Osita joins calls for Uzodinma’s sack. .
…Asks APC governor’s forum to also remove him
The Edo APC congress took another dimension on Wednesday afternoon when hundreds of placard carrying angry protesters stormed the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Headquarters at Wuse 2, Abuja chanting war songs and calling for the replacement of Governor Hope Uzodinma as the Chairman of the Governorship Election Committee to pave the way for equity, fairness and proper rancour-free by-election holding on Thursday.
The rejection of Hope Uzodinma by Edo governorship aspirants and concerned members of APC did not come as a surprise to many political observers, who felt that the appointment of the governor to head the Benin Congress election committee was a miscalculation on the part of the APC national leadership considering previous scandalous elections linked to his name.
Wednesday’s demonstrators blocked the entrance to the party National Secretariat vowing to repeat the protests daily until justice and equity prevails in the ruling party.
Leader and spokesman of the group, Ambassador Tijjani Abdulmumuni, boiling with anger, told newsmen that the protesters belong to APC Amalgamated Youth Solidarity Network and are speaking on behalf of the aspirants and the party.
He stated that the image of the ruling party has been seriously dented by the failure of the Edo State congress and the conduct of the election committee members.
According to the spokesman, “If APC allows the Edo problem to continue, it will certainly affect the image of the party and it’s performance in future elections especially in Edo state.
“What affects the party, affects everyone. So, we want justice and equity in the party and this can only be achieved in Edo by replacing Hope Uzodinma as Chairman of the election committee,” .Ambassador Abdulmumuni, who is the chairman and convener of the youth group said.
Meanwhile, many national officers of the party, who expect that increased security will be provided for the rerun, have relocated to Benin, Edo state for the repeat congress holding on Thursday despite the tension and uncertainty generated by last week’s cancelled Congress election. Ends.
Also, A founding member of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Chief Osita Okechukwu, has joined the rising call from party faithfuls for the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma’s removal as chairman of the APC Edo Primary Election Committee head.
Okechukwu, however went a step further by urging the Progressive Governors Forum, (PGF), to remove the Imo State governor, as it’s chairman before he wrecks the association and the political party.
The APC bigwig made the call while reacting to the Edo State Gubernatorial Primary, which Uzodinma conducted but was declared inconclusive by the party hierarchy.
Okechukwu in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, appealed to the Progressive Governors Forum to urgently remove Uzodinma as chairman describing him as a failure and “for the mismanagement of Edo State Gubernatorial Primary election which regrettably produced three candidates, a sordid scenario not befitting of a progressive party.”
According to Okechukwu Hope “Uzodimma who bungled similar assignment in Edo 2020 should not have been given a second assignment.”
He wondered “how many more malfeasance do we still expect from my big brother, before he is eased out of vital assignments?”
Okechukwu urged the party to consider certain critical issues including: “How can a sane Chairman of APC Governors Forum deliberately breach the extant laws by announcing results with impunity, albeit consigned to the dust bin his elementary knowledge that it is the sole duty of the Returning Officer?
“Based on the foregoing, is it appropriate for chairman of Progressive Governors Forum to abandon the more germane issue of advising Mr President alongside with other progressive governors on how best to rescue Nigeria from the dire economic doldrums, thus chasing rat while the house is burning.
“For me, it is obvious that Uzodimma seems not to understand the demands of his office as chairman Progressive Governors Forum, but choose to meddle with political assignments, which amounts to chasing rat while the house is on fire.
“Moreover, our party should take serious steps to quickly repair the monumental damage that Governor Hope Uzodimma has done to the image of our national chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, whom he cajoled into endorsement of his cancelled shambolic primary election.”
When Okechukwu was reminded that he was one of the fanatical supporters of Governor Uzodinma, the former Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) said he apologised for the grievous error and was warning the Progressive Governors Forum to avoid graver wreckage as a chameleon will always remain a chameleon.
While enumerating on the alleged series of misfortunes created for the party by the Imo State Governor, Okechukwu narrated how APC’s misfortunes started with Anambra State gubernatorial primary election which Uzodimma mangled and during the party’s Congressional elections in the Southeast zone in 2022, which he pocketed.
“As if that ugly prelude to 2023 general elections was not enough, Governor Uzodimma generated hatred, rancour, malcontents and alienated APC membership long before Peter Obi’s factor.
“The summary of Uzodimma’s woeful leadership is the 2023 presidential election results in the Southeast, which posted dismal outcomes: Abia- 8,914 against 85,058 in 2019, Anambra- 5,111 against 33,298 in 2019, Ebonyi-42,402 against 90,726 in 2019, Enugu- 4,722 against 54,423 in 2019 and Imo- 66,406 against 140,463 in 2019,” Okechukwu declared.
