Anambra State will in November this year go to the polls to elect a governor.
David-Chyddy Eleke lists politicians who are jostling to fly the flag of Labour Party
In November this year, Anambra State will go to polls to elect a governor. The incumbent governor of the State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo is expected to seek re-election on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). APGA has for years been the ruling party in the State and because of its formidable nature, only political parties deeply rooted in Anambra will be able to challenge it.
One of such parties is the Labour Party (LP), and this is because of the dominance of the former governor of the State, Mr. Peter Obi, who is deemed to have a huge fan base in the State; even though many think such dominance is waning.
In Anambra, Peter Obi, using his acceptance and popularity was able to engineer the election of many politicians into the State House of Assembly, the Federal House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2023 general election.
The aftermath of it is that Labour Party today has a caucus in the Anambra State Assembly, a crop of formidable politicians in the national assembly, and a huge support base. This is so much so that even Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election has long moved, to pitch his tent with LP. He and many others are the aspirants of the party that will be slugging it out for the ticket of the party for the November election.
Valentine Ozigbo
Former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp and former banker was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2021 election in the state. He lost to now incumbent governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, but was then touted to be well positioned for the seat. The support of former Governor Peter Obi helped him to win the hearts of the people of the state, and it was believed that he had solutions to the problem of the State. Though he was largely regarded as a gentleman with a weak outward appearance, how he maneuvered to win the governorship ticket of the PDP in a contest populated by very experienced politicians remained a mystery to many. He went ahead to make a good showing in the governorship election and was on the verge of winning the ticket, but was said to have been betrayed by many PDP bigwigs who worked with him. He has however left the party and joined Labour Party, and was the first aspirant of the party to declare his interest in the contest. He has been a critic of Soludo and has insisted that if Soludo was doing well, he would not have had any reason returning to the contest a second time. He has a strong following among members of the party
John Nwosu
Mr. John Nwosu is another strong aspirant in the LP. He is a businessman from Nnewi, an ICT expert and owner of Jetlink Group, an ICT-based company that provides services for top banks across the world. He has showed interest in the governorship position of the party and insists that he has all it takes to move the state forward. He is particularly interested in the security of the state and has promised during an interview with journalists that he would leverage his experience of ICT to solve the problem of insecurity in the state. He is contesting on the platform of the LP and has already garnered the support of some key stakeholders in the party, especially that of Mr. Oseloka Obaze, the former Secretary to the State Government under Mr. Peter Obi and the governorship candidate of PDP in 2017 governorship election in the state. He said he plans to use the acronym SHEEEMS to solve the problems of the state. He described SHEEEMS as an acronym representing; Security, Health, Education, Economy, Environment, Markets and Social Welfare. Though he is optimistic of the party ticket, he told journalists that if for any reason he fails to clinch the ticket of the party, he will work with anyone nominated to ensure the victory of the party.
George Moghalu
He is the immediate past Director General of National Inland Waterways Authorities (NIWA), and a former chieftain of APC has all his political life been a faithful party man, staying in one party, joining it to mergers when need be. He was an ally of former President Muhammad Buhari and joined Buhari’s CPC to form an alliance with other parties to form APC. In 2024, in what was seen as a surprise, especially as he has been known for his loyalty to one party since his political career, Moghalu dumped APC and moved into LP, and subsequently declared his intention to contest for the governorship position on the platform of the party. He hails from Nnewi and has insisted that if given the opportunity, he would serve for just one term to complete that of his kinsman, Soludo who is from same zone. This he said is to honour an existing zoning arrangement that allows each zone to govern for a two year term of eight years before it moves to another zone. Moghalu is known to be a strong politician, a grassroot mobiliser who had previously contested for the position. He has all along remained confident that he will win the ticket and move ahead to with the main election in November.
Bart Nwibe
Though he has contested for the position before, Bart Nwibi, an engineer by profession is a businessman from Aguata, which makes him a kinsman of the incumbent governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo. He is the Group Managing Director of Segofs Energies Limited. Not much has been heard of him since after he lost the primary election in APC some years back, but the Port Harcourt Rivers State based oil engineer is touted to be looking forward to the contest on the platform of LP. He is also known to be very loaded with cash – a major requirement for the contest of governorship, especially in a state like Anambra.
