Preceded by Ikechukwu Obiorah Party People's Democratic Party Education Concordia University | Role Nigerian Politician Name Emmanuel Uba | |
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Born 14 December 1958 (age 65)
Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria ( 1958-12-14 ) Political party People's Democratic Party (PDP) | ||
Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba, or Andy Uba (born 14 December 1958), is a Nigerian politician who was elected Senator for the Anambra South constituency of Anambra State, Nigeria, in April 2011. He was running on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform. He defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress in February 2017; the leadership crises engulfing the former ruling party PDP may have motivated the move he took.
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Early career
Uba was born on 14 December 1958 in Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria. His parents originated from Uga, in the Aguata LGA of Anambra State. He attended the Boys High School Awkunanaw, Enugu State. According to some sources, he was admitted to Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, graduating in 1984 with a degree in Geology.
Presidential aide
While still in the United States Uba assisted in the 1999 Presidential elections in Nigeria. Following the elections he returned to Nigeria and was appointed Special Assistant on Special Duties and Domestic Affairs to President Olusegun Obasanjo. In a September 2003 visit by Obasanjo to the United States, Uba was described as the President's right-hand man, and also the gatekeeper for people who wished to talk to the President.
Elected politician
In 2007 Uba competed successfully in the PDP primaries for the Anambra State governorship election, and was elected in the 14 April 2007 elections. However, the former governor Peter Obi challenged the election, saying that because the courts had only accepted that Obi had won the April 2003 elections on 15 March 2006, he still had three more years or his four-year term to serve. The courts accepted this argument and on 14 June 2007 nullified Andy Uba's election. In November 2009 it was reported that Uba was planning to run for the delayed Anambra State gubernatorial elections in February 2010 on the Labour Party platform, after the Labour party had invited him to make the move. The party's leadership said they "believed that he will deliver on the ideals and objectives of the party". Speaking about his decision to switch parties, on 31 December 2009 Uba said "Labour is my natural political home".
In the February 2010 elections, Uba came in third.
2011 Senate election
Uba returned to the PDP and was nominated as PDP candidate for Anambra South Senatorial district in the April 2011 elections. He won with 63,316 votes, ahead of Chukwmaeze Nzeribe of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with 43,798 and the incumbent senator Ikechukwu Obiorah of the Accord party with 24,724. Uba's election was challenged by Senator Obiora, the Accord candidate, who claimed that Uba had forged his West African School Certificate (WASC) and had not obtained any of the university degrees that he claimed. The story of allegedly faked degrees dates back to a story written by two investigative reporters and published by The News in December 2006. Reporters claim that both Concordia and California State University said that although Uba enrolled, he did not graduate from either university.