Our correspondent
The guests of the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Dr Uche Ekwunife,were perplexed on Sunday when she told them that she was a staunch supporter of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Ekwunife disclosed this during a stakeholders’ meeting, made up of men and women leaders at the Agulu town hall.
She said, ” Vote for me in PDP. In the presidential election, we all know where we are going to vote. We are polititcians. We know this game very well. It’s on our fingertips. Peter Obi is our son and my mentor; we can’t work against him. But what I’m asking you is to vote for me in PDP. At the presidential level we all know who is our preferred candidate. That one is not in dispute. It’s settle. She spoke in Igbo.
Ekwunife who was at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State around October for the official flag off of the presidential campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP had said Nigeria didn’t need a kindergarten president.
Ekwunife in a now viral video, while campaigning for the PDP President-General candidate, Atiku Abubakar said Nigeria would not need someone who would always remind the country of her problem, but one who knew how to solve it.
Many followers of Peter Obi in Anambra State and beyond had interpreted the video to be referring to Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP.
Many supporters of Obi lashed out at Ekwunife, who had before now, proclaimed herself as a political daughter of Obi, before Obi left the PDP for LP.
But in a press release, Ekwunife who seemed to have realised her mistake had recanted, saying she was not refering to Obi.
In a press release by her media assistant, Mr Kingsley Ubani, Ekwunife said the video was being misinterpreted.
Ubani in the release had said: “The Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Uche Ekwunife PhD, earlier today( in October) stated that Nigeria needs a President that can transit its economy from consumption to production, adding that the country does not need a kindergarten President.
“Ekwunife who spoke at the PDP Presidential Campaign flag-off in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state was addressing Nigerians on the need to support her Party’s Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“The interpretation in some quarters that Senator Ekwunife was referring to the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Mr Peter Obi or the candidate of any other political party in her speech, is wrong.
“Senator Ekwunife’s statements were in line with the fact that Nigeria needs a President who is well rounded, and has the resume, experience, mindset and qualifications to lead the country out of the woods.”
At about the same time, Ekwunife had reportedly boasted that she would be made Senate President if Atiku won.
Ekwunife known as serial defector in Anambra politics was once described as a “fair whether hen” by her former political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) while disqualifying her from a Senatorial race.
It noted further, “Most importantly, our deep concern is her( Ekwunife’s) record which showed that she dumps political parties at will, leaving the parties in its wake factionalized – from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), to Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), back to PDP or vice versa and now to APC.
“She is more or less a fair-weather hen therefore her antecedent contravenes Section 4(3) of the 2014 Guideline for Nomination of Candidate for Public Office. Caution is valour.
“The score sheet in respect of the aspirants is also attached herewith for further necessary action. The committee found that Aspirant Senator Uche Lilian Ekwunife, is ineligible to seek the APC nomination for the Senatorial election.”
The committee, whose members included Abdullahi Aliyu, Bunmi Oririowo, Mary Aipoh and Garba Umar (Secretary), said, in carrying out its assignment , it enquired into the profile of aspirants, integrity and fulfillment of all the relevant sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act and Guideline for Nomination of candidates of our great party, the APC.
It added, “To aid the committee in its assignment, a score board analysis of the parameters set out above was made. Members scored all aspirants on the following basis viz: BioData/Education- 20 Points; Experience (Public/Private)-20 points; Integrity and Personal Character- 40 points and Party Loyalty and Support-20 Points. The guidelines set a pass mark of 51 Points for the aspirants.”
