The recent declaration by Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, wife of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, to contest for the Anambra South Senatorial district seat is currently unsettling stakeholders of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra State, Thas gathered.
Mrs Ojukwu had a week ago declared her intention to run for the senatorial position, even though there have been rumours that she had previously secured the backing of some leaders of the party to clinch the APGA ticket.
She would be competing with the trio of Mr Ifeanyi Ubah of Capital Oil, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu and Hon. Ikenna Mbazulike Amaechi, all grassroots politicians.
However, gathered that the pressure on the state chairman of the party, Chief Nobert Obi, from some of its national leaders to endorse the wife of their demised leader was causing ripples in the party.
A stakeholder in the party and Coordinator of Anambra South Integrity Forum (ASIF), a pressure group in the party, Chief Olisaemeka Muoma, confirmed this during an interview, saying that the development was worrisome.
He said: “It is sad and unfortunate that the internal democracy of our great party is being destroyed by the wife of our late leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu.
“She has been going about threatening to deal with any person or group of persons that would want to oppose her ambition. Bianca Ojukwu has vowed to create crisis of confusion in our party and to ensure that her opponents and fellow aspirants are expelled from the party if she is not given the senatorial ticket on a platter of gold.
“Her supporters have been boasting that not even the governor, Chief Willie Obiano, and his wife can stop her from flying the flag of the party in 2019 National Assembly election.”
Muoma said speaking as chairman of Anambra South Integrity Forum made up of supporters of other senatorial aspirants, it will not sit back and watch, but ensure that the Anambra South senatorial primary elections of the party was conducted in line with the constitution of APGA.
“Our party has a constitution which stipulates the guidelines for the conduct of primary election in APGA and it must be followed to the letter. We urge the National Chairman of our great party, Ozo Victor Oye, not to allow himself to be used to destroy the party by handing over the Anambra South Senatorial ticket of our party to anyone on a platter, rather than holding a credible primary election,” he said.
In a previous interview however, the National Chairman of the party, Chief Oye, had denied that the party had any preference for Mrs Ojukwu or any of the aspirants from the zone.
He promised that the party would not destroy the internal democratic structures it had built over the years by favouring any aspirant above others.
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