Professor Chukwuma Soludo
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While one must state, for the records, that one has no sympathy for the PDP, a party that created the enabling environment for the near implosion and underdevelopment of Anambra State, one can understand the anger in the hearts of Soludo's co-aspirants. Some of these people have been in the PDP for ages, dutifully doing the bidding of the party. They have been waiting for a shot at the governorship position. It must have been heart-rending for them to see Soludo, the erstwhile governor of the central bank, sweep into the party, like a knight in shining armor, and taking away the beautiful bride they have all been going after. The more annoying part, to the co-aspirants, is that Soludo did all this without breaking a sweat, making them look like lightweights, which some of them truly are.

Most citizens of the state, even if they did not care for the party PDP, initially identified with the aggrieved co-aspirants and understood their anger at the fact that they had been wronged by the party. But things quickly took a new and bizarre twist. It was reported that while they were in the midst of a press conference in Abuja, to make their case for the nullification of Soludo's selection, their nemesis, Soludo, swept into the press venue and went into consultation with party officials. After that consultation, 36 of the 46 aspirants made an about-face. They declared that they had accepted the virtual coronation of Soludo as PDP gubernatorial candidate.

When news of the volte face broke, the question in the minds of many people was how it took such a short time for these people to change their minds, drop their fire and brimstone threats and support Soludo's selection. In Anambra state, where the need for personal enrichment trumps everything else, it is hard to believe that these co-aspirants suddenly realized that Soludo shares the same ideology with them and decided to support him. This writer is inclined to agree with those cynics who believe that something of value must have changed hands or promised. Infact, some aggrieved co-aspirants have already alleged that they were offered 35 million naira to drop their agitation. While this remains an allegation, yet to be proven, it is easy to understand why Nigerians are cynical about the whole thing. They have become accustomed to the politics of money-bagging and corruption by those that say they want to lead.

The consequences of what is unfolding may not immediately be apparent but this writer sees major consequences in Anambra State should Chukwuma Soludo win the general election if his selection process is not rectified now. First of all, as much as the bylaws and constitution of the PDP gives the National Working Committee the powers to resolve disputes within the party, it does not necessarily vest with the body the right to unilaterally select and foist a candidate on the party without unanimous consent. Their action can therefore be successfully challenged in court as null, void and ultra vires. Infact, just yesterday, one Emeakayi, a former commissioner for works, instituted a court action in Awka challenging the process and outcome. The court has now issued an injunction asking that Soludo not parade himself as the gubernatorial candidate until the motion before the court has been entertained and adjudicated. This may well be the sign of things to come should Soludo contest and win the general election. This case could be tied up in court for some time, making it impossible for him to govern. We have seen this script before. Of course, this is truly putting the cart before the horse because there is no guarantee that Soludo will win giving that he is going against heavy weights like the incumbent governor and Chris Ngige. However, this issue must not be discounted because it could again trigger the same pitiful saga that Anambra state has seen before where government activity came to a halt as politicians jostled and jockeyed for supremacy.

The other issue is that if we believe what we are reading now that 36 of the 46 aspirants have suddenly started supporting Soludo, then PDP or Soludo himself may have promised these 36 folks heaven and earth if allowed to fly the gubernatorial flag. By abdicating their rights to contest and consequently backing Soludo, they have inexorably become his godfathers, waiting for him to become the governor and pay them back. Nigerians are aware of what godfathers can do when their beneficiaries fail to live up to their pre-election promises. The issue of godfatherism crippled two administrations in the state and the stage may just be set for another round should Soludo go on to win. If a single godfather is able to make the state ungovernable for a period of time, what would happen when 36 godfathers (Soludo's co-aspirants) begin their own demands and wahala? It will be disaster of enormous proportions.

All right-thinking citizens must condemn the undemocratic process that produced Soludo as the PDP flag bearer. If allowed to stand, a precedent, difficult to stop, may be set where State congresses may no longer be deemed necessary because aspirants with the most money will buy the nomination. It is an ill wind that will blow no one any good. Nigeria is just about to shake off the last vestiges of military rule where governors were foisted on the masses and they ended up governing the way they liked, trampling on any and all toes, marauding the land as they pleased. If we want a true democracy, then lets go all the way.

PDP knows what to do to right the wrong they have done. The nomination should be nullified and a new state congress held. For now, they should leave Soludo's name with INEC and then make a substitution when a legal state congress has been held. The candidate that finally emerges through a democratic process may well be Soludo but at that time it will be legitimate. This writer's quarrel is not with the man Soludo but with the process that produced him. His qualifications are stellar and this writer believes that he did a lot of good things as the CBN governor. For the sake of the state, however, the process that brought him forth must be nullified to preemptively extinguish activities capable of fanning the embers of the political cauldron that has slowly been simmering in the state.

HERE I STAND