Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Deputy Chairman of Arochukwu Local Government Area, Abia State, Hon. Cletus Nwankwo, has mocked candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying that holding the party’s ticket is akin to holding Zimbabwean dollars without value.
He said that Nigerians had known better and would no longer be deceived by the lies of APC which enabled the party gain power in 2015.
The Deputy Council boss who made the remark while reacting to a media report that Arochukwu stakeholders had pledged their support for the APC governorship candidate, Chief Ikechi Emenike, said there “is nothing attractive in APC anymore.”
According to him APC has smoked its goodwill through mis-governance and can never be trusted again with power, hence, any candidate with APC ticket is no threat in the 2023 general election.
He said that Nigeria’s economy had nosedived irredeemably while insecurity had festered since APC took over in 2015, positing that the party “will be roundly rejected in 2023.”
“it is now obvious that APC was a marriage of convenience that came on board for deceit; has no vision or good agenda for the country.”
Hon. Nwankwo dismissed those who purportedly pledged support for Chief Emenike as “rented political jobbers and APC bootlickers from Ututu Community.”
Emenike had last week, visited the APC candidate for Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency, Hon. Dan Okeke, in his Ututu country-home when the pledge was reportedly made.
But the Deputy Chairman of the Council who also hails from Ututu, said that those at the meeting with Emenike lacked the mandate to speak for Arochukwu LGA.
Nwankwo who was addressing chieftains of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in his home said it was laughable for “a few desperadoes and rented political jobbers without any mandate from the people to make statements purportedly on behalf of Arochukwu without any consultations.”
He further said that some of the purported stakeholders at the meeting were those who came with Emenike from outside the Council, wondering why people who cannot even pass for APC chieftains will be addressed as Arochukwu stakeholders.
The Deputy Chairman who maintained that Arochukwu “remains a stronghold of the PDP,” urged the people to discountenance the purported pledge as it was “meant to please the ear of their guest probably to collect more money from him for their pockets.”
He said that “Arochukwu has no business with the party which has taken Nigeria 50 years backwards from where it met it in 2015.
“It is now obvious the party has no vision or good agenda” for the country.
Hon Nwankwo further said that it was not politically logical for Arochukwu LGA which already produced the senatorial candidate of the PDP, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, to be drumming support for another party “where the people have no stake.
“The truth is that our son is already a flag bearer of the entire Abia North senatorial district for the ruling PDP in the state, and we cannot abandon him for APC that has brought misery to Nigeria.
“Anybody telling you that Arochukwu is for APC is deceiving himself and his audience. We cannot make the mistake of 2019 again. Our own is a front-line contestant in the senatorial race and he is highly favoured for the job.
“The incompetence and inefficiency of those who blackmailed him and stole his mandate in 2019 have been exposed, and Abia North has come to terms with the realities. Arochukwu cannot afford to be relegated to the background again or be used to destroy our own. We have learnt our lesson even though in a bitter way.
“By 2023, we shall correct the 2019 blunder and restore the mandate of Senator Ohuabunwa for quality representation of Abia North, and the restoration of the political rights of Arochukwu LGA in particular.”
The former Chief Whip Arochukwu Legislative Council, also urged eligible voters in the council who do not yet have their voter’s card to quickly get their Permanent Voter Card, PVC, before the new deadline by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
He said that the only way to demonstrate true spirit of patriotism was to get PVC and actively participate in ushering in a new Nigeria by voting for credible candidates in 2023.
Nwankwo said that Nigerians had woken from the spell of APC and would never be deceived again by the party which gained power by propaganda.
He said that the outcome of the Osun governorship election where the incumbent Governor of APC lost to the opposition PDP candidate was a confirmation that APC is already on the way to political oblivion.
