A former CBN Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo and twelve other aspirants have indicated interest to contest for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket in the forthcoming Anambra governorship election later this year.
Other contestants are Sen. Andy Ubah, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah, Chief George Muoghalu, Chief Barth Nwibe, Mr Obinna Okonkwo and Chief Paul Chukwuma.
The rest are Dr Chike Obidigbo, Chief Raph Okeke, Chief Tony Nwoye, Sen. Uche Ekwunife, Chief Obinna Uzor and Prince Donatus Okonkwo.
Mr Emeka Ibe, Chairman of the party in the state, made this known to newsmen on Tuesday in Awka.
Soludo, Ifeanyi Ubah, Andy Ubah have all contested for the governorship seat in the past, either on the PDP or Labour Party platforms, but failed.
Ibe stressed that there would be no automatic ticket for any aspirant, adding that they would all participate in the state`s primaries to emerge as candidate for the election.
“We will give all aspirants equal playing ground. There is no special interest in any aspirant.
“We will hold transparent primaries for them because they are all qualified to unseat Gov. Willie Obiano.
“Any of them who emerges as our candidate in the state is capable of removing Obiano from office,’’ Ibe said.
He added that the party would embark on continuous membership registration exercise before the end of the month to accommodate those who want to join in the state.
Ibe, however, said that anybody with criminal records would not be allowed to join the party in the state.
He maintained that there was no zoning arrangement in the party, adding that new members would have equal rights as old ones.