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RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #2001/01 3060651
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020651Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7383
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 002001 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL, INR/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: ANAMBRA GUBERNATORIAL RACE OFF TO ROCKY START 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) Judicial and electoral commission rulings on the disputed 
People's Democratic Party (PDP) nomination process have fueled 
confusion and tension in the February 2010 race for Governor of 
Anambra State.  Political temperatures rose further with the 
reported kidnapping of the father of the former Governor of the 
Central Bank and putative PDP candidate, while the PDP candidate 
from the annulled 2007 election continues to urge the courts to 
declare him "governor in waiting."  In many ways, Anambra is a 
political bellwether for Nigeria, but the omens for a credible 
election look grim.  Thus far, INEC has done nothing there to redeem 
its shattered nationwide reputation.  Meanwhile, the Anambra High 
Court has done a fairly good job of turning down the variety of 
attempts to rig the process.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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THE ANAMBRA DRAMA 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 23, a Federal High Court in Abuja rejected the 
People's Democratic Party (PDP) designation of former Central Bank 
Governor Charles Soludo as its candidate for Governor in the 
February 2010 elections.  The ruling forced the Independent National 
Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare that it had barred Soludo's 
candidacy, while the Anambra State High Court ruled that INEC could 
not remove Soludo's name until higher courts (Court of Appeals) 
ruled on an appeal by his legal team. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Anambra State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner 
Rowland Uwa told Political Specialist October 27 that INEC's 
decision to bar Soludo complied "strictly" with the October 23 
ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja on an internal PDP dispute 
arising from "inconclusive PDP primaries."  He confirmed four 
additional litigations involving Soludo's candidacy.  Uwa described 
the Anambra political situation as "precarious," adding that "it is 
important that INEC respects court orders to avoid accusations of 
bias by any of the parties or governorship candidates."  Uwa 
expressed confidence that INEC would reinstate Soludo should the 
Federal High Court in Abuja or another higher court rescind the 
order, but described Soludo's selection as an "imposition" since 
neither the Anambra PDP executives nor the party rank and file 
participated in his selection.  Similarly, Anambra State PDP 
Publicity Secretary Afam Ilunoh insisted that Soludo's selection ran 
contrary to the party's constitution, which required selection of 
party candidates through primaries. 
 
 
------------------------------------ 
LOSING CANDIDATE PERSISTS IN APPEALS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) Andy Uba, the PDP candidate who claimed to have won the 
2007 Anambra gubernatorial election later annulled by the Supreme 
Court continued his attempts to convince the courts that he merited 
status as "governor in waiting."  Incumbent governor Peter Obi of 
the ANPP had taken office in 2006 after successfully waging a 
three-year battle to overturn INEC's original declaration of still 
another PDP candidate as the victor against him in 2003.  Obi later 
won a second legal victory when the Supreme Court ruled that his 
four-year tenure had started from the time he assumed office in 
2006, annulling the 2007 election in which Uba had participated. 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Chairperson of a PDP faction loyal to Andy Uba, Chief 
Bright Nebedum, expressed optimism to Political Specialist October 
QBright Nebedum, expressed optimism to Political Specialist October 
27 that the courts would declare Uba as the successor to Governor 
Peter Obi, obviating the need for gubernatorial elections in 
February 2010.  Nebedum, who opposed Soludo's candidacy, remarked 
that Soludo's legal difficulties stemmed from an "injustice meted 
out by those who think the PDP is their birthright." 
 
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GANG KIDNAPS SOLUDO'S FATHER 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) On October 27, a five-man gang stormed Soludo's family home 
in Isofia and kidnapped his 79-year-old father, according to press 
reports.  The reported kidnapping occurred on the same day that 
4,000 anti-Soludo protesters from 21 local councils stormed the 
state capital to protest the "imposition" of Soludo's candidacy by 
Abuja PDP heavyweights.   Police invited Andy Uba's brother Chris 
 
ABUJA 00002001  002 OF 002 
 
 
for questioning on his possible role in the kidnapping. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶7. (SBU) Anambra is a political bellwether for Eastern Nigeria.  It 
is the region's most populous state, the hub of major commercial 
towns like Onitsha, Nnewi and Akwa, and it is the home of prominent 
citizens like Nigeria's first president, Nnamdi Azikwe, former 
Biafra leader and ex-presidential candidate Emeka Ojukwu, former 
Vice President and current PDP First Chairperson Alex Ekweme, and 
renowned writer Chinua Achebe.  The stakes are high in Anambra, in 
part because it is the last statewide chance for the federal 
government to show before the 2011 presidential poll that it can 
deliver a credible electoral process.  Thus far, the omens in 
Anambra look grim:  voter registration last month was marred by 
reported abuses, the nationally dominant PDP is bitterly divided, 
the courts are already involved as arbiters, and the father of a key 
PDP figure was brazenly kidnapped.  Thus far, INEC has done nothing 
in Anambra to redeem its shattered nationwide reputation.    END 
COMMENT. 
 
¶8. (U) Embassy and ConGen Lagos collaborated on this telegram. 
 
SANDERS