. I am authentic guber flagbearer – Ogah
. Rep Onuigbo, Ikoh dismiss claims to Senate ticket by Atuma
The case of Abia APC appears like that of the hydra-headed monster which grows another head as soon as one is cut off. Despite the well attended meeting held at the country home of Hon Emeka Atuma at Ntalakwu-Oboro, Ikwuano LGA, the search for peace in the party remains elusive as another several aggrieved members dismisses the peace summit as another merry making gathering.
Dailyledger.com.ng reports that the reconciliation meeting held Saturday, June 18, 2022 had in attendance amongst others the former State Chairman of the party, Donatus Nwankpa with some stalwarts in his camp; Also present includes the Chief Ikechi Emenike-backed Dr Kingsley Ononogbu-led Abia Exco of the party and both factions agreed to collapse their structures and unite as one under the Ononogbu-led Exco and Emenike as their leader and governorship candidate
But in his reaction, former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Uche Ogah, contends that he is the authentic governorship candidate of the party for the 2023 governorship election.
According to his spokesperson Joshua Ogbonnaya, “the so-called meeting had no relevance and can change nothing”.
Ogah who flew APC's governorship flag in 2019 says he was unperturbed over the purported meeting, and maintained that his emergence as the party’s governorship candidate was in line with the directive of the national leadership of APC.
”Ogah emerged from direct primaries as directed by our national leadership. They can’t gather and snatch the people’s mandate just like that'', says Ogbonnaya
Backing up Ogah is an Exco chairman, Goldie Nwagbara who emerged after the defection of Acho Obioma
Secretary of the Ogah faction, sPerfect Okorie, also dismissed the purported reconciliation as “a huge joke”, adding that: “We know we are the true APC in the state irrespective of the antics that might be playing around. We are the authentic Abia APC”.
Ironically, within the Emenike-led faction there appears to cracks as two of their stalwarts Rep Sam Onuigbo and Henry Ikoh are questioning how Hon Emeka Atuma is suddenly being paraded as the Candidate for Abia Central Senatorial district since he never participated in the primary election
One of the senatorial aspirants, Henry Ikoh dismissed as "ridiculous and dead on arrival", claims that Atuma, is the APC Senatorial candidate for Abia Central when he never participated in the party’s primaries.
“How can somebody who contested for the governorship and lost, turn around and claim to be the senatorial candidate in a primary he never participated in?” Ikoh queried.
The contest was between Rep. Onuigbo and Ikoh as Sen. Nkechi Nwogu earlier cleared for the race later withdrew, while another contestant, Kelvin Ugboaja, did not show up.
Onuigbo polled 157 votes while Ikoh got 152 votes.
Onuigbo who claimed ignorance of the meeting told journalists that it was a mockery of the 1999 Constitution as amended and the Electoral Act 2022 for somebody who never participated in a primary election to be declared candidate.
"Emeka Atuma is not the senatorial candidate. The candidate is Sam Onuigbo", he quiped
"I won the senatorial primaries having polled 157 votes ahead of my opponent who got 152 votes. Our national leadership has also issued me with the relevant documents because the panel that came for the exercise in Abia returned with evidence that showed that I won.
"I have been issued with Form EC 9 which is a form given only to successful candidates. I have since filled and returned the form. At the national office my name is there as the candidate for Abia Central; Sen Orji Uzor Kalu for Abia North; and Hon. Blessing Nwagba for Abia South.
"If Atuma is claiming to be the candidate he should know there is a law which says that for somebody to be candidate he must have passed through primary election".
"It’s either an error or clear case of impunity which must be corrected".
In a related development, pf the APC governorship aspirants, Chief Daniel Eke, has asked a Federal High Court in the state to declare the outcome of the May 26 governorship primary in the state as unlawful and invalid.
Eke urged the court to stop the two chieftains of the party, Emenike and Ogah from parading themselves as the APC governorship candidates for the 2023 general elections in Abia.
It will be recalled that Abia APC had organised two parallel governorship primary elections during its primaries in Abia State, which produced Emenike and Ogah, respectively as candidates.
In his suit, Eke argued that Ogah’s "factional purported direct primary election" was not conducted by the APC Electoral Committee chairman, Tony Obiechina and his team and further argued that Emenike’s adoption of indirect mode of primary election was in total violation of the NWC’s directives, guidelines and relevant sections of the party’s Constitution.
He therefore urged the court to declare that both Emenike and Ogah “emerged from an invalid, unlawful and illegal factional primary elections conducted contrary to the Constitution of APC and Electoral Act 2022”.
Eke sought the court’s injunction restraining the two defendants “from parading themselves as duly nominated governorship candidates of APC”.
The aspirant also asked for an order to restrain INEC “from accepting or recognising and presenting the two defendants as the APC governorship candidates for the general elections in Abia”.
According to him, there was no election from which the so-called delegates emerged, in the case of indirect primary election and urged the court not to allow the purported primary elections by Emenike and Ogah to stand but declare it a nullity.
The governorship aspirant further alleged that he was unfairly and unjustly treated by the party’s NWC and asked the court to award N100 million damages in his favour and against Emenike and Ogah “for inducing and masterminding the infractions invalidating the APC gubernatorial primary election in Abia”.
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