APC Primaries: Aspirants urge to shun acts capable of truncating exercise

The leadership of the All Progressives Congress in Abia State has urged its members and aspirants contesting to emerge as the flag bearer of the party in 2019 to shun acts that are capable of truncating the primaries of the party in the state today (Sunday).

The chairman of the party, Hon. Donatus Nwankpa in a meeting the party secretariat located on Azikiwe road by Adelabu Street with all the aspirants for various elective positions warned that the party would not hesitate to disqualify, suspend or expel from the party any aspirant or party member that would bring hooliganism into the exercise.

 Nwankpa who called for rancor free primaries reinstated the position of the party to stick with direct primary method, stressing that party would not hesitate to address any issue or concerns that would emanate during the exercise. This is even as he added that mechanism has been put in place to ensure that the process was smooth and that issues raised by various persons would be properly dealt with within the stipulations of the guidelines for the exercise and the party’s constitutions.

According to the chairman, declaration of results would be done at the state secretariat of the party while supplementary or runoff elections would hold in areas where the process was inconclusive.

While thanking the aspirants for showing maturity and understanding, also commended them for shunning campaign of calumny and urged them to embrace today’s exercise with the spirit of sportsmanship, stating that the ultimate goal of the party is to clinch the governorship position of the state in 2019.

In his speech, a leader in the party, Senator Chris Adighije urged the aspirants to ensure that their supporters behaved themselves and stated that the party in the state having being in the opposition over the years do not have any choice than to produce a governor of APC extraction in order to align themselves with the national leadership of the party.

Adighije noted that the ruling party is jittering over the way the party in the state is waxing strong despite the antics of the ruling party to bring APC down in the state and advised that the party faithful should shun rumour mongering which he claimed was part of the tactics of the ruling party in the state to cause disaffection among party members.

However, the likes of Dr. Uche Sampson Ogah, President Masters Energy Group and guber aspirant expressed worries over the possibility of some members of the party being disenfranchised over the decision of the national leadership of the party to use 2016 register of the party as the authentic register for prospective voters.

Ogah pleaded with the state chairman and his team to see how they can appeal to the national officers to accommodate and give opportunities to those that recently registered with the in order to avoid disenfranchising them from participating in the exercise.

An aspirant for Bende Federal constituency, Ben Kalu warned the party to avoid taking decisions that may run foul to the party’s constitution which would give room for litigations by some members of the party.

Abia South Senatorial aspirants; Chinedu Onyeizu and Marc Wabara, Rt. Hon. Martins Azubuike and Senator Nkechi Nwaogu in separate interviews were optimistic that the exercise would be hitch free.