Date Published: 11/16/09

Anambra 2010:  Ngige Surges Ahead

Chris Ngige

Ahead February 6, 2010 Anambra State governorship elections, stakeholders and media ranking tip  Dr Chris Ngige, gubernatorial candidate of the Action Congress (AC) as the candidate to beat  in a free and fair election.

A cross section  views, opinion and analysis by leaders of thought, stakeholders and media inside and outside the State  rank Dr Ngige ahead  his two  closest contenders, incumbent Governor Peter Obi of All Progressive Grand  Alliance (APGA) and Prof Charles Soludo of the PDP. The trio is  ranked as the top three contenders.

Dr Ngige, former governor of the State emerged top in all indices used in  analysis of  the chances of each candidate.

Ironically, the same factors from which  Dr Ngige was rated higher  in the analysis, was seen as the albatross of the two close runners-up, Gov. Obi and Prof Soludo 

For instance, regarding performance in public office earlier  held, for example governorship,   Dr Ngige was rated very high while incumbent Gov. Obi was remarked as suffering credibility problems especially with regards to the over N250 million cash found with his aide by the police in Lagos which  he  (Obi) had not satisfactorily accounted for. While Prof. Soludo is haunted by the rot discovered in the banks he had earlier in January 2009 described as being safe and sound by his successor as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi.

In terms of party cohesion and mobilization, the squabbles and  confrontations in APGA, and the gimmicks of anti-Soludo’s forces in the PDP  were respectively compared and contrasted with the solid cohesion  and harmony in the AC. Again, Dr Ngige emerged tops.

While Governor Obi has monopolized the state-owned ABS Radio/TV for his own publicity and propaganda against opponents, Dr Ngige  soars higher in popularity. Alas, the people regard the PDP as parasitic and a band of gangsters out for their personal gain.

In his analysis Awka-based Geoffrey Anyanwu, a journalist with an major national newspaper  describes Dr Chris Ngige  “as  a household name in the state as his three years in office between 2003 and 2006 brought liberation to the state and development too. Ngige, who is the AC standard bearer, showed, for the first time, that government could work for the people. He fought the federal might led by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to a standstill and yet worked for the people, like no government before him had done.

“Ngige is so revered at the grassroots that he is the greatest nightmare of Peter Obi, his APGA and the PDP. However he appears to  soar higher ,  as all the campaign against him by APGA and the Obi Government has rather popularized him the more.

“Political pundits say that with the influence he wields at the grassroots, Ngige needs only prayers for the elections to be free and fair to return to Government House. His followership is said to cause jitters to his opponents. This, it was gathered caused his illegal ban by the INEC  from 2007 elections in which PDP fielded Andy  Uba.” Anyanwu  states.

In their analysis, two other journalists, Messrs Vin Ujumadu, also Awka-based and Sam Nwaoko, tip  Dr Ngige as being far ahead of his opponents.

“Ngige stands an equal chance with Governor Obi and Professor Soludo as they are considered the frontrunners in the race.

“However, it is said that the same antecedents of strength of character and brevity could work against him as those who fought him between 2003 and 2006 would still be waiting on the wings to scuttle his ambition.” Writes Nwaoko after a tour of the State.

For Ujumadu, Anambra remembers Dr Ngige  with nostalgia  “His three years as governor of the state between 2003 and 2006 before he was removed by election tribunal marked the beginning of infrastructural development in Anambra State, especially in road construction.

“Before his assumption of office, most roads in the state were impassable and the manner he embarked on road rehabilitation made him very popular with the people.

“He was the only candidate that stood for the primaries on the platform of AC  and members of the party were unanimous in electing him as their candidate” Ujumadu argued.

According to Eric Osagie, a newspaper columnist, Dr Ngige   “had every reason to beat his chest in broad light. He had solid achievements to boast of. Having lost out with his benefactors and disdained in Aso Rock, smart Ngige had aligned himself with his people, working for them, providing them purposeful leadership. I haven’t visited Awka or any part of Anambra in a long while, but I am told that the former governor left his foot prints in the sand of time.

“Any way, Ngige became admired for his service to the people and his courageous, albeit audacious posture in the face of the weapons of mass destruction targeted against him by Aso Rock.”

Mr. Alabi Williams , an Assistant Political Editor with the Guardian writes that Ngige “left with a legacy that the people could still connect with. He battled the strong men of PDP to the last; and he left with the impression that he did it on behalf of the people. He could ask the people to trust him again”

Dr  Jideofor Adibe a public affairs analyst submits that “Whatever his critics may say, Dr Chris Ngige was perhaps the first Governor of the state to pay workers salary on time and construct roads on a scale never seen before in the state. It is generally believed that after Ngige, it will be really difficult for any Governor of the state to use insufficient receipts from the Federation Account to justify non-performance or to owe teachers and other state government functionaries their salary for months. However, while Ngige remains popular in the state, his candidacy is likely to face a number of challenges:

“In the 2010 election, the compassion reserved for an underdog will not be there. It will simply be Dr Ngige and other candidates selling themselves to the electorate.”

 Governor Obi for instance claims he has outperformed Ngige in his signature road construction and timely payment of salaries.  It is  worth noting that for his 33 months of  magic, Dr Ngige only collected N42 billion, while Gov. Obi has collected N118 billion for about the same period .

A political stalwart and former commissioner in the State, Chief Charles Amillo underscores the fact that an outstanding attribute of Dr Ngige is his integrity and accountability in the management of public funds.  Anambra people must not forget that despite the abruptness of his departure from the Government House, he leftover N12 billion in the treasury. “we know that those in the race with him do not measure up in terms of accountability.

“I know that Dr Ngige is far ahead in this race, he is the people's choice, and I know that Anambra people want to move forward from the era of godfathers”