Chuks Onuoha, Umuahia
Abia State chapter of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) said that the party would beat the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from the tribunal to the Supreme Court and reclaim its mandate to prove that what took place at the governorship election in 2019 was a sham.
The party stated this during a press conference held in Umuahia, where it unveiled the identities of its newly- constituted State Working Committee.
The new state Chairman of the party, Chief Nkem Okoro, said that the new members of SWC were the elected and “authentic” leaders of the party in the state.
Okoro, who addressed newsmen at the conference, with 26 others, said that the 26-man Abia APGA State Working Committee members emerged through congress election.
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He stated that the tribunal in the state had separated the boys from the men by striking out cases that did not meet its standard, and that “the last one was thrown out on Saturday.”
“Now is the time to take what belongs to us; we are going to prove to Abians that what happened during the election was a sham not an election,” the party which spoke through its newly-elected Chairman, Chief Nkem Okoro assured.
“Come 19th of June, the legal fire will begin and I want to tell you that we are going to beat them right from tribunal to the Supreme Court and there will be a rerun and the better candidate will emerge,” the Chairman assured.
He explained that what was happening in APGA was not a crisis as the party still remained one indivisible entity with Dr Alex Otti as the leader.
“We are sifting the chaff from the grains; we want to remove very corrupt members of this party; APGA as a party has been re positioned, and is now strong enough as an opposition to take its mandate. We are taking time to flush out the corrupt elements from the party so that we can move forward. Then, APGA and Abians shall have good relationship to work with journalists to re-position the state. We will go out and get what we want before we start talking about who is offended,” the chairman said.
He stated that the new and authentic leadership of APGA in the state, as presently constituted, had declared its unequivocal support and absolute loyalty to Dr Otti, the 2019 APGA governorship candidate of the party, who is diligently pursuing his petition at Abia governorship petition tribunal in Umuahia.
“We are believing, strongly, the sanctity and impartiality of the judiciary as the last hope of the common man. We are equally determined to work on the side of Ndi Abia, by resisting through legitimate means, any attempt by those “hijackers and usurpers,” masquerading as APGA leaders, who were merely recruited by the ruling PDP and state government to derail the course of justice in our dear state,” the chairman stated.
He described as brigandage and illegality, the actions of some former members “who regrouped and attempted to hijack the party to pursue fraudulent, selfish agenda to the detriment of the ideals of the party.”