0
Senators Victor Umeh and Tony Nwoye, on Friday, emerged as consensus candidates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 general elections for Anambra Central and North Senatorial districts, respectively.
Both Umeh and Nwoye, who hitherto were representatives of both senatorial districts in the red chamber of the National Assembly on Labour Party platform before defecting first to the African Democratic Congress( ADC) and later to NDC, had no opponents in the primaries.
By their emergence, the duo will fly the NDC flag for the districts in the January 16, 2027, presidential and National Assembly elections.
But it was not the same for Chief Ebuka Onunkwo, the party’s candidate for Anambra South Senatorial district, who had to go through a rigorous primary election with three other aspirants to emerge the winner.
Onunkwo, an industrialist of note and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sea Horse Lubricants Nigeria Limited, had secured over 95% of the votes cast in some of the designated venues of the primary elections in the seven local government areas that make up Anambra South senatorial district.
In the Ekwusigo local government area, Chief Onunkwo polled a total of 1,556 votes to beat Col Jeff Onyejegbu (Rtd), his closest rival, who secured 56 votes, whereas in the Orumba North council area, Onunkwo garnered 831 votes as against Winston Udeh, who trailed by 7 votes.
The trend continued in Nnewi South, where a mammoth crowd of supporters cast 1,209 votes for Onunkwo to 62,17, and 10 votes recorded by Winston Udeh, Jeff Onyejegbu, and Emma Chikelo in that order.
In Ihiala local government, the collated results from the area indicated that Chief Onunkwo secured 697 votes as against 37 by his closest rival and former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Chuma Nzeribe.
Onunkwo, a former member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), had previously indicated his intention to contest the August 16, 2025, Anambra South Senatorial by- election to fill the vacant seat arising from the death of Senator Ifeanyi Uba, the former occupant.
He was, however, prevailed upon to step down for Chief Emma Nwachukwu, the APGA candidate who won the election.
But upon his defection to the NDC after attending the party’s convention in Abuja about two months ago, Onunkwo had said that the move was a reflection of his promise to his teeming supporters to be on the ballot and represent their interests in the Senate.
He had pledged to sponsor bills that would focus on economic opportunities, youth empowerment, and community development in the Anambra South district in particular and the country at large.
The results of the primaries, however, remain provisional until ratified by the party’s top echelon.
The exercise, which was done through option A4, started with the accreditation of registered members of the party, and voting commenced in the afternoon with an impressive turnout by party members.
The same was the case for the State House of Representatives and Assembly, which produced 11 candidates for the Federal House of Representatives and 30 candidates for the State House of Assembly.
Speaking with reporters shortly after the primary elections, the Chairman of NDC in Anambra state, Hon Ikem Uzoezie, expressed satisfaction with the peaceful process of the exercise, adding that the party would go into history as one that conducted the most peaceful, transparent, and credible primary elections in the state.
Uzoezie congratulated both aspirants who emerged as candidates and those who could not make it, describing it as a great show of sportsmanship among the aspirants.
Speaking on behalf of the winners, Chief Ebuka Onunkwo stated that all the candidates for the 2027 general elections in Anambra state share collective desires and determination to take the state to the next level, adding that the state is blessed with men and women with integrity.
“We are happy with the peaceful process, and we salute our party members for conducting themselves peacefully.”
“With the set of candidates in our party for the coming elections, our state is set to experience populist representation that would take our state to a higher level,” he said.
