Abia 2023: APC chieftain, Emma Uche endorses Labour Party Guber candidate, Otti, adduce reason
By Chijindu Emeruwa.
An All Progressives Congress chieftain from Abia State, Mazi Emma Uche, has backed the governorship bid of Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, under the platform of the Labour Party (LP) ahead of the forthcoming 2023 general elections in Abia state.
Uche also maintained that he would not leave the main opposition APC in Abia state for another political party as being speculated by fifth columnists, but grieved that the progressive party is heading towards extinction over the continuous clashes of political interests by leaders and members of the party in the state.
Speaking with newsmen on Friday in Umuahia, on the heels of his endorsement of Abia gubernatorial standard-bearer of the Labour Party, Uche hinged his action on irreconcilable differences between critical APC leaders and members in the state and regretted also on the outcome of the concluded parallel governorship primary elections wherein two candidates emerged at end of the exercise conducted by the party leadership in Abia state.
It was gathered that both candidates are already in court seeking judicial interpretation on the authenticity of the conducted exercises, and the actual winner of the gubernatorial primary elections held by All Progressives Congress in the state.
Read more: 2023: Abia chieftain dumps APC, cites unlawful substitution of name by party leadership
They are the immediate past Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uche Sampson Ogah, and the former Pro-chancellor and the Chairman Board Council of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Chief Ikechi Emenike.
However, while speaking during the interview, Mr. Emma Uche, who was also the APC chairmanship candidate for Arochukwu Local Government Area during the last local council elections conducted by the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC), lamented that the intra-party squabbles had taken dangerous dimensions as it could no longer be resolved because of selfish interests of disgruntled party members who are advantageously feeding fat in the crisis bedeviling Abia chapter of the APC.
He pointed out that after the concluded 2019 general elections, coupled with fallouts of the May 26th, 2022, parallel gubernatorial primary elections held in Abia, have completely diminished and whittled down numerous chances of APC to secure victories in main elections, and form a government in Abia, saying also, it was on these above premises he is currently supporting the Labour Party governorship candidate, Alex Otti to win the next year main elections in the state.
The frontline party stalwart further reminded members of the All Progressives Congress in Abia state that a house divided by itself cannot stand hence the urgent need by all sincere and loyal party members across all levels of the state, to jettison individual political interests and differences, and work collectively towards ensuring peace is restored in the fold of Abia chapter of APC, and to be able to emerge victorious in the present and future elections at all facets of elective leadership seats in Abia state.
His words: “What is happening in Abia APC will cause the party a total failure in the coming main elections on its inability to resolve issues necessitated by selfish interests of few APC leaders in Abia state.
“And I can assure you that if APC fails to reconcile warring or aggrieved members in the state before campaigns kick start, the party should forget about winning elections to form the next government in Abia.
“Because we cannot continue to be in disarray, it had caused huge and lots of damages on the party, as seen in last 2015 and 2019 general elections, where the APC recorded poor outings. What is mine saying? My body, my soul is still with APC but supporting Otti on capacity and competence to give every facet of Abia Infrastructural facelifts for the good of our people”.
Hinting further on the endorsement of Labour Party Flagbearer for the seat of the governor of Abia state ahead of the forthcoming 2023 elections in Abia, Mazi Uche lauded Alex Otti’s sterling and meritorious track records in the private sector, banking, philanthropy, community development, youths, men and women empowerment, and his well-articulated and development-oriented blueprints, which he also described as second to none.
The Arochukwu-born APC stakeholder expressed confidence in the capacity, competence, and expertise of Otti to revamp the Infrastructural decadence and dwindling economy of the state, and as well, map out workable and stable security architecture to quell any acts or forms of criminalities, and also ensure proper security of lives and properties of the Abia people and non-Indigenes living in every part of Abia state.
Uche who also frowned at the alleged failure of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party-led administration in Abia State to live up to the expectations of Abia electorates lamented that populaces in the state have been subjected to economic hardship, penury, and starvation, which he attributed the factors, to complete lack of good policy thrusts by the state government to enhance economic growths, and as well as raise the bar in the building of critical Infrastructure in making lives easy for Abia people.
While reminding Abia electorates that the decision lies on them to chart way forward for the development of the state, Uche urged them to use their permanent voter’s cards(PVC) to vote in credible candidates with good intentions and templates to foster genuine human, economic and Infrastructural growths in every part of the state.
