defection galore in Anambra

A BANKER turned politician, she represented Njikoka,Anaocha and Dunukofia federal constituency at the

House of Representatives. Indeed, her journey to Nigeria's lower chamber of lawmakers began in 2007, under People's Democratic Party (PDP)'s wings. A relatively political neophyte, she swept away the likes of Col. Victor Ozodinobi (rtd) on her way to Abuja. But her romance with PDP's umbrella paled into stillbirth when she jumped  boat in  2010 –  just before then coming general elections and ported into PPA.

    Her name is Uche Lilian Ekwunife, presently senator representing Anambra Central at Nigeria's upper chamber.

  And she prances yet hairy on PDP's chancy masthead –  for second time, in less than ten years. Here then follows a cincher. How did this amazon of sorts come to this peripatetic pass?

  investigation shows that Senator Ekuwnife had docked on four political parties, between 2007 and 2014. With her first  party politics launched on PDP in a seeming stormy force, onlookers predicated a lasting base for Sen. Ekwunife. But such prediction did not take long to keel over in the heat of ambitions. A source siad that Ekwunife lost out in PDP when she fell out of favour with one of the party's lords in Abuja.

  According to the source, her pitching tent with PPA was a 'masterstroke' in search of life line. What, however, baffled onlookers was that PPA seemed to have lost its allure for Ekwunife even before her name entered its membership register. She beat a U-turn and stormed into All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) seeking one thing: gubernatorial ticket.

  Perharps, there is no gainsaying that aspiring to any political office is legitimate. What will cast a curious cloud on such aspiration is when it takes an aspirant through the portals of three political parties in one year.

  It is instructive that Ekwunife did not actualize her guber ambition with APGA either. National Light gathered that she elatedly settled for a return ticket to Nigeria's lower chamber under APGA's auspices. It was also gathered that powerbrokers in APGA considered Ekwunife's normadism around parties for pasture, and decided to open their field for her. The source said that their calculation was based on APGA's bid to project Ekwunife as galvanizer of APGA's greater women participation drive. But in keeping faith with this normadic plague on Anambra politics, infested on it by some politicians, Ekwunife dumped those lofty projections and zoomed back to PDP. The rest, as that saying goes, is history now. But observers continue to quip, at what cost?

  This brings us to Peter Gregory Obi, erstwhile governor of Anamra state. If anyone had reaped bountiful political capital from APGA structures, Obi is first in line. Beginning from 2003 when he first contested, through his four years in different courts of the land, till his two-tenure of eight years as Anambra governor the party's bastion never wavered under Obi's feet.

  It was widely believed by analysts that Obi would, upon leaving Anambra Government House, remain in background playing  fatherly roles that will galvanize APGA to enviable heights in political calculus of Nigeria. For those in this line of thinking, the aphorism “to whom much is given more is expected” cannot apply more aptly in this regard. But this was not to be. Obi hardly waited for Dim Emeka Ojukwu's interment to emerge a turncoat. And the question returns, at what cost? Chairmanship of Nigerian stock exchange board? Where does such pecuniary myopism thrust the “be your brother's keeper” clarion Obi once championed?

  Enter Senator Ugochukwu Andy Uba. Three-time senator representing Anambra South at Nigeria's upper chamber for three consecutive times, National Light gathers that his journey in and out of PDP is also fraught.

  OUR source was reliably told that Dr Uba was a hair's breadth away from being Nigeria's vice president in PDP's equation that produced Yar'Adua and Jonathan ticket. His clout rose so rapidly, the source continued, that former President Obasanjo tabled every key issue for Dr Uba's scrutiny. It was therefore in reward of his loyalty and stewardship that Obasanjo proposed Uba on Yar'Adua’s ticket. But for reasons best known  to him, Sen. Uba opted for Anambra governorship.

  Unfortunately, as it turned, Uba's 'tenancy' at Government House Awka petered into yet another still-birth lasting just about three months.

  His second shot at the position took Sen. Uba to Labour Party when former CBN governor, Charles Soludo, came from shadows to clinch PDP's guber ticket. Greater commitments to party allegiance as fundamental scruples in politics would have called for remaining in PDP in solidarity to its candidate.

  Many capitals would naturally follow subsequently. Apart from showing a politician committed to his party, Sen. Uba's turn may come more grandly- just next time.

  Our source said that had Uba remained in PDP and campaigned for its candidate, we may have seen different outcome in that 2010 Anambra guber election.

  Today, Dr Uba had ditched Labour Party and returned to PDP, long long ago. He is a serving senator, but again, the question returns. At what cost on his career on the scruple of stability as a political character?

  Here then comes Dr Chris Ngige, and his case rallies on no balmy political parapets, either. A former governor of Anambra also, his grassroots followership was buoyed by a modest performance in Dr Ngige's brief spell at Government House Awka. He has also represented Anambra Central at Nigeria’s upper chamber on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria and later APC. Senator Ngige's sojourn at first-tire Nigeria federal legislature turned out one-off when he lost his re-election bid, just last March 28.

  A source said that Ngige's followership noose-dived, following irregular stints at different political parties which left his supporters confused.

  For want of space, it is noteworthy that politicians such as Senator Annie Okonkwo and Hon Chuma Nzeribe's foray into party politics fare no better. Sen. Okonkwo's case stands more placidly poignant. He went to senate on PDP's mandate, and from their (after a shortlived romance with Accord Party) joined APC at its inception. Sen. Okonwko, at some point, served APC as its protem National Organising Secretary. But before APC could outgrow its teething ephoch, Sen. Okonkwo had volte-faced back into PDP. He angled for PDP's umbrella for a return ticket to senate but failed — hence losing out on all fronts.

  For Chuma Nzeribe, after numerous attempts to secure PDP's ticket en-route House of Representatives failed, he saw a succor in APGA. But not willing to be outshined in this gamesome feast of peripatetic politics, Nzeribe also ported on PDP.

  That he had actualized his longstanding dream of representing Ihiala federal constituency on APGA's platform counted very scant for this otherwise suave, urbane political strategist.

  And this list of people that deem defection across party lines, a mark of sagacity, continues to widen. What of Prof Soludo himself? In which political party is he now? From PDP he has moved to APGA and then APC. All in his less than seven years in active party politics. Thus, this economist turned politician has averaged one party every two years. And the question returns for him: at what cost?

  Indeed, austere cost of unprincipled defections by politicians from Anambra State constitutes a plague on Anambra political altitudes. According to a traditional ruler in an interview with National Light, “it is so because these sort of politicians thrust our collective stakes in these parties to instability. They seem to be content like one chance people, moving from bus to bus, park to park looking for bags to snatch.”