2021: PDP takes bold step to take over Anambra

….As Obi funds party at all levels, leads tour of 326 wards

Borrow ideas from China, not money, Peter Obi tells FG — Mr. Peter Obi

By Vincent Ujumadu, Awka

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has begun a serious move to retake the Anambra government house after the 2021 governorship election in the state, with the former governor and vice presidential candidate of the party in 2019, Mr. Peter Obi promising to fund the state executive with N4 million every month and another flat donation of N100000 to the 326 political wards with immediate effect.

Obi, who broke the cheering news during the South-East zonal meeting of the party in Awka, warned the governorship aspirants of PDP for the 2021 election that the only way to win the election was by meeting the people and not by bribing the party stakeholders who are not delegates during party primary.

Amidst cheers from PDP members, Obi said: “We want to have a candidate that will win the election and work for the people of Anambra State. The election is not won on Facebook; go to the electorate who vote during the election. “You will only be wasting your money if you keep going to PDP stakeholders who are not voters in Anambra State. If you bribe your way through and get the ticket only to lose the election, we would have all failed.

“We, therefore, have to organize ourselves and move into the field. The state chairman should organize a tour of all the 326 wards immediately to market the party at the grass-root.

“It is a general belief that Anambra is a PDP state, but if we do not win the governorship, then we have lost out. We have been saying this for many years, but the potential is nothing until it is realized. And we must realize it this time around.

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“I want to inform all the governorship aspirants that the opponent you have is Willie Obiano. From this January, you should release your manifestoes so that people will know that you are serious.

“We don’t want aspirants who are always attending funeral ceremonies and parties. Elections are conducted at the polling units and not on the internet. Go to the villages to look for the real voters. You should stop competing among yourselves. Your main opponent is in the government house. You should start going to all the communities immediately and promising them what you will do if you are elected.

“Let me remind you that campaign is not by displaying your posters with Peter Obi. The old women who vote are in the villages and they do not read your posters on the internet.

“Many of you have been neglecting the genuine members of the party and concentrating on a few people; this is wrong. We are supposed to have at least 500 members in every ward, but you concentrate only on about five people in a ward. Those people you are neglecting may work against us when the time comes.

“We will start ward tour immediately and we expect the ward chairmen to show us the ward register when we arrive.

“Christmas has just been celebrated and most stakeholders did not find it necessary to extend gifts to the people in the villages. A political party is about sharing and caring and not to concentrate only on a few people.

“To correct this anomaly, I have arranged that every ward should be given Christmas gifts. We will ensure that every ward will get five bags of rice, four crates of malt, three crates of beer and N30000 to bring the cost to N100,000 for every ward. We win the election by reaching out to the people and not coming to Awka.”

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He urged local government chairmen of PDP to work in their areas, instead of mounting so much pressure on the governorship aspirants.

“If we continue to extort money from the aspirants, they will not have enough money to prosecute the campaign if they get the ticket. To reduce the pressure on the aspirants from the state leadership, I have decided to give the state secretariat N4 million every month to run the party,” the former governor of the state said.

He reminded PDP members that the 2021 election would not be easy, adding that the APC, which is the party at the centre, is plotting how to take over Anambra and it should not be wished away because it is the party that controls the federal government, while APGA is controlling the state.

“We are neither in the state nor at the centre and this is why we must work hard and reach out to the electorate,” Obi said.

The national vice chairman of PDP in charge of South East, Chief Ali Odefa, who hosted the meeting with the state chairman, Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu expressed optimism that if members of the party could work together, they would, by this time next year, be celebrating and getting ready to move into the government house.

He said: “I am very confident that we will win because we are determined to conduct free and fair primaries. It is obvious that there is so much money in Anambra State, but it will remain incomplete if we do not produce the next governor of the state.

“So our aspirants should spend their money wisely. Members of the National Working Committee, NWC, and Zonal Working Committee, ZWC, are not delegates in Anambra State and you should therefore not waste your money on them.

“My interest is, let the most popular candidate win. Every aspirant is capable of winning the election. Most of you, the aspirants, are my friends, but I do not want to be your friend during this primary because we are in political party business and there should be no sentiments.

“Instead of giving your money to party leaders, use it on delegates who will nominate you.

“Our experience in the past was that a popular candidate would be struggling, only for someone with a lot of money to come and bamboozle his way through and get the party nomination, thereby making others to either leave the party or sabotage the party’s candidate.

“If we conduct free and fair primary, those who lose will know that this exercise is transparent and they will go ahead to support the party.”

Roll call: Mr Peter Obi, Senator Joy Emodi, Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu, Professor ABC Nwosu, Chief Maxwell Okudo, Mrs Chidi Onyemelukwe, Ejike Oguebego, among other leaders of the party in the state and zone.

Governorship aspirants present were Dr Obiorah Okonkwo, Ike Oligbo, Hez Okonkwo, Val Ozigbo, Uche Ekwunife, Chris Azubogu, Ifedi Okwenna, Wilson Ude, Chief Maduafokwa and Chief Okeke.