September 4, 2024
Press Release
Again, Uzodimma, Imo APC prove to be anti-democracy,
incompetent, As party robs members, holds secret and fraudulent LG primaries
*Clearly demonstrates inclination to corruption, cruelty
Crisis has engulfed the Imo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The cries of betrayal and daylight robbery are now being heard from 90 percent of its Chairmanship and Councilorship aspirants who have been hit by a thunderbolt thrown at them by the leadership of the party in the State, including Gov. Hope Uzodimma. Many are bewildered, others are concussed, and some others are spoiling for war.
The last straw that broke the camel’s back was not that over 200 Chairmanship and 800 Councilorship aspirants were forced to pay three million naira (N3,000,000) and one million naira (N1,000,000), respectively for their nomination and expression of interest forms, it was that yesterday, September 3, 2024, the leadership of the party supervised a secret primary election for the 305 Councillorship seats and 27 Chairmanship positions ahead of the local government elections in the State to produce their hand-picked and unworthy candidates, hence brutally disenfranchising the rest after squeezing huge sums from them.
The secret nominations were conducted in the houses of compliant APC leaders in some of the habitable local government areas of the State, while the results of the other LGAs were just written without any formality. To the consternation of many aspirants, many of those favoured by the charade of primary election or nomination are unknown figures that emerged out of the blue, having never declared interest to run, obtained nominations, nor screened by the party before now.
Recall that over 80 percent of the aspirants and APC stakeholders had openly opposed the Governor’s suggestion of choosing candidates by consensus, instead preferring to be given the chance to test their popularity and capacity in a well-organized primary election. Many now believe that the party’s leadership resorted to a clandestine primary to punish their own aspirants and leaders for demanding that the right thing be done. What a party!
The aspirants are embittered and asking why the leadership of the party made them pay through their noses since they knew they would foist the candidate of them.
Sadly, this is the latest in many of Imo APC’s undemocratic moves instructed by Gov. Uzodimma that also reaks of inalienable inclination to fraud, injustice, and cruelty. It confirms our stance that Imo APC is run by kleptomaniacs and usurpers who should have no business with leadership. With the Governor at the center of all these, it says everything about his leadership failure and the manner of a bad leader that he is. This cannot be overemphasized.
We sympathize with those robbed even though we are not surprised at the tsunami that hit them as nothing good can come from Imo APC, not under the Governor’s watch. As a responsible opposition, we have always warned Imo people about the dangers of associating with the ruling APC government which has no regard for the people.
Compared to Imo PDP’s peaceful, open, and transparent primary election, where all aspirants were given a level playground and members of the party freely voted for their choice candidates [images and videos of which are in the public space], the corruption and sleaze in Imo APC are clear enough for the blind to see.
The PDP remains the most organized, democratic, and people-driven political party in the State and has demonstrated this in its recent LG primary elections and Ward, LGA, and State congresses. In the desperate search for the right leadership, the option is again ever clear for Ndi Imo. It can only be PDP.
Signed:
Lancelot Obiaku
State Publicity Secretary
Imo PDP
