From Magnus Eze, Obinna Odogwu, Aloysius Attah, Mokwugwo Solomon and Amechi Agbodo,
The National Outreach and Reconciliation Committee, headed by a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APGA), Senator Victor Umeh, has begged one of the claimants to the ticket of the party, Chukwuma Umeoji, to sheath his sword so that the party would come back stronger and win the governorship election.
In a chat with newsmen in Awka, yesterday, Umeh, flanked by members of his committee, expressed worry over lingering litigation and distractions in APGA, and suggested that the election would hardly be won with a divided house.
He said: “We’ve invited Umeoji to come to our committee; but he has not yet come. This committee did not disqualify him. We’re here to reconcile aggrieved members with the party. Umeoji is our person. He has gone to the House of Reps in 2011 under our party when I was still National Chairman. He also became council chairman under APGA. Now, again, he is in the House of Reps through APGA. That he wanted to be governor and the party says otherwise should not make him carry arms against the party.”
Meanwhile, fresh facts have emerged on why Umeoji, Nonso Okafor and other aspirants were disqualified from contesting the primary poll of APGA.
Umeoji and Okafor were two of the leading aspirants in that race and they’re currently representing Aguata Federal Constituency in the National Assembly and Nnewi North Constituency in the state House of Assembly respectively.
Reliable sources in the party told Daily Sun that the two lawmakers and others were warned not to contest the primary poll because the party leaders have zeroed their minds on the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.
In fact, the sources said that the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano, had warned the aspirants to stop wasting their money as he had chosen Soludo as the party’s standard bearer. The sources said that the governor also asked the party leadership to stop collecting money from the aspirants to avoid repeating the party’s 2019 Imo State experience.
“I know that under the constitution of the party and even the guideline for the governorship primaries, it is expressly stated that the screening committee can disqualify any aspirant for being unfit and proper to fly the party’s flag.
“That is why it is said that primaries are internal affairs of the political parties. They have a right to look at you and say that the way they see you, you cannot make a good candidate; therefore you are hereby disqualified.
“So, you cannot say that they were disqualified to pave the way for Soludo. What will they do if they were not disqualified? They will contest like Ewepudike, ThankGod Ibe, and others contested with Soludo. There was no way they could have won Soludo.”