APC chairman assures of peaceful, free, fair primary elections in Ebonyi
From Chinedu Nwafor,Abakaliki
Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ebonyi State chapter, Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha has assured of peaceful, free and credible primary elections in the State, ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Chief Emegha who gave the assurance while interacting with some Journalists in his office in Abakaliki on Wednesday, noted that all was set for the exercise in the State.
He said relevant stakeholders, including the electoral umpire, security agencies,among others, had been promptly and appropriately briefed to avoid hitches, throughout the exercise.
“We have duly communicated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to send its officials, security agencies ranging from police, civil defence etc to monitor the exercise in line with extant laws of the land”.
“Going by the importance of the 2023 general elections to Nigeria and even West Africa as a whole, we cannot afford to set a bad precedence by muddling up the outing. Again, since party primaries metamorphosis into the bigger election by presenting candidates for the people to choose from, the exercise calls for due diligence and high intelligence to avoid regret”.
Chief Emegha further charged the delegates to cast their votes for aspirants who had the tenacity and ingenuity to sustain and deepen the democratic gains Governor David Umahi’s administration had bequeathed to the state to emerge as candidates for the general elections,next year.
“I’m convinced that the delegates who are well schooled in Ebonyi politics will be exercising their franchise under a very peaceful atmosphere and considering the need for the likes of Governor David Umahi to fly the party’s tickets during the general elections. As your Chairman, I want you, the delegates to vote in line what will promote the unity and progress of the party.
“Do not cast the ballot to the highest bidder because by so doing, you will mortgage the future of our state. As an empire, we will cross the bridge in one united voice in the interest of Ebonyi people whose destines are tied to ours. Eschew violence by your conduct. We are the pacesetters and therefore, we cannot set bad precedence of any kind “.
“As aspirants prepare to test their popularity among the delegates in the micro polls, they should create room to accept the outcome of the elections. For me, there will be no winner or loser because our goal is basically to win the general elections.
The aspirants should be ready to display the spirit of sportsmanship should the outcome of the exercise did not go down as planned by anyone. In case of any difference, there must be room to seek redress from the appropriate quarters rather than taking to violence”.
