are fears among the APC camp that Igbos could vote for a gubernatorial candidate from Labour, LP, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
Unsettled by the development, APC leader Femi Fanny Kayode recently said that the party would not allow Gbadebo Rhodes Fifour, the Labor gubernatorial candidate, to hand over the state to Igbos.
Fani Kayode claimed that Yoruba and Igbos were tortured in the southeast during the presidential elections.
In a series of tweets, it was also claimed that some Igbos were killed in the southeastern part of the country for voting for Bola Tinubu.
Meanwhile, the ruling PDP candidate in Lagos, Abdelaziz Adydiran (Gandour), said Igbos deserve protection and respect for their enormous contribution to the development of the state.
Adiran made the remarks at a town hall meeting with the Igbo Ndegbo congregation Na Lagos Bo Oto in Surulere on Sunday.
“The appreciation of the first-class Lagosians who recognize that all the Igbo people of Lagos are one of those who have contributed greatly to our prosperity in Lagos State,” he said.
To leave nothing to chance, the Sanwo-Olu government, apart from meeting with Igbo stakeholders in the state, has released the reserved vehicles free of charge to their owners. It is believed that these initiatives are aimed at mobilizing votes.
However, a senior APC member in the state revealed to Daily Post that his party has made plans on how to win the elections. He pointed out that an agreement had been reached with some ethnic blocs in the state, taking into account the lapses that occurred during the last elections.
I can’t reveal everything to you. It’s a well-drawn game plan. We as a party have already learned our lesson from the last elections. He said.
Delta
The Labor Party, LP, has become a pretty bride sought after by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.
Remember, Governor Ifyeni Okwa, the PDP’s vice-candidate, failed to hand over his mandate to the party.
Since then, Okwa has taken the campaign to religious leaders seeking support for his nominee, Sharif Obrevuri.
Recently, the Delta LP distanced itself from rumors swirling that it was negotiating with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa ahead of the March 11 gubernatorial election.
There is no truth to the rumors, LP State President Tony Izigo said in a press release Monday in Asaba.
He said the party’s supporters in the state remain determined to win the gubernatorial election and will not switch their support to any other party.
However, some supporters of Peter Obi in the state have pledged to work with the APC candidate, Ofi Omo Ageji, during Saturday’s gubernatorial election.
The Delta Central Obidients Movement Coalition, Ochuko Edafe, claimed that “Obidients” vote for individuals, not parties.
“We, the Templers, follow in the footsteps and watch the character of our Principal, His Excellency Mr. Peter Opie, and when we descended home to our State, Delta, we decided that we would look for the same character and among all the people to stand for Governor of Delta State.
“Your Excellency, the Vice-President of the Senate, Senator Ovi Omo-Ajeji, has these qualities and character, and as you can see, he is a man of the people who is ready to meet people at any time,” he said.
rivers
Only a few of Peter Obi’s supporters would be happy about Governor Rivers Nesom Wake. Many of them believed that he worked against the interest of their presidential candidate in favor of Paula Tinubu of the APC.
Wike was allegedly taking steps to appease some Igbo groups to ensure that his candidate, Siminialaye Fubara, would succeed him.
He stepped up his efforts to woo some of Obi’s supporters with mouth-watering promises to hand over his candidate.
Meanwhile, the leader of the APC, Chief Ize Chukwuemeka Ize, called on the people to prepare and speak with one voice during the March 11 elections for governor, just as they did in the presidential elections.
Eze called on the Igbo people of Rivers State to ignore any invitation to meet with Governor Wake for any reason.
He claimed that Wike had deployed every organ of state within its reach to render useless every legitimate effort that had been made to ensure that the result of their privilege would be reflected in the outcome of the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Guber Polls: Fear Grips Governors Of ‘Obidients Wave’
