Barely 10 days after he emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial standard bearer for the November 8 gubernatorial poll in Anambra State, Prince Nicholas Chukwujekwu Ukachukwu has been given rigid conditions to receive the support of the Catholic Church in the state.
Sources told The Guardian that the basic conditions set before the APC governorship candidate include the selection of a deputy from the Catholic fold, and also that 60 per cent of his cabinet must be Catholics.
This is just as the APC governorship hopeful has been inundated by lobbyists for the position of running mate, even as he engaged with concerned APC stakeholders in the state in a bid to find common ground with various women groups agitating for gender parity.
The Guardian learned that the race for Ukachukwu’s running mate had been narrowed down between two former female Senators, Dr. Uche Lilian Ekwunife and Dr. Margery Okadigbo, who hail from the Central and North Senatorial Districts of the state, respectively.
Although both female politicians are Catholics, the factor of zoning is said to be impacting their chances, because while the more politically active Ekwunife hails from the populous Anambra Central District, Mrs. Okadigbo is from Anambra North, which has just served out eight years of governorship through Willie Obiano.
Also, the fact of her maiden community, Igboukwu in Aguata Local Council, and influence as the current Director General of South East Governors’ Forum is ticking in Ekwunife’s favour, as her candidacy is expected to help slice the votes in Old Aguata Union from where the incumbent Governor Chukwuma Soludo hails.