Gov. Ikpeazu emerges 2019 PDP flag bearer

The Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday September, 30 at the Umuahia Township Stadium on School Road, the state capital elected the incumbent Governor of the state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu to run for another four years in office till 2023.

Recall that the PDP had elected three delegates from 187 wards in the state to participate in the exercise.

The delegates including the immediate past governor of the state, senator Theodore Ahamefule Orji, Senator representing Abia Central Senatorial District polled a total of 1991 votes to back Ikpeazu’s second term bid.

Declaring Governor Ikpeazu winner of the PDP primaries, the Chief Returning Officer, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi announced that a total of 2207 delegates were accredited for the election with 23 of the votes recorded as invalid.

In his speech, reelected Ikpeazu expressed gratitude to party for giving another opportunity to flag the party’s flag and promised not to disappoint them, even as he enumerated some of the achievements of administration in the last three and half years. 

Meanwhile, the Donatus Nwankpa led All Progressives Congress (APC), Abia State chapter could not hold the direct governorship primary scheduled to hold across the 17 Local Government Areas in the state.

But the High Chief Ikechi Emenike led faction held parallel primaries across the 17 councils of the State.

At the time of the report, details of the number of votes he polled were still being awaited.

Sources at the Nwankpa led camp told our reporter that the inability of Nwankpa led camp to hold the earlier scheduled primaries couldn’t have been far from the concerns of disenfranchisement of some members of the party that joined newly against the decision of the party to use 2016 APC party register to accredit eligible voters.

Unconfirmed reports have it that the six aspirants in Nwankpa’s camp; Uche Ogah, Friday Nwosu, Hon. Martins Azubuike, former deputy governor Chris Akomas, Amb. Okey Emuchay and Prince Paul Ikonne were said to have been advised meet among them to agree on a consensus candidate.

However, several rounds of meetings held at the state capital failed to yield positive results.

It was also learned that the five aspirants from Ukwa/Ngwa extraction among them were equally lured to get one person among them to face Ogah who is from the North, an attempt that that also failed to yield any positive impact.

At the end of a closed door meeting at Wonderland event center with the aspirants which was said to have ended in deadlock saw stakeholders and aspirants walk into their waiting cars with each of them refusing to grant interviews to journalists.

However, yet to confirm information that trickled into the state at the time of filling this report has it that Abia has got Monday, October 1 from the National Headquarters of the party as new date for the Abia APC primaries.