A former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, Dr Ben Nwoye, Wednesday, regretted the inability of the nation’s ruling party to conduct credible primaries ahead of the November 8, 2025 governorship election in Anambra State.
Speaking during the “Political Voices” of Enugu’s 92.5 Dreamfm monitored by THE WHISTLER in Enugu, Dr Nwoye alleged that the outcome of the election “was pre-determined”.
According to him, “It is sad that the ruling national party cannot organize credible governorship primaries in Anambra State. That Chief Paul Chukwuma, a founding member of APC and aspirant to the seat, not only quit the contest but left APC on the eve of the primaries speaks volume. It is a joke and doesn’t demonstrate seriousness. It also shows that APC is not ready to take over power from Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Congress.”
He said the outcome of the APC primaries had ushered in divisions in the ruling party, adding that it would adversely affect the chances of the party in the Anambra guber election. He recalled that a similar scenario played out in the past election when the Supreme Court ruled that APC had no guber candidate in Anambra State.
Quoting him, “The candidates that lost would be aggrieved. Why pay N50m to obtain the guber forms when the result would be pre-determined? If one could buy over delegates to the primaries, it would be difficult to buy over the conscience of the entire Anambra electorate. Some voters will collect the money and still follow their conscience.
“Until APC changes from monetisation of these processes, they will not go anywhere in Anambra. Some days after the primaries, other contestants are yet to congratulate the person announced as the winner of the primaries. It is clear that APC is already divided. Until we democratise the system, the system would evolve with time.”
Prince Nickolas Ukachukwu was declared the governorship candidate of APC after the primaries held on Sunday. The Chairman of the APC Electoral Committee and Governor of Cross River State, Sen Bassey Otu, announced that Ukachukwu garnered 1,455 votes to defeat his closest contestant, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, who scored 67 votes.
