LG Pulls: Serious politicking hits Umuaka Ward 1.
4 min read
Umuaka Ward 1 which is made up of Uba, Achara and Obinwanne autonomous communities may possibly be the hottest political sub region in the entire Umuaka Municipal Council, following the recent political developments in the state that called for local government pulls. As usual, a couple of local politicians has shown interest and subsequently obtained their party forms for the local elections in the area. As customary with politics, this move did not go without an element of controversy among party members.
The first controversy that greeted the campaign for the LG elections in Umuaka Ward 1 was the issue of zoning. Almost every member of the ruling APC in the area had assumed that the slot was zoned to Achara community until High Chief Eddy Ikwubuo came on the saddle and had a heated debate on zoning with the APC Ward 1 chairman, Chief Cyril Ukeoma . From their “discussions”, Chief Ikwubuo maintained that the issue of zoning was discussed by the party but it remains inconclusive because of certain reasons. Ikwubuo is from Uba community while Chief Ukeoma is from Obinwanne community and both are major stakeholders in Njaba APC. As the controversy ensured, Ukeoma maintained that it was the turn of Achara to produce the next councilor for Ward 1. Chief Ikwubuo bluntly refused, citing reasons that it was never agreed by the APC leaders in the ward. Ukeoma however disclosed that he was the one that zoned it to Achara single handedly. Ikwubuo saw this move as undemocratic because according to him, Chief Ukeoma who is the chairman of APC in Umuaka Ward 1 did not carry other stakeholders along in his decision.
After several exchange of voice messages in the Umuaka Ward 1 whatsapp group by the two chiefs and their sympathizers, normalcy suddenly returned as the issue of zoning seemed to have been rested by the APC members in the ward.
Another issue that came up was the debate on who to step down for who among the aspirants. Achara community which was widely believed by many as the current beneficiary of the zoning formula has four aspirants who are Chief Okey Nwanyanwu, Miss Stella Marris Onumara, Lolo Florence Chinyere Nwaikwu and Mr Okpananne Beniah Eberechukwu, all from the ruling APC.
As at press time last week and from Umuaka Times findings, no aspirant among the Achara aspirants was willing to step down for anybody. It was only High Chief Ikwubuo who has demonstrated his interest to step down for Miss Stella Marris Onumara if.
Political observers in the community who spoke to Umuaka Times last week agreed that it is a good development towards success for Chief Ikwubuo who is the only contestant outside Achara community.
In a recent video interview with Umuaka Times, High Chief Eddy Ikwubuo recognized that all the aspirants are reasonable and good but not as good as himself who is the right man for the job.
In another development, political observers in Umuaka generally have questioned why it is only the APC members that have shown interest in the electoral process. Ikwubuo in the same interview provided an answer. According to him, the other political parties especially, PDP, LP, and APGA are all afraid of the APC in the state.
Obinwanne community seems to be an area of hot contest in the APC primaries. The reason for this is that no aspirant came from Obinwanne. Several times, Umuaka Times reporters have met some of the aspirants trying to woo votes from Obinwanne APC members. There are also speculations that Achara votes will be split into four unequal parts among the Achara born aspirants. This, according to some analysts, will certain affect the chances of a winner emerging from the community. They cited the example of Hon Obinna Orgazi and Dr Perry Ekwunazu both from Umuaka, who went for Imo House of Assembly elections and lost to just one candidate from Okwudor.
For now, the political atmosphere in Umuaka Ward 1 is capable of taking any shape depending on what the wind of elections blows in the area. What is apparent is that the election is exclusively an APC affair both officially and unofficially; the primaries are purely a party affair which means that only the APC party members will vote. On the other hand, anybody who wins the primaries is automatically the winner of the election as he or she has nobody to contest with. That is the unofficial one part system that has come to Imo State to stay.
