The 10 major things you need to know about Anambra Election

The 10 major things you need to know about Anambra Election 2017

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Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra is expected to be a close contest between four leading candidates. However, there are 37 candidates in the election including five women. Here are 10 major things to know about the coming election as well as previous elections in Anambra.
The Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, in partnership with PREMIUM TIMES will bring you a comprehensive coverage of the election.
1. Godfatherism
The politics in Anambra State is the case study for Godfather Politics in Nigeria where the quest to hold on to power with so much enthusiasm by politicians is on the increase. From the Fourth Republic, the state has witnessed these ugly trends as political actors and their estranged political godfathers are always in contention for control of state resources. For each electoral cycle, there is a godfather.
The political brawl (which could be said to have birthed godfatherism), in Anambra State began with Governor Mbadinuju and Emeka Offor. The trend continued with the inception of Governor Chris Ngige and his political godfather, Chris Uba; a crisis that caused a lot in the polity of the nation and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in particular.
Below, is a compilation of godsons and their godfathers since 1999:
1999-2003: Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju and Emeka Offor
2003- 2006: Governor Chris Ngige and Chris Uba
2006-2014: Governor Peter Obi and Emeka Ojukwu
2015-date: Governor Willie Obiano and Peter Obi
Each of the front liner candidates in the Saturday elections is already linked to a godfather. However, the fight between Peter Obi of PDP and Willie Obiano of APGA, will partly define the electoral outcomes.
List of Governors of Anambra State from 1999 to 2017:

Chinwoke Mbadinuju: From May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2003 PDP
Chris Ngige: From May 29, 2003 to March 17, 2006 PDP
Peter Obi: From March 17, 2006 to November 3, 2006 APGA

Virginia Etiaba: From November 3, 2006 to February 9, 2007 APGA. (Appointed when the previous governor, Peter Obi, was impeached by the state legislature for alleged gross misconduct. She transferred her powers back to Peter Obi three months later when an appeal court nullified the impeachment).
Peter Obi: From February 9, 2007 to March 17, 2014 APGA. (Andy Uba was elected and sworn in as the governor of Anambra State on 29 May 2007. He was removed by a Supreme Court decision on June 14, 2007. He governed the state for 14 days).
Willie Obiano: From March 17, 2014 to date APGA
Anambra State is the only state that paraded five governors under controversial circumstances from 1999 to 2007, including one who spent just 14 days in Office.
2. Power Rotation
The matter of zoning or power rotation – where elected positions rotate between different geographical areas – has emerged as a major factor in the campaign for the Anambra State November governorship election.
The popularity of zoning in Anambra State politics was developed while Peter Obi was rounding off his eight years in office as the governor of the state. It was initially dismissed by his political opponents as a non-issue in the Anambra governorship election. Many stakeholders in the state are, however, beginning to realise that it is the only way to ensure equity and fair play among the three senatorial zones.

In the run up to the 2017 governorship election, the issue of zoning prevailed in all the major political parties in the state. The three major political parties, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, (with Willie Obiano as its governorship candidate), the All Progressives Congress, APC, (with Tony Nwoye as its governorship candidate) and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, (with Oseloka Obaze as its governorship candidate), have all zoned their governorship candidate to Anambra North. This has set the stage for a bull fight in the upcoming governorship election in November.
3. No Referendum, No Election
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has threatened to stop the November 18 elections by utilising the strategies of community evangelisation, awareness raising, rallies, posters and circulation of text messages.
Earlier proscribed by the government as a terrorist group and barely a week to the governorship election in Anambra State, members of IPOB, on Friday, November 10, marched around some streets in Onitsha, Anambra State, chanting :“if you vote you will die. Don’t go out, stay in your house,” They vowed not just to disrupt the elections but also ensure a lockdown on the day of the election on Saturday, November 18.
The IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, whose whereabouts remain unknown, earlier said that unless the Nigerian State calls for a referendum to determine the status of the country, no election will be held in Anambra State or indeed the South-east in 2019.
4. Battle Field
The Idemili North State Constituency in Anambra State elections will be held alongside the governorship election on November 18. The following areas are considered battleground in the state, including Idemili South and North Local Government Areas.