The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige say no governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Anambra state held on June 26.
This is as he has attributed the dismal performance of the party at the recently concluded Anambra state governorship election to distrust and in-fighting amongst key stakeholders of the party.
He said all efforts to reconcile aggrieved stakeholders of the party in the state and to get them to sheath their sword regarding the flawed primary election failed due to the attitude of those who benefited from the questionable process.
Speaking at the Combined Emergency Caucus and State Executive Committee (SEC) meeting of the APC in Anambra State held at the minister’s residence in Abuja, at the weekend, he said that many people were injured during the primary, including him who left Abuja to Anambra to cast vote at his ward but couldn’t.
“The aspirants spent all their money, yet they could not vote or be voted for. The local government and ward chairmen brought out their people under the sun from morning till night, yet they couldn’t vote for the candidate of their choice.
“Our problems started that day and snowballed into the main election. Of course, a house divided against itself cannot win a war.”
Ngige, however, urged all members of the party to put everything that happened in the past behind them, so that they could join hands and move the party forward.
In their resolution, the caucus urged the National Caretaker Committee/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) to dissolve the present Caretaker Committee of the party in the state.
The meeting also asked the CECPC led by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, to constitute a 7-man Interim Management Committee (IMC) to manage the affairs of the party in Anambra State and oversee the conduct of the state congresses to hold in a fortnight after the New Year.
The meeting was chaired by a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Agunwa Anaekwe.
Those in attendance were Senator Joy Emordi; Senator Emmanuel Anosike, a former member of the House of Representatives, Gozie Agbakoba, the State Secretary of APC, John Agufugo and other members of the State Caretaker Committee, as well as former governorship aspirants, Chief Edozie Madu, Sir Paul Orajaka, Colonel Geoffrey Onyejebgu (rtd.), Maxwell Okoye and Hygers Igwebuike.
Several federal government appointees including chairmen of boards and the 21 local government party chairmen in Anambra State were equally present, while other governorship aspirants, George Muoghalu, Johnbosco Onunkwo, Azuka Okwuosa and Theo Nnorom sent their regrets, being unable to come as a result of circumstances beyond their control.
While reading out the 8-point communiqué to journalists, Anaekwe said, “After well-articulated deliberations on the state of affairs in our dear party-the All Progressives Congress (APC) Anambra State Chapter-the meeting resolved as follows:
“The meeting took notice of our aggrieved brothers who were disenfranchised in the 2021 Governorship Primary Election and appealed to them to sheath their sword and continue to assist in building a formidable party in Anambra State.
“The meeting also took notice of about three factions in the State Caretaker/Working Committee (SWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Anambra State, occasioned by the 2021 Governorship Primary Election as well as the recent Court of Appeal Enugu judgment and endorsed that all purported removals, suspension and expulsion of the 2018 Congress elected officers who transmuted to Caretaker Committee in the State, are hereby cancelled.”
According to Anaekwe, the meeting further called on the National Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Committee to put in place all processes leading to the conduct and completion of a free and fair state-wide congress in Anambra State within 45 days.
He said the meeting endorsed the above-suggested actions which they believed could lead to the restoration of peace and order to the party in the state.
Ngige who noted that they were using the reconciliatory meeting to prepare for the 2023 election, regretted that APC came out from a recent election in Anambra in which “brothers fought brothers and a lot of aspirants were disenfranchised and humiliated”.
The minister said 13 of the disenfranchised aspirants paid N30 million to secure forms and in anger refused to identify with the party’s candidate.
He said, “You are human. We begged some of you and one or two listened. Many others started joining back after my intervention and up to last week, the cry for this party to be reformed came from them. They were the people who visited here, not once or twice and asked me as the leader, to call us for a meeting to proffer solution on how to move this party forward.
“Some people have sacrificed their blood to make this party what it is and the injustice in the party did not start from today. I tell everybody to remain calm. We will and God will help us to make sure that our party people are compensated. Our compensation method in APC is not wonderful but God’s own time is the best
