The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has picked Justina Amaka Azuka to fly her ticket in the August 16 bye-elections for Onitsha North State Constituency 1 in the Anambra State House of Assembly.
Justina is the widow of the Labour Party (LP) lawmaker, Justice Azuka, who was kidnapped and later murdered, with his body found earlier this year.
Out of respect for the slain lawmaker, the Labour Party is also nominating Justina for the vacant seat, with party leaders pledging to support her aspiration to victory 100 percent.
However, the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state has brought out Mimi Ifeoma Azikiwe, a lawyer and granddaughter of the revered Chuba Ikpeazu dynasty, to fly its flag during the bye-election, scheduled for the 16th of next month.
Many political observers in the state, especially those from the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, have condemned the decision of the APGA to field a candidate for the bye-election.
According to them, the lawmaker was kidnapped and murdered due to the inability of the State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo to secure the state.
The APC candidate for the November 8 Governorship Election in the state, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, has insisted APGA has no moral justification to field a candidate for the position, noting that had the governor put enough security in place, the lawmaker would not have been killed.
Recall that in 2017, the ruling APGA in the state had nominated Mrs Nkoli Mmegbuanaeze, the widow of the then-member who represented Idemili North Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Chief Francis Mmegbuanaeze, as its candidate for the bye-election to replace the deceased lawmaker.
Mrs Nkoli had gone ahead, with the backing of the APGA and the then-governor, Chief Willie Obiano, to win the State House of Assembly bye-election to complete the tenure of her deceased husband.
