There are strong indications that some trusted political advisers to a billionaire businessman, Chief Tony Ezenna, the Chief Executive of Orange Drugs Nigeria Limited, might have deceived him into accepting to finance some weak candidates to win the nomination of the All Progressives Congress for both the Ideato Federal Constituency and Ideato State Constituency elections.
According to our sources, these individuals, were compromised by the founder of the upstarting Action Peoples Party and current member representing Ideato in the Federal Constituency, Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu, to deceive the billionaire businessman into anointing these weak candidates whom he is sure to blow away with ease in the general elections.
Our reporters were able to intercept credible intelligence that some individuals who claim to be members of the APC from Akokwa had approached the billionaire businessman and recommended that he sponsors the current Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr. Chika Abazu to get the APC ticket for Ideato Federal Constituency while Honourable Stanley Obidiegwu, a former Commissioner under the Shared Prosperity administration was recommended to be nominated as APC’s candidate for Ideato State Constituency.
Investigations by our correspondent shows that the duo of Chika Abazu and Stanley Obidiegwu will stand as major electoral liabilities to the APC in the constituency, and it would be an almost impossible task delivering them in the main election.
A local politician from Akokwa, and a member of the APC from the same ward as Dr. Chika Abazu told our correspondent that the easiest way to ensure the return of Ugochinyere to the House of Representatives is to field Dr. Chika Abazu as the candidate of the APC.
“I will want my Party to win the main election, but a ticket to Dr. Abazu is a death knell on our Party’s chances of winning that election and a direct anointment of Ugochinyere for a second term. Chika Abazu’s poor performance in 2023 will be a child’s play to compare to what will happen in 2027 if he gets the APC ticket. In 2023, many of us gave him the benefit of doubt and tolerated his numerous errors, but he has cleared every doubt about his unsuitability for any political position with his performance as a commissioner. He is so unpopular in the area that it would be a major miracle if he is able to win his polling booth this time. I can tell you that 85% of APC members in Ideato will not work for him if he gets the ticket, and many of them will prefer Ugochinyere’s continuation, because he has failed to carry people along within the last three years of being a commissioner and is known for wanting to impose his wills on the people.”
On Stanley Obidiegwu, the local politician described Obidiegwu as a good man, but the political calculation does not favour him to win if he gets the ticket.
“I am from Akokwa but I can tell you that fielding a House of Assembly candidate from Akokwa will be a major miscalculation, because Akokwa people will not be enthused to vote for him, against their brother, who is obviously holding a higher position as House of Representatives member. Also, other clans in Ideato North are already complaining of marginalisation by the APC government, as it seems that most of the government positions are located in Akokwa. Commissioner is from Akokwa, two Special Adviser positions are in Akokwa, the Party’s State Publicity Secretary is from Akokwa and the National Executive member of the Party is also from Akokwa. Equity demands that the House of Assembly seat remains in Obodoukwu, or if it must be moved, it should go to either, Akpulu, Isiokpo or Urualla. Akokwa cannot deliver that seat alone.”
Speaking about the potentials of Dr. Abazu becoming the APC House of Representatives candidate, another prominent politician from the area, dismissed it as a non-starter, describing the medical doctor and civil servant turned politician as a major” turn off ” to the political establishment in Ideato nation.
“Abazu is a very lucky young man, but he didn’t make good use of the opportunities that were made available to him. He is at loggerheads with everyone who could help him in the election. He described him as “self-conceited, selfish and very aloof”, whose candidature will deeply hurt the chances of APC victory in the main elections. When reminded that he allegedly has the backing of Tony Ezenna, he retorted;
“Orange Drugs is a good man. He is a philanthropist but he is not a good politician, he might mean well in his preference of these candidates, but he clearly does not understand the real dynamics of electioneering in our locality. Those he trusts to advise him politically are contractors, all of them are in the payroll of Ugochinyere, and the clear agenda is to deceive the APC into fielding weak candidates, so that Ugochinyere can have an easy victory in the election.”
Ideato Federal Constituency is no doubt a peculiar political terrain and if the APC must retain any serious hopes of reclaiming its dominance in the area, then, its choice of candidates must be without much errors. The surest way to guarantee victory against an undeniably cantankerous incumbent for the Ideato Federal Constituency seat is for the APC to field an acceptable and very popular candidate who has the structure and charisma to match Ugochinyere and return victory to the APC.
