THERE were indications Friday that a cousin of the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige may soon emerge as the running mate to Senator Andy Uba, the controversial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 6 gubernatorial election in Anambra State.
The said cousin of Ngige, Mr Emeka Okafor, is University of Benin trained lawyer and hails from Nnobi in Idemili South local government area in Anambra Central senatorial zone of the state.
It was gathered that the move was part of efforts by Uba Campaign Organization to placate one of the most powerful critics of the emergence of Senator Andy Uba as the party’s standard bearer of the party.
“Okafor will be announced anytime from now as Senator Uba’s running mate”, a sources in the Andy Uba Campaign Organization said.
Recall that the Minister has remained an unwavering critic of Uba’s emergence as the party’s flag bearer following the controversial Anambra State APC congress of Friday, June 26.
Immediately after the Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State –led congress committee announced Uba as the winner of the primary, Ngige maintained that there were no elections throughout the 21 local government areas in the state and demanded that the party conduct a proper congress where a proper primary election would be held for the 14 aspirants of the party within four days, so as to meet the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines on the nomination of candidates for the gubernatorial election.
It is not yet known if Senator Uba’s choice of Ngige’s cousin would make him accept the outcome of the primary, although some APC chieftain insisted that all is not yet well in the party as far as the issue of the governorship candidate of the party was concerned.
