Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has been overwhelmingly elected as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the February 2019 governorship election in the state.
Governor Ugwuanyi, who was the sole aspirant in the colourful and hitch-free governorship primary election held at the popular Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, emerged the party’s candidate after polling the highest number of votes cast by the delegates.
This is the first time in the history of the state an aspirant to the office of the Governor is contesting in the party primaries unopposed or as a sole aspirant.
The exercise, which started with accreditation of delegates at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, commenced at about 3pm, after about 2, 895 accredited delegates were conveyed to the venue of the primary election in luxury buses.
Declaring the primary election, which was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) open, the Chairman of the 5-man State Electoral Committee from National Secretariat of the Party, Senator Ambuno Zik, stated that the exercise will be conducted in accordance with the electoral act and party’s guidelines and constitution.
Senator Zik, who noted that Gov. Ugwuanyi was the sole aspirant for the governorship primary election, added that delegates will have to vote accordingly, stressing: “Due process must be followed”.
He commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for entrenching peace and good governance in Enugu State, and also appreciated the state leadership of the the party, INEC, security agencies and party’s stakeholders for their contributions to the success of the exercise.
Introducing the sole governorship aspirant of the party to the delegates, the Deputy President of the Senate, Prof. Ike Ekweremadu, applauded Gov. Ugwuanyi for holding the forte for the party and state, disclosing that this was the first time in the past 21 years of his active participation in politics, that the PDP would be having a sole aspirant as well as a non-contentious governorship primary election.
According to him, “today we have not only a Governor who has performed very well, he has also entrenched peace in Enugu State”.
Gov. Ugwuanyi while thanking the delegates for the overwhelming support, expressed gratitude to God for the peace in Enugu State which has brought development and good governance.
