Today is a decision day in Anambra State. It is a day to elect the man that will succeed Governor Peter Obi.

Today is a decision day in Anambra State. It is a day to elect the man that will succeed Governor Peter Obi.

Today’s race is strictly a four-horse one. And they are the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Chris Ngige; All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Willie Obiano; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Comrade Tony Nwoye and Labour Party (LP), Chief Ifeanyi Ubah.

The fate of these four men would be decided by a total of 1, 784,536 registered voters. Of the lot, 900,701, representing 50.5%, are women, while 883,835, representing 49.5%, are men.

They are spread across 326 wards of the 21 local government areas of the state which prides itself on being “The Light of the Nation”.

After months of speculations, consultations and preparations which included vigorous campaigns across the local government areas, with seven being in each of the three senatorial districts – Anambra North, Anambra South and Anambra Central.

Obiano and Nwoye are from Anambra North, while Ngige and Ubah are from the Central and South respectively.

The four leading contenders in the governorship poll have one thing in common: incredible war chest! So, today’s election would, to some extent, be a fair fight.

The contest will be determined by many forces. First is the support base. While Nwoye is said to enjoy the support of Chief Arthur Eze and Chief Emeka Offor, Obiano enjoys the support of incumbent governor. Ngige has the strong support of the recently registered APC, an amalgam of four major opposition parties. Ubah, apart from self-financing, has many wealthy friends as supporters.

The candidates’ popularity will play a major factor. There is no doubt that they are all popular and have carved a niche for themselves in various aspects of life. The popular opinion here is that Ngige parades a larger than life image, having ruled the state once and made indelible marks in the areas of infrastructure.

Nwoye also has fierce followership, especially among the youths, who are calling for a generational shift. Obiano’s meritorious career, administrative acumen and the support from the ruling party have shot up his popularity. Ubah, an oil and gas magnate, has been made so popular by his kerosine sales to the people at an affordable price.

Then, there is the ubiquitous factor of religion. Here, religion is a highly emotive subject that every candidate has been careful not to be on the wrong side of it. That probably explains why the recent tragedy at the Adoration Ground was handled with much tact by all the candidates.

The zoning philosophy may not really be the deciding factor, as it is not very much mentioned here.

The legal tussles that raged on in the PDP which literally stalled good planning and campaign will sorely hurt the party, federal might notwithstanding.

While Obiano and Nwoye would be splitting the votes of Anambra North, Ngige, analysts believe, would face no resistance in Anambra Central. He is quite popular and is expected to garner substantial votes there.

The South Senatorial Zone will act as the swing zone in today’s election. In all, the winner in todays election will the most popular candidate among the people of Anambra State.