By Chijindu Emeruwa, Abia.
Senator Chris Adighije, an Abia elder statesman and Pro-chancellor and the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University Lokoja, Kogi state, has been named the chairman of the Abia State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Reconciliation Committee.
This comes on the heels of the factional crisis rocking the Abia state chapter of the APC and coupled with the outcome of the recently concluded parallel gubernatorial primary elections held on 26th May 2022 in Umuahia, the state capital, wherein the exercise led to the emergence of two governorship candidates of the party for the 2023 main elections, who are the immediate past Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uche Sampson Ogah and Pro-chancellor and the chairman of the Governing Council of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in Enugu, Chief Ikechi Emenike.
The appointment of Senator Adighije was made known when the 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress in Abia State, Chief Ikechi Emenike, and some party leaders, visited Senator Chris Adighije, at his Okwu Olokoro country home on Sunday.
However, while addressing members and supporters of the party during the scheduled visit, Mr. Emenike expressed total confidence in the capacity of Senator Adighije to reconcile all aggrieved and warring factions in the party and also tasked all loyal party members with the urgent need to jettison whatever political differences and close ranks, to enable the APC to emerge victorious in the forthcoming 2023 general election in Abia, and many other states across the Nigeria federation.
He said that he disagreed with most of the party leaders and members over alleged inconsistency, as they were bent on destabilizing the Abia chapter of the party to score cheap political points, reiterating that the party has come to stay in Abia and must sack the present Peoples Democratic Party led administration over its misrule in the past twenty years.
The prominent APC chieftain also regretted that governance has collapsed in Abia state and insisted that the time is now for the APC to take over the leadership of the state come 2023, and provide the needed dividends of democracy to every doorstep of the populaces in the state towards enhancing their welfare and improve the poor standard of Infrastructures in Abia state.
Emenike explained that he was on the visit to Senator Adighije, as part of his consultation with party leaders, critical stakeholders, and supporters across the state, to seek their blessings and support on his gubernatorial bid ahead of the main elections, and also promised to give every part of the state, and economic and Infrastructural facelifts tilted at enhancing people’s welfares in Abia state when elected as governor in 2023.
He further promised the host his desire to reconstruct rural dilapidated roads within Okwu Olokoro community in umuahia south local government area, when supported to emerge as governor, restating that people’s vote must count in the 2023 elections, as the era of ballot box snatching and other acts of electoral malpractices being experienced during electioneering in Abia, and the entire country has stopped for good.
The APC governorship standard-bearer, further thanked the elder statesman and ex-representative of Abia central senatorial district of the state, at the national assembly, Senator Chris Adighije, and described him as the suitable party man to chair the Abia APC reconciliation committee, and reminded the prominent party leader, that oars rest on him to broker lasting peace in the state chapter of the party, and also, for the party to be able to win a majority of elective political seats come 2023 main elections in Abia state.
Responding before a mammoth crowd of party faithful who were on the ground to receive the APC governorship candidate and his entourage, Senator Chris Adighije, advised on the importance of the reconciliation move, and also reminded the party members, that a house divided by itself cannot stand hence all leaders and members of APC in Abia state must come together and go into the upcoming 2023 general elections in the state, as a united family, to win elections at all levels of political leadership seats across the 184 electoral wards of the seventeen local government in Abia state.
He reiterated that he is also committed to deepening the present democracy in the country as a whole, through sound policy-making and implementation that would, in turn, foster improvement in our economy, infrastructure, and another critical aspect of the nation’s livelihoods.
He assured that the reconciliation committee set up by the leadership of the party in Abia state, and chaired by him, would do its best, and put in immense efforts towards ensuring all warring factions come together as one family, and work collectively to ensure the APC form the next government in the state.
Adighije, who was ex-federal commissioner at the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission said, “I received a letter from party Secretary to the effect on my appointment to chair a reconciliation committee of the Abia APC, and I will want to assure you that the committee will do its best to bring all aggrieved members together. Because a house divided by itself cannot stand. So, if we must win this election, we must all agree and unite together.
“Nobody will be left out in this process, every warring faction and aggrieved member shall be included and allowed to vent his or her grievances towards achieving deserved peace in our party now we are going into the 2023 elections. We must not continue to be the opposition party, and tasks fall on every party member to mend fences for us to achieve success in the elections,” he added.
Continuing, Senator Adighije who turned 77 this year, commended Chief Ikechi Emenike for the visit and opined that today’s event has put doubts to several negative notions about the latter’s characters and style of politics, and further reaffirmed his membership of the All Progressive Congress, as he reassured that he would remain in the party, and continues to profer ideas and step up genuine efforts of all loyal party members across Abia and beyond, towards actualizing victory for the party and form next government to address core yearnings of the Abia people.
Earlier in their separate speeches at the event, the immediate past Abia state chairman of the All Progressive Congress and former member of the State House of Assembly, Hon Donatus Nwankpa, and the 2023 House of Assembly candidate of the APC for Umuahia east state constituency seat, Barrister Ugochukwu Ndubuka, regretted at the poor state of Infrastructures in Abia, and also frowned the alleged inability of the PDP led government in the state to pay backlogs of salaries owed to civil servants, and entitlements owed to pensioners who made sacrifices to the progress, growths and development of Abia state.
They described Senator Chris Adighije as a man of impeccable characters and distinctions, who has continued to ensure the development of the party, especially, for the progressive party to win elections in Abia state, and further confided that the elder statesman has the requisite capacity to deliver on the assignment entrusted on him.
Our correspondent reports that former Nigerian Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, an ex-member of the house of representatives, Hon Emeka Atuma, Hon Chidi Nwosu, Chief Tony Eze, party candidates, and others, who are too numerous to mention, witnessed the consultative visit by Abia APC governorship standard bear, to Senator Chris Adighije, on Sunday.
