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APGA concludes primary elections in Anambra State, producing 40 candidates with only three women
The All Progressive Grand Alliance has completed its primary elections in Anambra State, producing 40 candidates for national and state assembly positions. Former Aviation Minister Stella Oduah won the Anambra North senatorial primary, while the party chairman vowed to win all elective positions in the forthcoming general elections. Political observers have called for greater female participation after only three women emerged among the 40 nominees.
The All Progressive Grand Alliance wrapped up a marathon round of primary elections across Anambra State over the weekend, selecting a full slate of forty candidates who will carry the party's banner into the forthcoming general elections for national and state assembly seats. The exercise, which drew significant public attention in this politically influential south-eastern state, was marked by both smooth processes in some constituencies and disputed results in others.
Among the most high-profile winners to emerge from the primaries was former Minister of Aviation Stella Oduah, who secured the nomination for the Anambra North senatorial district. She was joined by Imano Wachiku and Doze Wanko, who claimed the party's tickets for the Anambra South and Anambra Central senatorial districts respectively. In the federal constituency races, Obiwanko Obi was declared winner for the Okra North and South federal constituency after the party ordered reruns following initial disputes over conflicting results.
The state party chairman Chukwudin Wanko struck an ambitious tone at the conclusion of the exercise, declaring that the APGA is determined to sweep all elective positions when voters head to the polls. He expressed gratitude for what he described as a free and fair process that reflected the genuine wishes of the party's grassroots membership across the state.
However, political observers were quick to highlight a glaring imbalance in the final list of nominees. Of the forty candidates selected across all constituencies, only three are women, a ratio that underscores the persistent barriers to female political participation in Nigerian electoral politics. Analysts called on parties across the country to take concrete steps to ensure more equitable representation of women in candidate selection processes.
The primaries in Anambra are part of a broader nationwide exercise as parties prepare their candidate lists ahead of general elections. With the APGA historically dominant in the south-east, the outcome of these primaries carries particular weight in determining who will represent the region at both the national assembly and state level. Attention now turns to the campaign period, where the forty nominees will seek to translate party support into votes from an electorate that expects visible results on security, infrastructure and economic opportunity.