The Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo; and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, will on Saturday battle for control of the state House of Assembly.
Obi, who is a former governor of Anambra, and Soludo, a leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, have intensified campaigns for their respective candidates, ahead of the March 18 House of Assembly poll in the state.
While Obi told candidates of the Labour Party during a meeting last Friday to win and support the APGA-led government, Soludo urged the electorate to ignore Obi and vote for the ruling party.
The former governor also thanked the residents for their massive support for the LP, which won two senatorial and five House of Representatives seats during the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.
The News Agency of Nigeria quoted him as saying, “I have told my people to go and campaign and win the election. Their job as a legislator is to work with the governor and ensure he provides the dividends of democracy to our people.
“Help him to make good laws on education, health and other sectors. Soludo remains our governor; our job is to support and pray for him. I have told our candidates to go about their campaigns in a peaceful, quiet and organised manner.”
Obi also said he had no issues with Soludo as they remained brothers and best of friends with different political views.
But the governor described the call as deceptive and a strategy of laying landmines for him (Soludo).
Soludo, who spoke through his Press Secretary, Mr Christian Aburime, urged residents to ignore Obi and vote for APGA candidates for the 30 seats in the House of Assembly.
“That call (by Obi) is inappropriate and meant to deceive Anambra people. Obi cannot be talking about development in Anambra and also be talking about asking Anambra people to elect lawmakers from an opposition party to work with Soludo.
“He worked with a legislature that was dominated by lawmakers from the PDP and he knows that it was not easy for him. He even suffered impeachment because of that. So, Anambra people should go all out on March 18 and vote for APGA, if they want the developmental strides of Mr Governor to continue.
Similarly, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Saturday, called on supporters in Edo State not to be discouraged by the outcome of the presidential election but to sustain the tempo by voting for all the candidates of the party in the House of Assembly election.
Obi, who made the call when he paid a thank-you visit to the state, moved from New Benin Market through Mission Road to Sapele Road before terminating the tour at Adesuwa Road, where he addressed a large crowd.
“I must urge the Labour Party supporters not to be discouraged by the outcome of the presidential election. Nigeria must not be allowed to remain the way it is. There must be a paradigm shift from the present state to a better and prosperous Nigeria.
“We have begun the journey of a new Nigeria. The movement is real and nobody can stop it. We will not allow Nigeria to remain the way it is. We will continue to vote for the Labour Party,” he added.
He said a retreat would be organised for all victorious candidates of the Labour Party to teach them what to do in the quest to change the political narratives of the country.
Meanwhile, an Abuja High Court presided over by Justice D. U. Okorowo has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise Idahosa Igbinigie as the authentic candidate of the Labour Party for Oredo East Constituency II in the Edo State House of Assembly on March 18, 2023.
Justice Okorowo gave the order while ruling on a motion brought by the party on behalf of Igbinigie against INEC.
The Labour Party had filed a motion ex-parte dated March 8, 2023, praying the court for an interim order mandating the respondent (INEC) to accept the Igbinigie as the candidate for the constituency pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The case was adjourned to March 22, 2023, for the hearing of both the motion on notice and the substantive suit.
Source: The Punch
