- We’ve not held any primary election – Party chair
The All Progressives Grand Alliance may end up without a governorship candidate for the 2019 general elections in Imo State as the party has failed to conduct its primary after rescheduling it for two consecutive days.
The primary election was earlier scheduled to hold on October 5, 2018 but was later rescheduled for the next day, after members of the party, who had hoped to vote as delegates in the primary election, became exhausted after standing for many hours.
It’s painful and shameful that the party Imo people look up to is not living up to their expectations
It was, however, gathered that as the 13 governorship aspirants were awaiting directives from the APGA leadership, one of the aspirants, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, who joined the party after his defection from the All Progressives Congress two weeks ago, declared himself the winner of the purported election held penultimate Sunday night at about 11 pm.
Reacting, an aspirant Uche Onyeagocha, said that Senator Ararume declared himself winner out of desperation to become governor of the state, adding that there was no election conducted.
Also, another aspirant, Okey Eze, said organising state primary election “is the height of desperation, he should be declared as an enemy of the party.”
A former governor of the state, Ikedi Ohakim, who is also an aspirant, said, “We want to inform the people of Imo State and Nigerians at large, that up till this moment, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has not conducted its governorship primary election in Imo State.”
He said despite the pains the people, including pregnant women, went through in the two days the election was rescheduled, there had not been a word from the party national leadership on what was going on.
“It is painful and shameful that the party Imo people look up to to salvage their situation has not been able to live up to their expectations,” he said.
He called on the national leadership of the party to hold the governorship primary election in Imo State urgently, saying, “Failure to do so, we will be constrained to tell our teaming supporters on what to do next.”
However, Ararume’s Destiny Campaign Organisation’s Director of Contact and Mobilisation, Dr. Vitalis Ajumbe, maintained that the aspirant won the election with 583 votes, adding that there was an election conducted by Bar. Mrs. Eberechukwu Echikeme, who presided as the returning officer.
Also speaking, the Imo State Chairman of APGA, Bar. Peter Ezeobi, said that the party was yet to conduct any primary election in the state.