Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA in Abia State, Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, has said that the party would in the days ahead confirm whether or not the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, had joined it.
Ehiemere who stated this while fielding questions from newsmen in Umuahia on Thursday said that “by the time what is about to happen, happens, PDP will be no more in Abia State”.
Senator Abaribe, on Tuesday, announced his withdrawal from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and governorship primaries, citing the use of an imaginary delegates list and lack of transparency as reasons for his action.
Apart from Abaribe six other governorship aspirants including the Deputy Governor, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu, also boycotted the primaries, alleging plots to impose a candidate on the party by some forces.
Shortly after Abaribe expressed his displeasure with the way the PDP leadership was handling the affairs of the party in recent times, the leadership of APGA visited him in his house and pleaded with him to join the party.
They offered him a free senatorial ticket of the party if he so wished but Abaribe asked the delegation to allow him time to consult with his constituents and political associates.
Since then, there have been speculations that Senator Abaribe had picked the APGA senate form to return to the senate in 2023.
Should the Senate Minority Leader decides to dump the ‘Big umbrella’ for APGA, he would be contesting against Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu who now holds the PDP flag.
Meanwhile, Ehiemere has given the PDP a quit notice in, vowing to dislodge the ruling party come 2023
He said PDP had ruined the economy of the state but noted that APGA was determined to deliver the state from captivity.
” We will enthrone a Government not based on godfatherism. Abia has been backwards and cannot afford another Government of Godfatherism.
” We urge all progressives to join hands with us and deliver Abia State from bondage. By 2023, APGA will put Abia on the league of progressive states”.
Ehiemere who said that the party’s primaries for the House of Assembly were very successful, urged contestants for the House of Representatives to also comport themselves well.
He warned them against creating opportunities for hoodlums to hijack the process.
Ehiemere also warned the representative’s aspirants to advise their followers not to create insecurity during the primaries.
Responding, some of the aspirants, Emeka Nnamani, Iro Orji Nnamdi and Dr Okuji Oreh promised to maintain peace in accordance with the peace accord they signed.
Credit: Vanguard News Nigeria