Guber Primary: APC members in Abia stage solidarity rally for Ogah

*Party vows to resist attempt to alter outcome

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abia State chapter, have staged a solidarity rally to express their firm support for the emergence of the immediate past Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Sampson Uche Ogah, as the governorship candidate of the Party in the state.

The solidarity rally which saw the APC faithful besiege the Azikwe Road State Secretariat of the party on Friday, June 3, 2022, was held against the background of rumours that some persons from the party were pressurising the APC National Working Committee to cancel all the governorship primaries held in the state on Thursday, May 26, 2022 and order for a fresh one.

The party held parallel congresses in Abia which produced High Chief Ikechi Emenike and Ogah, respectively, reflecting the division in the party which has Dr. Kingsley Ononogbu leading the NWC- recognized faction of which Chief Emenike is the leader; and another faction led by ex-State Chairman, Chief Donatus Nwankpa, to which Ogah subscribes.

The placards- bearing members who came on solidarity rally said that they held outcome the May 26, 2022 governorship primary sacrosanct, insisting that there re was no need to tamper with result of the primary which produced Ogah since it was done according to the directive of NWC.

It was gathered that the APC NWC had, in a letter, directed Abia, Benue and Osun States to conduct their primary elections through direct primary.

Some of the placards which expressed support for the credibility of the result of their direct primary read: “We, the Abia APC hold strongly on to the outcome of the Direct Primary thank you, our NWC,” “Abia APC is law-abiding. On Direct Primary we stand.”

Addressing the crowed, the Acting Chairman of the party, Chief Opusunji Goldie Wabara,  recalled that on  May 26, 2022, the Abia APC conducted direct primary to choose its governorship primary which was won by Dr Uche Ogah. “Today the National Chairman, His Excellency, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and the National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisere, have appended their signature that Ogah is the governorship candidate of the APC, Abia State,” Wabara informed the crowed which went wild with joy.

Similarly, confirming the development, the State Secretary, Barr. Perfect Okorie, said: “That is why it is good that you should be a law-abiding citizen. For us here in Abia APC, we are law- abiding and we follow whatever we are directed to do by our leaders from the NWC and it is because of that that we are all here and I also know that all of us are here to show your appreciation and solidarity to the outcome of that primary conducted by the party and which produced for us, an amiable member and leader of this party, one us who we know very well; your leader. I know you love him and he equally loves all of us. The outcome of that primary is now being given recognition by the NWC.”

Earlier at a Press Briefing, Okories had told newsmen that the party gathered that some unauthorized persons were engaging in negotiations over the May 26 Governorship primary and that the party would resist any attempt to change its outcome because it was duly conducted in line with the directive by the NWC.

“It has come to our notice that certain group of persons who have ascribed to themselves, one position or the other, have been going about portraying themselves as if they are representing the APC in Abia State, thereby making moves or seeking to ascribe to themselves certain  authorities which they do not have; by trying to constitute themselves as representing parties for the All Progressives Congress of Abia State.

We wish to state categorically that APC, Abia State, under the leadership of our able Acting State Chairman, Hon. Opusunji Goldie Wabara, has not appointed any individuals, has not given our consent to any persons or party or group of persons to negotiate with anyone, particularly as concerns the just-concluded Governorship and State House of Assembly primaries which was duly conducted in the state.

“The APC, Abia State chapter, we duly conducted our primaries, abiding by the directives of NWC. We constituted our electoral committee, using the Ward Chairmen of the 184 electoral wards to conduct direct primaries in Abia State.

Those primaries were duly monitored at various levels, both from the 184 wards of the state and at all the 17 local governments designated collation centres by the statutory organs, including INEC and security agents.

“And as you all were aware, the final collation, equally took place, which was witnessed by the Press, and a winner finally emerged in the person of Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah.

“We wish to state without any equivocation, without any contradiction, that the APC, Abia State chapter, as presently constituted, still stands by that Governorship primary and State House of Assembly primary which we duly conducted in compliance with the directive of the relevant authorities. We are law-abiding citizens and we complied. Whatever any other person did, the person is on his own.

To that end, we wish to state that we have not commissioned anybody in whatsoever manner to begin to speak or negotiate on our behalf, anything to the contrary, to scuttle the outcome of the primary. They don’t have the authority of Abia APC to do what they are doing. That is the position of the party and we stand by that, Okorie said.”