Though he has not been visible recently in the political space in the state, but his name keeps cropping up as one of the contestants for the ticket of the party. He is said to have declared his intention recently in Igboukwu his community.
Tony Nwoye
Currently Senator representing Anambra North zone, Senator Tony Nwoye can be described as a cat with nine lives. He has been everything any politician can aspire to be and has seamlessly ascended to many political positions despite his young age. Nwoye right before many other established politicians in the state grew from being a student union leader to PDP state party chairman, member of House of Representatives, and now a Senator of the Federal Republic. All of the above-mentioned positions were not attained without serious opposition from established politicians, but he seems to have mastered his art of wriggling through to get what he wants. He has at other points been governorship candidates of major political parties, including PDP and APC. He has come short of clinching the governorship position of Anambra State on both occasions. His contest this time if he makes it will see him contesting on the platform of the LP, same party that allowed him to become a senator in 2021. He will be the only aspirant of the party who will be contesting for the ticket, who is not from Anambra South Senatorial Zone, where it has severally been argued is the favoured zone.
He has a cult like following among young people and has a way of oiling his friendship with both the youths, women and men, especially rural people. His empowerment of his zone last year is still talked about to this day. His entry into the race would make the ticket of LP a coveted prize, and will certainly increase the stake, but many argue that it would be insensitive for him to join the race after his kinsman Chief Willie Obiano left the position just three years ago.
With the 2023 general elections fast approaching, the race to become the presidential candidate for the Labour Party is heating up. Top politicians from across the country are jostling for the opportunity to fly the party’s flag and represent its values and ideals.
Names like former governor Peter Obi, Senator Aisha Alhassan, and former minister Femi Fani-Kayode have all been thrown into the ring as potential candidates. Each brings their own unique strengths and experience to the table, making the decision a tough one for party members.
As the Labour Party seeks to position itself as a viable alternative to the major political parties in Nigeria, the selection of a strong and charismatic candidate will be crucial. The party will need someone who can inspire confidence and rally support from voters across the country.
With so much talent and ambition in the mix, the race for the Labour Party’s presidential ticket is sure to be a fierce one. Stay tuned as the candidates continue to make their case and vie for the opportunity to lead the party to victory in the upcoming elections.
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David Lammy was visiting Washington last May when he realised Donald Trump was likely to win the presidential election. The soon-to-be foreign secretary held meetings with the Democrat and Republican campaigns – and found himself admiring the latter.
The slickness and professionalism of Trump’s 2024 operation, with its sharp messaging making inroads with black and Hispanic voters, seemed a far cry from his shambolic 2016 campaign. By comparison, Joe Biden’s appeared backward-looking and focused on attacking Trump’s record, while lacking a compelling narrative of its own.
Fast forward eight months, and Trump is days away from being inaugurated as president for the second time after an emphatic victory. Government figures are hopeful the groundwork that Keir Starmer and Lammy laid with Trump – including their two-hour dinner in New York in September – has put them in good stead, but they will be peering through their fingers on Monday after he takes office.
They know there is one thing that will appeal to Trump: the royal family.
In December, Prince William scrambled at the last minute to attend the reopening of Notre Dame in Paris once it became clear Trump was going to be there. The prince met the president-elect for 40 minutes at the British embassy – long enough to annoy the French, according to a UK source.
“One of the most influential people in my view could be King Charles,” a former senior diplomat who has spent considerable time with Trump said. “Someone has to handle the relationship with Trump – I know he really loved the queen – and he has said he likes Charles.”
Another senior diplomat said: “If you talk to anyone who was around the palace at the time … you’ll hear that no one was as deferential and polite as Trump during his state visit.”
Starmer is open to organising a second state visit for Trump, where he could be invited to address parliament for the first time.
Trump and Queen Elizabeth II in June 2019. A senior diplomat said ‘no one was as deferential and polite as Trump’ during his first state visit to the UK. Photograph: Reuters
The grandeur and displays of ostentatious wealth that the royal family provide may appeal to Trump, but will do little to change his policy platform. Whitehall officials are war-gaming a range of scenarios including the impact of punishing tariffs on the highly exposed UK economy and changes in US engagement with international institutions such as the UN and Nato.
