In Imo politics, 2027 is no longer a date on the calendar. It is a verdict. With a little over a year to the next gubernatorial election in the state, one name keeps coming up in ward meetings, market squares, and Abuja corridors: Senator Samuel “Sam Daddy” Anyanwu, the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
After two unsuccessful attempts at Douglas House in 2019 and 2023, Anyanwu seems set to finally accomplish his long term ambition of governing his home state.
The name is on the lips of majority of the people and this time, the contest is not just against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), it is a judgement on Sam Daddy’s staying power, his party, and how Imo PDP can finally turn structure into votes.
It is no longer news that he has spent the last three ears holding the PDP together at the national level while fighting battles back home.
As National Secretary, he has been in the room for every major PDP decision since 2021. His team points to his record as Senator, his role in stabilizing PDP nationally, and his grassroots empowerment.
The message on the streets is already shifting from “give us a chance” to “we are ready.” Sam Daddy is the most connected Imo politician in Abuja.
For those who know him, Senator Anyanwu is not a run-off the mill politician, who contests and fizzles out like smoke. Of course, he confirmed this fact late last year when he told stakeholders in Owerri late last year that “I am not running away from my record. I am running on it. What Imo needs is not noise. It is experience and capacity to deliver.”
This reaffirms the preparedness of a man that is committed to pursuing his quest to bless Imo with good governance and sustainable development.
Imo 2027 certainly feels different and Sam Daddy looks set to be the candidate to beat. The reasons are not far-fetched.
One, if Governor Hope Uzodinma wins the January 2027 Senatorial elections, he will handover before the 2027 gubernatorial election and the power of incumbency would have been seriously whittled down.
Sam Daddy would be contesting against a weaker and less popular candidate from the ruling APC, just as the incumbent will be defending 8 years of APC’s poor hold on the state. This will open space for an opposition comeback and with Senator Anyanwu on the cards, the PDP will certainly get its house in order and stage a stunning return.
Secondly, Senator Anyanwu’s strength has always been party structure. He controls wards, has loyalists in all 27 LGAs, and funds a grassroots network that did not collapse after 2023.
And Sam Daddy will galvanise his structure to crush sentiment in an election where voters will be demanding visible projects, youth and women empowerment and responsible governance.
Most importantly, the PDP nationally is trying to rebrand ahead of 2027. With Anyanwu as National Secretary, Imo becomes a test case. If PDP cannot win its secretary’s state, the party’s 2027 narrative collapses, so the PDP will deploy all its arsenals to carry the day.
A senior PDP chieftain close to Anyanwu recently said “We have learnt our lessons, 2023 taught us that you cannot win Imo on Abuja connections alone. You must be in the villages every week.” And when you talk of grassroots, who knows it more than Sam Daddy.
There is no doubt, the election is going to be a judgement time and Senator Anyanwu will be judged based on three major parameters: first is his acceptability
Can he expand beyond PDP base to reach APC defectors, LP voters from 2023, and aggrieved youths? The answer is in the affirmative. Even Sam Daddy’s enemies are aware that he is a bulldozer and a master mobiliser
With the incumbent performing abysmally and losing touch with the people and additionally with the discontent with the APC at the national level because of the depreciating standard of living, the PDP stands to be the biggest beneficiary of the APC’s governance heist.
Secondly, Senator Anyanwu is poised to change his campaign slogan from being the most experienced to what he will and can do differently to change the current.
His track record as a senator, community leader and philanthropic activities will speak for him. The electorate already knows him and they know what he stands for. In 2027, Imolites will be judged based on who can actually govern, not who can make the best speech.
As a good and tested manager of people and resources, Sam Daddy is poised to effectively manage PDP’s internal factions in Imo without another round of court cases and parallel congresses
.He has started answering early and has increased town hall meetings in Okigwe and Orlu zones, two areas where PDP underperformed in 2023. He has also focused on youth empowerment programs branded under his foundation.
“Leadership is about service,” he said at a youth forum in Ideato. “If you give me this opportunity, I will run an Imo government that puts food on the table first.”
Of course, the APC will run on “continuity of projects” — roads, flyovers, and security spending but the people are not convinced with much touted achievements of the incumbent governor.
Questions are still being asked about his style of leadership and general neglect of the most essential sectors of the society. And with Governor Uzodinma leaving, the APC is bound to run into a deep crisis over who succeeds him while the current deputy is likely not to bulge in stepping down for any other candidate.
Meanwhile, within PDP, everyone is convinced Anyanwu should fly the flag a third time.
For those conversant with Imo politics, 2027 will be less about party logos and more about performance records. For Anyanwu, that is the opportunity. He has the name recognition, the party position, and the war chest.
What he needs now is a coalition broad enough to win, and a message sharp enough to convince Imo people that the third time is not just another try.
As one PDP elder put it in Owerri last month: “This is not 2019 again. This is judgement. And the people are the judges.”
Yes, Sam Daddy has lost twice, but 2019 and 2023 gave him something money cannot buy: familiarity. Voters in Orlu, Okigwe and Owerri zones already know what Sam Daddy stands for.
In an election that will be about trust, that matters, as he will no longer be the challenger chasing the system. He will be the system everyone else is trying to beat.
…Oluchi Oseh, a public affairs analyst writes from Owerri
