The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Sunday, vowed that no amount of blackmail and evil machinations of disgruntled party chieftains can deter the genuine desire of the APC to win the next year’s Abia gubernatorial seat election, describing its candidate in the state, Dr Uche Ogah as best thing to happen to the party.
This is coming on the backdrops of a purported court judgement which slammed jail sentence on the main APC Gubernatorial ticket-bearer in Abia State, Dr Uche Ogah on the allegation of forgery by members of a parallel state structure of the party loyal to an ex-Pro-chancellor and the Chairman Governing Council of University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State and factional governorship candidate in the state, Mr Ikechi Emenike.
It was reported that the factional leadership had also alleged that the forgery allegedly perpetrated by the ex-minister was prejudicial to them and their authentic governorship flag bearer, High Chief Ikechi Emenike, and so amounted to an offence contrary to section 465 of the criminal code, as is applicable in Abia state.
Recall before now that a Federal High Court presided by Justice Binta-Murtala Nyako in Abuja had sacked Emenike and affirmed the former minister of state for mines and steel development, Uche Ogah as the authentic All Progressives Congress Gubernatorial candidate in Abia State for the main elections in 2023.
The court held that the indirect primary election, which produced Emenike, was in total disobedience to a letter forwarded by the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it would adopt a direct mode primary election in the state.
The high court also held that the direct primary election of May 26th and 27th May 2022, which produced Ogah, was valid as the Resident Electoral Commissioner in charge of Abia State endorsed it.
However, the Abia chapter of the All Progressives Congress, while earlier reacting to a recent purported jail sentence by an umuahia magistrate court against Uche Ogah which contained in a statement on Sunday by the State Publicity Secretary, Chief Offor Okorie, insisted that the reported conviction of the APC gubernatorial candidate in Abia State cannot stand the test of time, accusing Emenike and co-travellers of trumping up fake allegation of forgery against the ex-minister and state party leadership aimed to distract the public from the truth.
According to Okorie, “The conviction is in total error and cannot stand my judicial test. Ogah is hunted for truth and truths must always prevail.
“Even the law enforcement agents knows the truth, and truth must prevail against all darkness. Ogah is innocent”.
Continuing, Okorie reaffirmed the party’s earlier position and support on the concluded direct gubernatorial primary which elected Uche Ogah as the All Progressives Congress gubernatorial candidate in Abia state as monitored by the independent National Electoral Commission across the electoral wards of the seventeen local government areas in the state.
“On direct primaries we stand. INEC monitored the direct primaries done in all the electoral wards of Abia state. Where did the forgery came from? If Ikechi Emenike and cohorts think Dr Uche Ogah did not win the direct primaries as approved by the national working committee of the APC.
“And again, saying that he forged the primary election results, Ikechi Emenike should have tendered it in the federal high court Abuja that invalidated his candidacy or better approach the court of appeal to prove the forgery case against Uche Ogah, rather than bring himself so low to approach the magistrate court that does not have jurisdiction over the case”.
AFRIPOST recalls that Ogah had on 26th of May 2022, emerged as the Abia governorship standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress in the recently-concluded gubernatorial primary elections for the forthcoming 2023 general elections in Abia state.
He was declared the winner of the just concluded gubernatorial primary elections after he scored 141,952 votes to beat his closest rival, Paul Ikonne who scored 27,054.
Other gubernatorial aspirants includes, Chief Ikechi Emenike who polled 9,446, Emeka Atuma with 7,429, Obinna Oriaku with 5,553, Alex Otti scored 2,41, and Daniel Eke who got 1,953 at the keenly contested direct primaries.