Abia APC carpets factional guber candidate for presidential campaign violence

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has berated the factional governorship candidate of the party in Abia State, Ikechi Emenike, over the recent acts of violence that erupted during the electioneering campaign tour of the state by the APC presidential flagbearer, Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

The party also insisted the civil disturbance which heralded the recently-held APC presidential campaigns and rallies in the state capital, has further justified the existing lawsuit instituted against those who had allegedly plotted to impose an unpopular candidate on party members and the Abia people, against Uche Ogah, the democratically-elected flagbearer of the APC for the March 11 governorship election.

Violent clashes ensued between the warring factions of the Abia chapter of the APC as scores of party members and supporters who attended Tinubu’s presidential campaign rally in Umuahia township stadium were injured.

However, Offor Okorie, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Abia State, while addressing journalists in Umuahia on Friday applauded the courage of notable APC leaders in the state to boycott the recent party functions hosted by the splinter group.

Okorie saluted the courage of APC leaders who showed solidarity with Dr Uche Ogah by intentionally staying out of the APC presidential rally organised by Ikechi Emenike who “is illegally parading himself as Abia APC governorship candidate.”

According to him, the APC leaders in Abia State- including Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Hon Sam Onuigbo, Chief B.B Apugo, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, Dr Chris Akomas, Nyerere Anyim, Prince Paul Ikonne and Hon Stanley Ohajiruka – didn’t attend the sham rally and this “has shown the world that Ikechi Emenike is on his own.”

The Abia APC spokesman also reaffirmed the stand of the state leadership of the party on the concluded direct gubernatorial primary elections conducted by the APC national leadership in Abia, which elected the past Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, as the APC gubernatorial candidate in the state for the March 2023 governorship elections