By Charles Onyekwere
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Nze Esiaga, has accused Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State of using the factional leader of the party in Abia, Ikechi Emenike, for territorial expansion.
This follows an alleged move by Uzodinma to impose the candidacy of Emenike on members of the APC in Abia State in total defiance of the ruling of Justice O. A. Chijioke-led Umuahia High Court which barred the latter from participating in the concluded gubernatorial primary election of the APC and other activities of the party on the ground of his suspension in 2022 by the immediate past state executive committee over gross misconduct ranging from operating a parallel structure of APC chaired by Kingsley Ononogbu.
On Thursday, 26th May, 2022, a parallel structure of the Abia APC, backed by Emenike, held an indirect primary election, where he emerged as the governorship candidate of the party, in defiance of a directive by the party’s national leadership for direct primaries in choosing Abia gubernatorial candidate for the forthcoming 2023 elections.
However, while alerting APC members of the alleged move by the ex-federal lawmaker, Esiaga, in a press statement made available to newsmen in Umuahia, on Tuesday, called on the people of Abia to rise in condemnation of Governor Uzodinma’s clandestine efforts to annex the state to Imo.
According to the party stalwart, “he is using Chief Ikechi Emenike as a willing tool to actualize his devilish ambition. Lest we forget that when late Senator Arthur Nzeribe attempted to grab Abia State in 1991 when the state was newly created, Abia Progressives ably led by Late Eze Elechi Ikoro, resisted him at a very high cost. “Yours sincerely was in the forefront of the battle on “Abia belongs to Abians”.
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To God be the glory that we chased Arthur Nzeribe away from Abia State and confined him to his Orlu Senatorial zone in Imo State. Let all hands be on deck to salvage Abia once more from another Orlu son else history and posterity will judge us.”
Continuing, Esiaga added, “Chief Emma Enukwu, the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the All Progressives Congress was sponsored to the office by Governor Hope Uzodinma against Senator Ken Nnamani of Enugu State.
Enukwu is now merely acting the script written by Uzodinma against Abia State and I stand to be corrected. “Governor Uzodinma and his co-travellers must be told in the language they understand that those whose kernels were cracked for them by the benevolent spirits of Supreme Court judges against the wishes of Imo people should not fail to be humble.
Any further encroachment into Abia State henceforth will earn them the wrath and anger of our ancestors. I am neither a prophet nor the Son of One but anything short of direct primary election in the Abia State chapter of APC will spell doom.”
Meanwhile, Obilor Ogbonna, a close aide to the Abia APC chieftain, Ikechi Emenike, while reacting to the allegations, described the suspension slammed on the latter, by the immediate past State Executive Committee led by Donatus Nwankpa and affirmed by members of the state party caucus, as vituperation of drowning men as the pendulum has just swung against them.
Ogbonna who recalled that the party’s national leadership had invalidated and put paid to the rumoured suspension of Chief Emenike, urged party members and teeming supporters to disregard such rantings.
