Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and the Deputy Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum, has reacted to the defection of some aspirants who lost to secure the gubernatorial seat ticket of the PDP, to other political parties.
This came after a week a former Senate minority leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and others, withdrew from the 2023 Abia governorship race and dumped the PDP for other parties, accusing the state chapter of the party of manufacturing fake lists of names of delegates purportedly elected in congresses that were never conducted across the state, before the just- concluded gubernatorial primaries conducted by the party leadership.
AFRIPOST reports that the concluded primary election held at Umuahia Township Stadium saw the emergence of an ex-Vice Chancellor of Abia State University Uturu, Professor Uche Ikonne as the 2023 gubernatorial standard-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abia.
Ikonne who was backed by the State Governor, polled a total of 468 votes to defeat co-contestants jostling for the party’s governorship seat ticket ahead of the general election in 2023 in Abia State.
Mr Peter Ayo Fayose, the Chairman, Abia State PDP Gubernatorial Primary Election Committee and former Governor of Ekiti State, announced the result of the primary election held at the Umuahia Township Stadium, the venue of the exercise.
However, while reacting to gales of defections rocking the Abia PDP in an interview with newsmen at the Eagle Square Abuja, the venue of the just-concluded PDP national convention/ presidential primaries held during the weekend, Governor Ikpeazu expressed disenchantment with the actions of the party members and also noted that some of these aspirants had risen to the echelon of their ambitions at the expense of others in the PDP whose ambitions were either truncated or delayed.
The statement was contained in a release forwarded by Onyebuchi Ememanka, the Chief Press Secretary to the Abia Governor, on Sunday.
Ikpeazu pointed out that some of these aspirants have held elective positions for the past twenty years and regretted that they have now turned against the party because their personal ambitions were not given preference.
According to him, “the current situation where some members of our party in Abia State are leaving the party because they didn’t succeed in getting tickets to run election this time, speaks to the characteristic and insatiability of human beings.
“These are people who have risen to the topmost echelon of our political system courtesy of the PDP. Simply because the party this time chose to give opportunities to other people in the finest traditions of participatory democracy and asked these ones to allow others to have a taste of elective leadership, they have left the party and suddenly remembered that the party that has given them the best for several years is no longer good. So, the party is good as long as their personal ambitions are given preference. Good luck to them”.
The Abia Chief Executive also ruled out ideas of leaving the PDP for another political party and reiterated that he would remain an active member of the party, as the party provided him with the opportunity to become the current governor of Abia State.
Governor Ikpeazu who described himself as a core party man, also maintained that what should be uppermost in the minds of all members of the PDP is how to ensure victory for the party in the upcoming general election in 2023, irrespective of who the candidate is.
Words: “As for me, I will remain in the PDP. Why would I leave a party that gave me the opportunity to be a governor? Whatever would be the outcome of our national convention, I will accept the result and work with the party for the general election. I am a core party man”.