Analysis by Enugu Metro Political Desk
Two of Labour Party candidate Chief George Moghalu’s recent declarations appear to downplay the biggest hurdle facing him in his party. When he unveiled his running mate this week, he spoke about public trust as the major challenge of governance in Anambra. He then followed with a declaration that his party is intact, strong, and united to win the election. The declarations left many scratching their heads, coming from someone whose emergence as candidate was anything but straightforward.
Moghalu was, until recently, a prominent member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Contesting election on the platform of the opposition Labour Party highlighted the deepening contradictions within a party grappling with identity, unity, and credibility. The fact that the undisputed national leader of the Labour Party is yet to congratulate him speaks volumes about how far the party has traveled on its journey to the south.
Showing Confidence
Moghalu, however, exuded supreme confidence during the unveiling of his running mate, Mrs Ifeoma Veronica Okaro. This confidence appeared to stem from the endorsement of his primary election victory by INEC. Reports said that he won convincingly during the primary, with 573 votes to his opponent’s 19, in a well-attended primary observed by INEC. Moghalu’s mandate may appear solid on the surface – until you are told that the Julius Abure-led faction of LP organized it. His victory and INEC recognition are therefore legally significant but politically troubling. They expose once again the fragility of the party’s internal structure and the contentious direction of its national leadership.
Ironically, the battle was fought and advertised in the home state of the party’s undisputed national leader, Gov. Peter Obi.
The Abure faction also narrowed the ideological gap by making positive overtures to the APC and its national leader, President Bola Tinubu. Labour party rose to prominence on a wave of anti-establishment sentiment championed by Peter Obi and the Obedient Movement in 2023. Thus, the gestures of support to the APC by the Abure-led faction border almost on betrayal. Julius Abure presents a sharp contradiction for a party that was once Nigeria’s foremost symbol of political reform and citizen-led opposition.
Ideological drift
The ideological drift by the faction is not just a theoretical issue. It birthed a dangerous fragmentation of the Labour Party into distinct camps and further alienated the LP’s original base of supporters who still view the party through the lens of reform, transparency, and anti-establishment values. The emergence of Moghalu and the rival primary the crowned Jude Umenajiego as LP candidate split the party’s narrative and is confusing the electorate.
INEC may have recognized Moghalu but legitimacy in politics often transcends legal paperwork. It requires trust and coherence, the two challenges that the candidate spoke about as if he surmounted them in Anambra.
Moghalu appears to be missing the point or hiding his head in the sand. By winning through a faction that openly praises the ruling APC and by being a latecomer to LP himself, he is risking being seen as a proxy for the very establishment that many LP supporters oppose. Moreover, his candidacy does little to resolve the deeper institutional crisis in the party. With the Obidients feeling sidelined, and with rival factions nominating candidates and running parallel campaigns, LP enters the Anambra race weakened, confused, and at risk of political implosion.
Options for survival
For the candidate, the challenge is clear. He needs to not only convince Anambra voters of his vision and leadership capacity but also reconcile his candidacy with a fractured party base suspicious of his political origins and the intentions of his political backers. Moghalu’s biggest hurdle is neither the general election nor any future affiliation he may be contemplating with his old party, the APC. His biggest battle is surviving the internal warfare in a party that is fighting its final battle, not at the polls but within its own walls.
Follow us on all social media platforms @dailyquery for news and analyses around the globe.
