The battle for Abia Government House gained momentum yesterday as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Dr. Kelechi Anosike, served Governor Alex Otti a quit notice, saying that his party had commenced a movement to reclaim the state in the 2027 election.
Anosike, who spoke at the inauguration of the management team of his Campaign Council in Umuahia, also moved to confront one of the biggest issues likely to dog the PDP throughout the campaign – its 24 uninterrupted years in power before Otti and the Labor Party swept it out of Government House in 2023.
Rather than run away from the party’s past, the governorship candidate tried to turn the issue on his opponents, saying many of the political actors blamed for the PDP’s years in government had since migrated to Labor Party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and other parties.
“When they tell you PDP killed Abia for 24 years, tell them that those actors are no more in PDP. “They are in Labor, APC, ADC, NDC”, said Anosike.
“This is a new PDP. Same party, new attitude, new focus, new direction,” he added.
His declaration has thrown up what is likely to become one of the major fault lines of the Abia governorship contest: whether the PDP can convince voters that it has sufficiently reinvented itself four years after its rejection at the polls and whether Otti can persuade the electorate that his administration has delivered enough change to deserve another mandate.
The inauguration was not just about putting a campaign organization in place but the formal commencement of a movement to take power from the Otti administration, Anosike said.
“For me, we have started on a journey. And the journey is to take back the soul and the future of our state. He announced a “crusade to wipe out the lies and swindles in our state.”
“It’s not only the inauguration of the campaign council. This is more like starting a movement. A movement that believes in ‘Abia First, People Always’.”
Despite the harsh attack on the government, Anosike said the coming contest will be fought on ideas and not insults and personal attacks. His campaign would challenge the incumbent administration on bread-and-butter issues including hunger, unemployment, industrialization and opportunities for young people, he said.
“We’re not giving them the usual campaign promises and rhetorics. “We are going into specifics, that if before now, you don’t have food to eat, when Anosike comes, you have more than enough to eat.
“If we have no opportunities for our youth, when Anosike comes, the opportunities will be everyplace, because we will create, at least, three industries in a year. It’s doable.”
He challenged members of the campaign council to take what he termed, the party’s message of welfarism to “every local government, every village, every community and every ward.”
In a sharp escalation of the attack on Otti’s government, Empire Kanu, former Nigerian Ambassador to Argentina and Chairman of the campaign council, said the Labor Party is only a temporary occupant of Abia Government House.
“PDP is not a new party. Abia is PDP and PDP is Abia State. Labor is just holding the position temporarily,” Kanu said.
“We knew what happened in 2023 and that mistake is never going to happen again. This young man, Dr. Anosike, is a very serious candidate. “Very, very prepared,” he said.
Kanu said the Otti administration and ruling party are on “very, very shaky ground,” and argued that the PDP’s grassroots structure will be critical in the election.
“I don’t see how you can run without a strong party structure,” he said.
Therefore, he identified the wards as the battle ground and charged the campaign officials to deliver their areas.
“You know where we usually get our votes? It’s at the level of the ward. So, that is where we are to work. Once you deliver in the ward, we have won. You have been appointed to ensure that all the wards in this state are delivered to PDP. We want no excuses at all. “By His grace, we are going to Government House.”
The PDP also admitted that its own shortcomings contributed to its loss of power in 2023. The party would learn from the mistakes of the last election and would approach the 2027 contest differently, Chief Obinna Nwachukwu, Director-General of the Campaign Council, said.
We know why we lost the election because we weren’t intentional in the last election. “This time we are going to be committed, and intentional,” said Nwachukwu.
He did not hide the party’s determination to regain power, saying its members were suffering from a “hunger for power” after three years outside Government House.
“PDP people have been eating and in the last three years we are all hungry. hunger for power, not hunger for food. “We want to get back to power,” he said.
Try us. If this is the same Abia State of yore, you will be shocked.”
The emerging battle therefore gives contrasting records to defend to both camps. Anosike has to assure voters that the PDP that is seeking power in 2027 is not the same PDP that ruled Abia for 24 years. Otti will go to the electorate as an incumbent who must defend his record after spending four years in office.
The Campaign Council Management Team has Kanu as the chairman, Nwachukwu as the Director-General and Ukpai Ukairo as the secretary.
The inauguration which held at the Anosike Campaign Office on Aba Road, Umuahia, was also attended by the Abia PDP chairman and deputy governorship candidate, Elder Amah, who presented PDP flags to the team members.
