Fides Media Living the Faith
By Jude Atupulazi
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Anmabra State has finally cleared the gubernatorial candidate of the party in the last guber election to contest in the party’s coming primary elections. Ozigbo is part of sixty aspirants for the party’s primary elections for the national assembly positions of which eight aspirants have been cleared to contest.
Fides gathered that the screening committee for the national assembly aspirants, chaired by Rt Hon S. K. E. Udeh Okoye, cleared all senatorial aspirants except Hon Chuma Nzeribe.
Serving senators, Stella Oduah (representing Anambra North); a recent returnee to the PDP from the All Progressives Congress (APC), where she had decamped to in August, 2021; Uche Ekwunife (representing Anambra Central); Chris Uba; Tony Nwoye, a former governorship candidate of the party; Prince Okechukwu John Emeka; Dr Obinna Uzor, and Mrs Peace Ezeabikwa, were all cleared to contest for the senatorial primaries by the panel.
According to the report, Hon Nzeribe was disqualified for deliberately misleading the party in his nomination form concerning his ongoing court cases. The panel held that he had jumped bail in a fraud case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and had an active bench warrant for his arrest.
The latest clearances have cleared doubts concerning the fate of some of the aspirants, following a weekend of an uncertified reports circulating on social media that Ozigbo, Nwoye, and two others, had been disqualified from contesting in the party’s senatorial primaries.
The report of Ozigbo’s disqualification had triggered a wave of protests at the national level of the PDP and in Anambra last week.
Mrs Imade Ize-Ayamu, a PDP stalwart from Edo State, wrote in protest to Dr Iyorchia Ayu, the National Chairman, over the weekend, following Ozigbo’s purported disqualification.
‘Valentine Ozibo is Nigeria’s star boy that congratulated Soludo and won the hearts of Nigeria. A man that has made himself visible in all PDP’s functions. A very polite and respectful man. The kind of man Anambarians need at the senate to represent them and Nigerians.
With his clearance, Ozigbo is set to battle the self-acclaimed godfather of Anambra politics, Chris Uba, among others, for the sole ticket of the party for Anambra South.