Monday would be “a bit of a watershed moment”, one Labour insider said. “So much is being kept on hold until after then.”
Top of the government’s concerns is trade. Trump has vowed to impose blanket tariffs on US imports. Ministers hope that because Trump is most exercised about the US trade deficit with the EU and China, the UK might be spared the worst of them – and that any tariffs could be lifted in an early US-UK trade deal focused on the services and technology sectors. Sophia Gaston, a senior research fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said ministers had identified bilateral trade relations as a way of setting “a positive tone of early engagement”.
This is crucial after a series of setbacks to the political relationship. Since August, the tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk has waged an online vendetta against Starmer and repeatedly called for the overthrow of his government. In October, Trump’s campaign made a formal complaint of election interference about Labour officials travelling to the US to campaign for Kamala Harris. And in the autumn, several Trump allies criticised the UK plan to cede control of the Chagos Islands, where there is a UK-US military base, to Mauritius. Having tried for weeks to finalise a swift deal before Trump’s inauguration, Downing Street said on Wednesday it would wait for the new president to come in – a delay the government does not deny came at Washington’s request.
The UK’s desire to strike a balance between the US, EU and emerging powers such as China will be tested, as might its position on Ukraine. Photograph: Aurélien Morissard/AP
Critical to achieving the UK’s objectives in Washington will be two Blair-era figures: Peter Mandelson, the former EU trade commissioner chosen as Starmer’s ambassador to the US, and Jonathan Powell, Blair’s former chief of staff who is now national security adviser and negotiator for the Chagos handover. Both are highly experienced operators with established networks in Washington DC, but one senior Foreign Office source said they had so far struggled to get people there to answer their calls.
Having been labelled a “moron” by one of Trump’s key campaign aides, Mandelson has begun a charm offensive to win over Republicans sceptical of his doveish stance towards Beijing and the client list of his advisory firm, Global Counsel. In an article for Fox News on Friday, Mandelson heaped praise on Trump’s “great skill as a political campaigner” and said the UK was “hungry to trade more and innovate more with America”, particularly in tech. He also said that “the Chinese government I have observed intensively over the past 20 years … now directly challenges western governments and our values”.
Robin Niblett, a former director of Chatham House, said: “The UK’s positioning has been quite astute so far. Keir Starmer has teamed up cleverly with Giorgia Meloni on migration. As far as relations with Trump go, Britain is currently in a much stronger position than Germany. But I wouldn’t use the last three or four months as a predictor of the next six – on Ukraine, on tariffs, it is going to become a lot more difficult for Starmer to navigate. Nothing means anything until we get out of the phoney war.”
In particular, the government’s desire to perform a balancing act between the US, EU and emerging powers such as China is going to be tested. Simon Fraser, the chair of Chatham House, said: “Keir Starmer said the UK would not have to choose between the US and EU but if there is a trade war between the EU and US, we will be faced with choices. Trump is going to increase pressure on the government on areas including defence spending and China policy, and is going to make the management of the EU relationship more difficult.” Experts question how the UK government would respond if the US asked it to impose tariffs on China or sought to push through a settlement in Ukraine that did not secure it against further encroachment from Russia.
Laura Chappell, who leads on international policy for the Institute for Public Policy Research, said: “If the government is serious about trying to secure the UK’s national interest and trying to be a progressive voice on the international stage, they need to be crystal clear which objectives they most care about. The UK will need well-defined and collectively agreed priorities to help it to find a way through the likely unpredictability of Trump mark 2.”
As we enter a new era with the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, it is crucial to reflect on the impact of the Trump presidency and how Labour will navigate the political landscape in the face of a potential “Trump 2.0”. The past four years have seen unprecedented division and turmoil in the United States, with President Donald Trump at the helm.
Trump’s presidency has been marked by controversial policies, inflammatory rhetoric, and a disregard for democratic norms. His administration has been characterized by a “America First” agenda, which has often alienated allies and emboldened authoritarian leaders around the world. The rise of populism and nationalism under Trump has changed the political landscape not only in the US, but also globally.
