By Christiana Ekpa
The Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) has called on some political parties to withdraw from the forthcoming governorship contest in Anambra State as their inconsistencies in candidature was confusing the people.
Publicity Secretary of the party’s campaign council, Afam Dozie Ofomata, in a press conference held at the party’s secretariat in Awka, yesterday, listed the parties to include; the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Ofomata said the confusion trailing the authenticity of candidates of the mentioned political parties was capable of confusing Anambra electorates.
“We are urging the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) to immediately withdraw from the November 6 Anambra governorship election, as they do not have valid candidates for the election.
“The PDP, APGA and APC have irredeemably mismanaged their nomination processes, leading to invalid candidates, endless litigations, bitter infighting, confusion and inability to forge a direction.”
The party also disclosed the problems dogging the three parties it mentioned, calling on the electorates to shun them if they refused to withdraw from the race.
“In the case of APC, it is practically a futile venture given the recent Supreme Court verdict which directed to the illegality of the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led APC national leadership, a development that technically invalidated the nomination of Senator Andy Uba as candidate for the election.
“In the same vein, APGA does not have a valid candidate as the nomination of Prof. Charles Soludo has also failed elementary statutory requirements, including irreversible inaccuracies and inconsistencies that have flawed the entire nomination process.
“This call is against the backdrop of the fact that key political stakeholders in Anambra have already embraced the coalition arrangement on the platform of the ZLP, with Chief Obiora Okonkwo as a consensus candidate, a development that has made any contest on the other parties an effort in futility.
“In PDP, the ZLP is particularly not surprised at the collapse of the PDP governorship campaign structure, as the leaders, critical stakeholders and foot soldiers of the party in Anambra have now abandoned its candidate, Valentine Ozigbo, having realized that his candidacy, which did not meet the statutory nomination requirements cannot fly.
“It is on this basis that we call on them to withdraw from the race, and cease to confuse the electorates,” the group said.
