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The expected
emergence of former governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, as the
senatorial candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria for Anambra
Central will not cause sleepless nights for Dora Akunyili, the All
Progressives Grand Alliance candidate said yesterday. Mrs. Akunyili who
stated this at a meeting with the opponents she defeated in her party’s
primary said she was prepared to take on any opposition.

“I’m not worried by the emergence of anybody,” she said. “Everybody is free to vie for any position. The more the merrier.”

Mr. Ngige who
governed Anambra State for three years before being thrown out of
office by the courts has been rumoured to harbour senatorial ambitions
although he is yet to make a public declaration. But indications that
he was going to contest emerged when he allegedly had the name of his
political son put in for the Anambra Central senatorial slot for
Senate, prompting political analysts to speculate that Mr. Ngige’s name
will be put in as a replacement for the current candidate on the last
day for substitution of candidates.

But Mrs. Akunyili
said she was not bothered, whether Mr. Ngige was going to run or not.
She said that the paramount thing was to put her house in order by
mending fences with those who ran against her before the primary.

“You don’t expect
people that didn’t make it in the primaries to be rejoicing, you don’t
expect them to be happy,” she said. “It is natural and it is our
responsibility as people that won to call them and their supporters
together and appeal to them to sheathe their swords so that together,
we can work to achieve victory.”

Of the three people
that contested against Mrs. Akunyili, two — George Ozodinobi and Emma
Nweke — have declared their support for her, with Mr. Ozodinobi showing
up in person at the venue of the meeting.

According to Mr.
Ozodinobi, he was present at the occasion in order to help salvage the
APGA in the state. Describing Mrs. Akunyili as a woman of substance, he
said it was now time to come together to ensure victory for the party.

“What I’m saying
today is that the contest is over,” he said. “In the game of football,
there are provisions for gold, silver and bronze but in politics, the
winner takes all. Akunyili is our gold, she’s our choice and it is our
duty to support her. If she fails, everybody has failed and it will be
our collective shame.”

Earlier in the day, Mrs. Akunyili, in the company of her husband
John Akunyili, a medical doctor, had opened her campaign office in Awka
and paid a courtesy call to the traditional ruler of Awka thereafter.
The Awka monarch, Igwe Gibson Nwosu, praised Mrs. Akunyili and noted
that “never in the history of politics in the state had such a popular
candidate come out”, and urged the people of the state to support her.
The contestant restated her commitment towards giving her people
unparalleled representation in the Senate and promised to resign if her
impact was not felt within a year.