The emergence of Chief Okey Ahiwe, as the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has unsettled, and thrown the opposition parties in Abia State politically off-balance, forcing them into secret anti-party alliances and trading of their party candidates.
The affected opposition parties involved in the last minute anti-party alliances are All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Young Progressives Party (YPP) and Labour Party (LP).
In Isialangwa North and South for instance, YPP is trading – off her Abia Central senatorial candidate, Chief Chuku Wachuku and her House of Representatives candidate Chief Lucky Nwogu, to cut deals with a faction of LP in the area under the control of Hon. Darlington Nwokocha and Hon. Ginger Onwusibe.
According to inside sources within both camps, YPP and Nwokocha-Ginger faction of LP, are in secret talks in the alleged trade off.
The YPP Governorship candidate, Enyinnaya Nwafor believes that he needs to support Ginger and Nwokocha to sail-through in Isialangwa North and south during the March 11, 2023 Governorship election
YPP believes it can take advantage of the rift between Nwokocha and Ginger faction of LP, against the Alex Otti faction LP in the area.
The coming together of Alex Otti, Ginger Onwsibe and Darlington Nwokocha is believed to be a political marriage of convenience. Ginger and Darlington believe they’re in control of the structure of the party, while Otti thinks he can buy the control of the party with money. However, there has been rift and cold war amongst them.
It was gathered that condition by the Nwokocha and Ginger faction of LP is for YPP to withdraw support from its Senatorial and House of Representatives candidates in the area, the give same to Ginger and Nwokocha.
Ginger’s argument is the Lucky Nwogu is a strong member of Ngwa Patriot Forum, which Ahiwe is a founding former president. Again, it is believed that Nwogu and YPP are not strong in the area.
Meanwhile, the people of Ntigha of Isialangwa North, where both Ahiwe and Ginger hail from, have decided to support the governorship candidate of Ahiwe against the House of Representatives aspirations of Ginger. To them, “having one of us as governor is politically and economically profitable, than a House of Representatives.” This is a major blow to Ginger support base.
On the other hand, Nwokocha’s condition to YPP is to deny support for Chief Wachuku, on the grounds that he is not popular and his also an Inlaw to Ahiwe.
Again, the entire Wachuku family in Umuomainta Nbawsi, Isialangwa North have also decided to support their daughter and her husband, Chief Okey Ahiwe.
To them also, having their daughter as the First Lady of the State, is politically and economically feasible than chasing an unrealistic and unpopular senatorial aspiration of Chief Chuku Wachuku.
In Abia South, YPP is seriously poaching Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe for an alliance. It was gathered that YPP is ready to publicly adopt Abaribe and dump its Senatorial candidate Mr. Don Nwankwo. The party is also considering other conditions from Abaribe, includes funding his election and supporting the APGA candidate for House of Representatives, Hon. Solomon Adaelu, as against the YPP candidate Ibe Nwoko, whose legislative aspiration is considered unrealistic given that he hails from the same political ward in Obingwa with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
Also, YPP believes Abaribe and the APGA camp in Abia South will be a boast to their campaign since APGA governorship has not been decided by the court, and Prof Greg Ibe is also said to be battling critical health challenges.
In a larger Ngwa interest, both Abaribe, Nwafor, Ginger and Darlington believe that an Ukwa-Ngwa man should succeed Ikpeazu in 2023, and Nwafor of YPP believes he will be the beneficiary of the anti-party alliance, since Otti is from Arochukwu in Abia North.
However, the political headache for the opposition parties in Ukwa-Ngwa is the emergence Chief Ahiwe, after death of Prof Uche Ikonne. Ahiwe’s candidacy is widely accepted and considered popular by even the opposition camps in the state.
