Ahead of the November 29, 2014 Peoples Democratic Party governorship primaries, all is not well within the Abia State chapter of the party over plans by Governor Theodore Orji and his son, Chinedum alias ‘Ikuku,’ to impose Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as the next governor.
Despite the governor’s several denials through his spokesman, Mr. Charles Ajunwa, that he has no anointed candidate and promises to ensure a level playing field for all aspirants, there are strong indications that he has commissioned ‘Ikuku’ to work in agreement with some elders, government and party officials to impose Ikpeazu on the state.
The much talked about peace and unity which Orji claims to have brought to the stakeholders of the party seems to have disappeared into thin air as the three senators representing the state – Uche Chukwumerije (Abia North), Nkechi Nwaogu (Abia Central) and Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South); governorship, national and state assembly aspirants vowed not to allow the governor and his son have their way in imposing a stooge on the state.The recent impasse has polarised the state chapter of the party into old and new PDP, with the former group vowing that Ikpeazu who is being propped up by the governor’s son, cannot emerge as governor. In a petition signed by the three senators, governorship and National Assembly aspirants such as Alex Otti, Acho Nwakanma, Emeka Wogu, Solomon Ogunji, Uzoma Abonta, Nkeiruka Onjejeocha, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, among others, they stated that no ward congress held in Abia State as the Tony Caesar Okeke committee did the bidding of the governor and his son by forging the result of a congress which never held.
The three senators and leading aspirants, who met in Umuahia after the botched congress, accused Orji and Ikuku of ordering the 17 transition committee chairmen to move around the 184 wards of the state with soldiers and policemen, harassing people to take pictures in their desperation to cover the fraud of the congress. The petition reads in part, “Between 5.30p.m and 6p.m, the people dispersed to their homes disappointed.
This means that no congress held anywhere in Abia State. From about 8p.m, we noticed surreptitious movements of non-executive members of the party and government officials carrying pre-prepared fictitious result sheets of papers to the members of the Tony Ceaser Okeke led panel in Damgrete hotel where they were huddled since their arrival after the meeting with stakeholders and aspirants which as earlier noted ended at 2.15pm. “Rumour has it that the panel spent most of the night compiling these fictitious results into their result sheets.”
After presenting their cases before the Mrs. Ashanti Bekwai-led PDP Electoral Appeal Panel, the aggrieved aspirants and stakeholders, who called on the national secretariat of the party to reschedule the ward congress, insisted that it won’t be in the interest of the Abia PDP to allow the governor to impose his anointed candidate on the state without the input of stakeholders. The group of aggrieved aspirants were said to have asked Orji to drop Ikpeazu and support another candidate, but the former denied anointing any aspirant as his successor.
Among those who are said to deeply aggrieved by the anointment of Ikpeazu is his in-law and two time deputy governor of the state, Chief Acho Nwakanma, who has so far resisted overtures to support the former, vowing that he won’t accept Ikpeazu as governor. Senate spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, is said to be bitter with the development as he is said to prefer another aspirant emerging governor from his native Obingwa than Ikpeazu who was brought up by the governor’s son.
With what happened at the November 1 PDP congress in Abia, it is now crystal clear that the governor does not have control of the party in the state as his preferred candidates wouldn’t have won; hence the resort to writing of fictitious results when no congress was held.
Source: New Telegraph
Despite the governor’s several denials through his spokesman, Mr. Charles Ajunwa, that he has no anointed candidate and promises to ensure a level playing field for all aspirants, there are strong indications that he has commissioned ‘Ikuku’ to work in agreement with some elders, government and party officials to impose Ikpeazu on the state.
The much talked about peace and unity which Orji claims to have brought to the stakeholders of the party seems to have disappeared into thin air as the three senators representing the state – Uche Chukwumerije (Abia North), Nkechi Nwaogu (Abia Central) and Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South); governorship, national and state assembly aspirants vowed not to allow the governor and his son have their way in imposing a stooge on the state.The recent impasse has polarised the state chapter of the party into old and new PDP, with the former group vowing that Ikpeazu who is being propped up by the governor’s son, cannot emerge as governor. In a petition signed by the three senators, governorship and National Assembly aspirants such as Alex Otti, Acho Nwakanma, Emeka Wogu, Solomon Ogunji, Uzoma Abonta, Nkeiruka Onjejeocha, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, among others, they stated that no ward congress held in Abia State as the Tony Caesar Okeke committee did the bidding of the governor and his son by forging the result of a congress which never held.
The three senators and leading aspirants, who met in Umuahia after the botched congress, accused Orji and Ikuku of ordering the 17 transition committee chairmen to move around the 184 wards of the state with soldiers and policemen, harassing people to take pictures in their desperation to cover the fraud of the congress. The petition reads in part, “Between 5.30p.m and 6p.m, the people dispersed to their homes disappointed.
This means that no congress held anywhere in Abia State. From about 8p.m, we noticed surreptitious movements of non-executive members of the party and government officials carrying pre-prepared fictitious result sheets of papers to the members of the Tony Ceaser Okeke led panel in Damgrete hotel where they were huddled since their arrival after the meeting with stakeholders and aspirants which as earlier noted ended at 2.15pm. “Rumour has it that the panel spent most of the night compiling these fictitious results into their result sheets.”
After presenting their cases before the Mrs. Ashanti Bekwai-led PDP Electoral Appeal Panel, the aggrieved aspirants and stakeholders, who called on the national secretariat of the party to reschedule the ward congress, insisted that it won’t be in the interest of the Abia PDP to allow the governor to impose his anointed candidate on the state without the input of stakeholders. The group of aggrieved aspirants were said to have asked Orji to drop Ikpeazu and support another candidate, but the former denied anointing any aspirant as his successor.
Among those who are said to deeply aggrieved by the anointment of Ikpeazu is his in-law and two time deputy governor of the state, Chief Acho Nwakanma, who has so far resisted overtures to support the former, vowing that he won’t accept Ikpeazu as governor. Senate spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, is said to be bitter with the development as he is said to prefer another aspirant emerging governor from his native Obingwa than Ikpeazu who was brought up by the governor’s son.
With what happened at the November 1 PDP congress in Abia, it is now crystal clear that the governor does not have control of the party in the state as his preferred candidates wouldn’t have won; hence the resort to writing of fictitious results when no congress was held.
Source: New Telegraph
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