Guber Primary : APGA threatens Udensi with sanctions over spurious claim
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Abia State chapter, has threatened to visit a former governorship aspirant of the party, Sir Chikwe Udensi, with sanctions if he continues to claim that he was the authentic APGA governorship candidate in the state.
The party leadership in the Abia issued the warning during a press briefing at the party’s state secretariat in Umuahia while reacting to social media reports where Udensi was proclaimed as the authentic guber candidate of the party for 2023 general elections.
The party which said such false claim was maligning the integrity of the party in the state, made it clear that Udensi came last during the APGA governorship primary in Abia with only 12 votes, adding that Udensi had sneaked out while the primary election was in progress.
State Chairman of APGA, Rev Augustine Ehiemere, insisted that Udensi’s claims of being the party’s candidate was not only baseless, but a deliberate attempt to undermine the integrity of the party in Abia.
APGA described Chikwe Udensi’s actions as means of seeking cheap popularity and warned that the party would no longer tolerate further denigration and disparaging of the integrity of APGA.
Ehiemere maintained that APGA conducted the most credible guber primary election in Abia State as every aspirant was given level playing ground to prove his popularity and acceptance by the delegates.
He narrated that Udensi, after addressing party delegates, sneaked out from Kolping hall, venue of APGA primary and went to a hotel in another part of Umuahia to illegally declare himself as the party’s authentic candidate.
“It may interest you to know that the grouse of Chikwe Udensi against the party is that he made several efforts to foreclose the party by not allowing people to join APGA for whatever reasons best known to him. But the State leadership of the party resisted all his attempts which were not for the best interest of the party, as the State leadership is poised to making sure that APGA will occupy the Abia State Government House, come 2023,” Ehiemere said.
The party revealed that Udensi, allegedly, blocked some progressive-minded personalities from joining APGA with the claim that he had already been anointed by the national leadership of APGA as governorship candidate for Abia.
APGA also denied demanding financial inducements from Udensi to allow him get the guber ticket, making it clear that “no such demand was made by our party. Chikwe Udensi has never contributed a dime to this party in the last three years.”
The party pointed out that a delegate list of Arochukwu Ward 3 which was approved by both national and state secretariats of APGA, were different from the one held by Udensi, suggesting that early discovery of Udensi’s alleged plans may have made him to sneak out to an hotel to announce himself as the APGA governorship candidate.
“Any further attempt by Udensi to malign the integrity of the party shall attract severe penalty,” said Ehiemere.
On the threat by some defeated aspirants to challenge their loss in court, Ehiemere explained that the primary election of APGA was very transparent, adding that the party has not received any formal complaint from any of the former governorship aspirants.
He, however, appealed to all aggrieved aspirants to support the winner, Prof Gregory Ibe, and entire APGA family to win the general elections in 2023.
“Going to Court will not do us any good. I appeal to them to come and join hands and change the leadership narrative of the State,” the Chairman said.
