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One of the strong
points of former information and communications minister, Dora
Akunyili, is her ability to confound expectations, and this she
confirmed last Wednesday when she left her former colleagues in the
Peoples Democratic Party to defect to the All Progressives Grand
Alliance (APGA) on whose platform she plans to contest the Anambra
Central Senatorial ticket. Mrs. Akunyili, last Wednesday stunned the
nation when she resigned her appointment from the federal cabinet to
pick the senatorial form of the APGA. Many politicians, including the
Anambra State governor,

Peter Obi, hailed
her action as courageous and wise. But others saw it as a risk. Yet to
some others, her adoption of the APGA platform made no difference. But
it is a different kettle of fish for some of those vying for the same
seat in the party who feared there was an orchestrated move by the
party hierarchy to foist her on APGA, despite early assurances by the
party that there would be no favoured candidates. While receiving her
into APGA, its national chairman, Victor Umeh told Mrs. Akunyili there
would be no automatic ticket for her as she would have to endure the
rigours of a primary election.

Apparently not
satisfied with that assurance, the only APGA House of Representatives
member from Anambra State, George Ozodinobi, who represented Anaocha,
Njikoka and Dunukofia federal constituency from 2003 to 2007, fired the
first salvo when he accused Mrs. Akunyili of political prostitution.
According to him, there was no reason why she should leave her party,
PDP, for APGA at a time when she was needed by President Goodluck
Jonathan in his election bid. Mr. Ozodinobi believed she might have
taken the decision based on assurances of an automatic ticket, even
though he did not buy the idea she had been adopted by the party.

“Adoption is not a
proper word because no one has said anyone is to be adopted. But if we
can pre-empt what is happening, something must have given her the
confidence to come out and want to join APGA between now and January
2nd when there will be primary to begin to know the grassroots; to know
even the name of her ward’s women’s leader and stand for an election in
APGA to win the primary,” Mr. Ozodinobi said.

A level field

He threatened to go
to court if eventually she was adopted by the party. “I believe in the
rule of law. The Electoral Act says every party must do primaries. Let
there be transparent primary. That’s all I’m asking for. Nobody is
above the law. And the courts are there for redress to be sought if
things are done to the contrary,” Ozodinobi warned.

But APGA insists
there will be a level playing ground for all the candidates. In a chat
with NEXT in Awka, the state vice chairman, North, of the party,
Fidelis Okafor, assured the other candidates they had nothing to fear.

“To the best of my
knowledge, yes, APGA intends to do a transparent primary. That’s what
we’re preparing for and that’s what we promised our aspirants. The
issue of who picks APGA tickets will solely depend on the outcome of
the primaries,” Mr Okafor said. He said it was natural for aspirants
such as Mr Ozodinobi to be apprehensive, but assured that nobody in the
party, no matter how highly placed, was thinking of an automatic ticket
for Mrs Akunyili.

“Akunyili, like others, is desirous of running for senate and APGA is her choice as she has told the world,” Mr Okafor said.

But while her new
party appears happy to have her, given her intimidating credentials,
other parties say they are not intimidated. Underwhelmed opposition
parties Afam Ilounoh, state publicity secretary of the People’s
Democratic Party, PDP, while welcoming Akunyili into the race said his
party had nothing to fear.

“It’s an
interesting development. She’s well known and well respected. The game
has become even more interesting now she has thrown her hat into the
ring, but PDP has nothing to worry about as it will win next year’s
elections in Anambra State. In no way are we intimidated by her entry.
Anambra is a PDP state and PDP will take it over in 2011,” Mr. Ilounoh
said.

Tony Nwafor Okafor,
a leader of Congress for Political Change (CPC), said Mrs Akunyili’s
entry was just like any other person’s. He said she needs to win her
party’s nomination first before other parties could worry about her
candidacy. “After that, she should brace up to face other parties’
candidates. She may have been successful as NAFDAC boss and in other
positions, but she has never been elected. This time she should prepare
for battle,” Mr. Okafor, who boasted that CPC would sweep the stakes,
said.

For the Action
Congress of Nigeria, Mrs. Akunyili’s entry into APGA had not added
anything to APGA’s electoral fortunes, even as the party spokesperson
said it amounted to a vote of no confidence on PDP which she left.

“The equation has not changed one bit with her entry,” ACN’s Anambra State publicity secretary, Madukaife, told NEXT.

According to him,
Mrs Akunyili had just succeeded in reducing the Igbo quota in the
federal cabinet. He said ACN would win the three senatorial seats on
offer in the state.

Support from above
However support is coming Akunyili’s way from an unexpected quarter. A
prophet, Rama Asuzu, from the ancient Nri Kingdom in Anambra State,
wants Nigerians to support Akunyili so that she could even become the
senate president.

“I wish that a
woman would be the senate president in the next dispensation and the
expected woman is Prof Dora Akunyili. She will perform more than she
did at NAFDAC and in her former ministerial position because she is a
chosen vehicle that will take the less privileged beyond the shores of
lack of want,” Mr Asuzu said.

He added that Mrs Akunyili was destined to use her position to give succour to orphans and widows.

“This will be a manifestation that will encourage women to keep
participating fully in the Nigerian polity in order to save the country
from the vicious circle of unreason,” he said.