Experience in politics and governance it is believed, will also play a key role in deciding the winner of the November 6 poll. Political experience in governance will be at the fore but the former will be most useful especially in this period of intense political campaign.
Weighing the political experience of the candidates, a few had swam political ocean, both in the State and at the national level, while others are better described as newbie in the political arena of the state.
In Soludo, it is enough to say that his profile is somewhat intimidating. Apart from being a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, he had contested for the State’s governorship election under PDP in 2010 and was chosen as the consensus candidate of PDP in the February 9, 2010 election. After repeated attempts to hold elective primaries were stalled by court injunctions, he went on to lose to the then incumbent governor, Peter Obi.
Aside being a politician now, Val Ozigbo previously worked as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of a Nigeria-based, popular hospitality company, Transcorp Hotels Plc. Transcorp Hotels is the hospitality subsidiary of Nigerian conglomerate Transcorp. He also worked in the banking sector, gaining over 17 years of experience with NAL Merchant Bank, Diamond Bank, Continental Trust Bank, FSB International Bank, Standard Trust Bank, United Bank for Africa and Bank PHB. His counterpart, Ugochukwu Uba was a former senator representing Anambra South senatorial zone in Anambra State. Both Soludo and Ozigbo are graduates of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and have both been in the banking sector.
Andy Uba is not new in Anambra politics and election either. Among the candidates present; he is the grandfather with vast political experience. During the 2007 Anambra Governorship election, Uba won in a landslide victory and was sworn-in on May 27 of the same year. People of the State were stunned when on June 14, 2007; he was removed by a judgment of the Supreme Court barely two weeks and three days after his swearing-in. The apex court had ruled that the tenure of then-incumbent governor, Peter Obi, of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, had not expired. Later In April 2011 however, he won the Senatorial election to represent his District and lasted for two terms. His vast experience in politics will be an advantage in the run-in to the election.
Senator Ifeanyi Uba of Young Progressive Party, YPP, caused an upset when he dusted the then incumbent APC Senator, Andy Uba in Anambra South district, on the platform of a less popular Party, YPP, to become the Senator representing the zone. He was regarded as a political neophyte in 2013 election when he first contested for governorship and has now grown deep into the political system.
Uba, a billionaire business mogul is known in the state and beyond for his uncommon benevolence. He is an entrepreneur and currently the CEO of Capital Oil (CCO, for short), and the Publisher, Authority FM and newspapers headquartered in Anambra state.
The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Mr. Obiora Agbasimelo and candidate of African Democratic Congress, (ADC),Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo, like Ozigbo, are contesting for the first time. The former, Agbasimelo, is a technocrat turned politician, while Nwankpo was a Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Technical matters and a Member of Sure-P. They will be banking on the failures of the major parties to spring surprises and clinch surprise victory.