As we look ahead to a possible “Trump 2.0” in the form of a potential 2024 candidacy, it is important for Labour to consider how to respond to this new political reality. Will they continue to push for progressive policies and values, or will they shift their strategy to appeal to a more populist base?
Labour must also be prepared to counter the divisive rhetoric and misinformation that has become a hallmark of the Trump presidency. They must stand firm in defense of democratic institutions and values, while also working to address the underlying issues that have fueled the rise of populism and nationalism.
The next few years will be a crucial period for Labour as they navigate the aftermath of the Trump presidency and prepare for the challenges of a potential “Trump 2.0”. It is a watershed moment in politics, and Labour must be ready to adapt and respond accordingly.
Elon Musk has caused anger by calling for the release of Tommy Robinson and accusing Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute child rapists in Oldham in Greater Manchester.
The billionaire ally of Donald Trump pinned a message at the top of his X feed overnight saying “Free Tommy Robinson!”, tagging the far-right activist who is in jail for contempt of court.
As well as a number of messages in support of Robinson, Musk posted several times about rape gangs in Rochdale and Oldham, attacking the prime minister and the safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, over their responses to the scandal.
In one post Musk said: “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service’s approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008-2013.”
He added that Phillips “deserved to be in prison” after she said it was for Oldham council to call an inquiry into child exploitation there, rather than the national government.
In another he said: “The real reason she’s refusing to investigate the rape gangs is that it would obviously lead to the blaming of Keir Stamer (head of the [Crown Prosecution Service] at the time).”
Musk reposted several comments calling for the release of Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who was jailed last October for repeating false allegations about a Syrian refugee.
Musk’s latest intervention in British politics has caused anger among Labour MPs, many of whom have been pushing the government to stop posting on X.
The Tesla co-founder and X owner has repeatedly attacked Starmer over the prime minister’s response to the UK riots last summer. He is reported to be considering donating as much as $100m (£80m) to Reform UK, and was pictured alongside the party’s leader, Nigel Farage, and its treasurer, Nick Candy, two weeks ago.
One MP said: “[Musk] has pushed it too far this time. Twitter [now X] is really rapidly becoming a cess pit, even for disinterested non-partisan types.”
Several ministers said they thought this should be the trigger for the government to leave Musk’s platform. Others, however, warned that doing so could cause a diplomatic incident given Musk’s role in the incoming Trump administration.
Downing Street declined to comment.
A spokesperson for Reform UK would not say whether the billionaire’s endorsement of Robinson – a divisive figure within the party – would change its willingness to accept his money.
A spokesperson for Oldham council said: “Survivors sit at the heart of our work to end child sexual exploitation. Whatever happens in terms of future inquiries, we have promised them that their wishes will be paramount, and we will not renege on that pledge.
“We all recognise that terrible mistakes were made in the past, with children ignored or dismissed. By ensuring that survivors have a voice that is heard, we can help make sure that no child will be failed in the future.”
Elon Musk’s recent tweets calling for the release of far-right activist Tommy Robinson have sparked outrage among Labour MPs. The tech billionaire’s vocal support for Robinson, who was jailed for contempt of court, has been met with criticism from many in the UK’s political sphere.
Labour MPs have condemned Musk’s comments, with many accusing him of endorsing hate speech and extremism. They have called on the billionaire to retract his statements and instead support efforts to combat hate and discrimination.
Musk’s controversial stance on Robinson’s case has further divided opinions on the issue, with some defending his right to free speech and others denouncing his support for a figure known for spreading divisive and harmful rhetoric.
It remains to be seen how Musk’s comments will impact his reputation and relationship with political figures in the UK, but one thing is clear: his calls for Robinson’s release have not been well-received by many in the Labour party.
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ASIN : B07Z6NKCD1 Publisher : Routledge; 1st edition (November 11, 2019) Publication date : November 11, 2019 Language : English File size : 6638 KB Simultaneous device usage : Up to 4 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits Text-to-Speech : Enabled Enhanced typesetting : Enabled X-Ray : Not Enabled Word Wise : Enabled Print length : 372 pages Page numbers source ISBN : 1032084936
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