The governorship ambition of Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Senator representing Owerri zone has triggered fresh political alignments and realignments in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Imo State. This newspaper observed that since the news of the senator’s intention to contest became public knowledge, some key stakeholders in the party have begun to make some strategic alignments.
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Senator Anyanwu was widely reported to have indicated interest to return to the senate a second time last December but reports of his interest in the guber race have altered a lot of political calculations within the party.
A political godson of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, key party stakeholders in Imo PDP have aligned and re aligned in a bid to strongly back the Senator who has gone ahead to make plans to officially unveil his ambition very soon. It also gathered that some party members who are nursing one ambition or the other, mostly House of Assembly aspirants from Owerri zone have started aligning with the senator and waiting for his official declaration.
A top party official however said until the senator officially declares, there is no basis for alignments.
He said” We have not heard from the senator. We hear he wants to declare and until he announce his guber ambition, some of us cannot say much. But his aspiration is welcome. Because he is a good party man and has done well at the senate”
However, this newspaper has uncovered several other political alignments in the party. A former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Emeka Ihedioha who is aspiring for the Governorship ticket of the PDP is said to be in alignment with Hon. Ezenwa Onyewuchi, member representing Owerri Federal Constituency.
Onyewuchi recently announced his ambition to head to the senate which Senator Anyanwu presently occupies. Rumours had been rife that such alignment may have forced the Senator to now join the governorship race to give Ihedioha a run for his money for the PDP governorship ticket.