PDP Will Lose Ebonyi Due To Crisis, Governor Elechi Warns

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, Nigeria 2015 Election Monday, January 12th, 2015

Ignatius Okpara, Abakaliki – Ebonyi state Governor, Chief Martin Elechi on Monday declared that the lingering crises and factions in the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will rob it of victory in the forth-coming general elections.

The governor, who described the political wounds on the state PDP as self-inflicted, said it would adversely affect its chances in the polls.

Elechi, spoke during a state executive committee meeting of the party, held at its secretariat in Abakaliki, the state capital.

He regretted that there were attempts to deter people from attending the meeting wondering how anybody in his right senses would seek to undermine his authorities as the governor elected on the platform of PDP.

Meanwhile, a prominent governorship aspirant of the party in the State, Dr. Paul Okorie, has distanced himself from the purported inclusion of his name in the elders committee of the PDP governorship campaign organization.

He said his opinion was not sought before announcing his name.

Speaking with newsmen in Abakaliki, Dr. Okorie, who is the immediate past state commissioner for Environment, asked members of the public to disregard the announcement.

Okorie said, “Though the governorship candidate of the party and incumbent Deputy Governor, Chief Dave Umahi, has been seeking my support, at no time did I consent to working on the so-called elders committee”.

He stated that the inclusion of his name among the membership of that committee was a calculated attempt to down play his reservations over the irregularities that took place during the governorship primaries.

According to him, “I told the governorship candidate pointedly that I would have congratulated and even worked for you if your victory was genuine and followed due process.

“There is no way my name should be dragged into a committee without my consent,

“I saw the announcement as a calculated attempt to sweep my grievances over the primaries under the carpet.

“The deputy governor single-handedly made the list of delegates isolated them in various locations in Enugu, Nkalagu and Abakaliki.

Okorie said he was communing with his God and consulting friends and supporters to decide on whether to quit politics or continue participation in the ongoing processes.

“For now, I can say I am on a self-imposed spiritual retreat; so my future political journey depends on the outcome of that exercise.

“I have registered my complaints about the governorship primary election which everybody knows I stand better chances than other contestants.

“A lot of appeals have been made to me but I have my God, family and friends I respect. They should have the final say on my future,” he stated.

African Examiner recalled that shortly after the announcement of Umahi, as winner of the primary election, Okorie alongside other aspirants, including Senator Offia Nwali, Chief Mike Ude-Umanta, Hon. Hyacinth Ikpor and Prof. Igwe Aja Nwachukwu protested against the processes and its outcome.