A chieftain of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, Hon Damian Igbokwe, has called out the party’s governorship candidate in Abia State, Mr Ikechi Emenike over APC’s poor performances at the recently concluded presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.
He bared his mind at the weekend on the outcome of the elections in Abia and regretted that Emenike’s candidacy under the platform of the APC has caused more damage than good in the effort of the party to deepen its internal democracy and further entrenched democratic process in the country.
According to him: “Uche Ogah was on the ballot in 2019 as the gubernatorial candidate of APC, at the peak of anti-Buhari slogan across the length and breadth of southeast and total rejection of the party in Abia.
“Yet, [he] was able to market Buhari and gave him over 100,000 votes in Abia in 2019, but regrettably, this 2023, what they could give Buhari and Tinubu combined in Abia is just 8,914.
“It is also on record that Dr Ogah won the gubernatorial election of Abia in 2019 but the inability of party leaders and polling unit agents to monitor the election and defend their votes cost APC the victory.
“Truth be told, you can easily get outsiders to manipulate the electoral process and make you a party candidate but they can’t force you on the people if you are unpopular.”
Meanwhile, an APC youth leader in Abia State, Comrade Kingsley Nduoma, on Saturday, called on leaders, stakeholders and members of the party to prevail on the Abia factional party chairman, Mr Kinsley Ononogbu to immediately reconvene those he allegedly squandered their small stipends and pay them to avert defeat at the poll for the Abia APC governorship candidate, Ikechi Emenike.
