Although there are still many months ahead, the battle lines are be­coming firmly drawn for the Anambra State Governorship election next year.

Indeed, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, a notable former Governor of the state, has declared that current Governor Willie Obiano will not return to the Anambra State Government House in 2017 – due to his poor performance in office.

Ngige said that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will extend its winning streak to Anam­bra State next year and send Governor Obiano packing from office.

The minister, therefore, advised the governor to start writing his handover notes because the odds were fully stacked against him.

Speaking with journalists at his country home in Alor, Idemi­li South Local Government Area, Ngige urged Obiano to save himself from the looming defeat by starting in earnest to write his handover notes, “as the APC will take over power next year in the state.”

Ngige’s warning to the Governor came barely a few weeks after the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, declared that the South East and South-South zones were the next targets of the party, the areas in which it performed poorly in the 2015 general elections.

Apparently to prove that it meant business, the APC won the recent Imo North Senatorial Dis­trict rerun election. Its candidate, Benjamin Uwajimogu, defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Athan Achonu.

Ngige premised his optimism that Obiano won’t get a second term on the governor’s alleged abysmal performance in office, adding that even his predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi failed to meet the expectations of Ndi-Anambra.

The minister said that the time had come for the APC to take over the state to continue all the people-oriented programmes he (Ngige) started in 2003, which have endured till date.

Although Ngige admitted that it was premature to broach the issue of the governorship election in the state, he said he was only counselling the APGA leadership so that they will not take the people for granted.

Ngige, who was silent on whether he would join the forthcoming governorship race, claimed that he defeated ex-Governor Obi in the 2010 poll in the state but was rigged out.

He said: “I won in 16 local government areas out of the 21 LGAs of the state. The man who rigged that election has apologised to me. The APC will be in serious contention for the office of governor next year because we are determined to take over the Government House. My legacies and those of the Federal Government under the APC would attest to APC’s commitment to the welfare of the citizens at all levels.

“Before then, the marshal plan APC has for Nigeria would have been on ground as we believe that will help us during the campaigns”.

But in a swift reaction, a member of the Board of Trustees of the ruling All Progressives Grand (APGA) in the state, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, said that Ngige was merely seeking attention and relevance – and declared that Obiano would be re-elected when the time comes.

Ezeonwuka said Nigige and his party lacked the capacity to flush out Governor Obiano from the Government House, declaring that the minister was merely issuing an empty threat.

•Excerpted from The AUTHORITY report. Photo shows Ngige.