The All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA), House of Assembly candidate for Umuahia North constituency of Abia state in the last election, Chief Chukwuemeka Utah, and that of Umuahia central state constituency, Mr. Mba Ndubuisi, have defected to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in the state.
The candidates, who were spotted on Monday at the inauguration of the 7th Abia state House of Assembly, wore caps bearing the picture of the new speaker of the State Assembly and a chieftain of the PDP, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Orji.
When contacted on Wednesday, one of the APGA defectors, Utah explained that he dumped APGA due to the factional crisis that had already threatened the unity of the party in the state and the country at large.
He decried the manner, the national and Abia leadership of the All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA) manhandled the party’s 2018 primaries, asserting that the incident had caused many leaders to dump the party(APGA) for another political party.
Utah claimed that the illegalities and corrupt practices perpetrated under Oye during the APGA primaries had demarketed the party.
The Ohuhu Umuahia-born politician disclosed that he(Utah) defected to the ruling PDP in the state with three thousand of APGA members and supporters.
Utah said, “I have left APGA, because of the myriads of problems that have divided the party and its structures in Abia. You are aware of what transpired in APGA prior to the 2019 general elections. The national leadership of the party failed to conduct transparent primaries.
“Oye-led NWC milked many of the APGA aspirants, which led the party having two candidates jostling for the same constituency seat in Abia particularly. Majority of APGA leaders and stakeholders had demanded that the national chairman should step aside in order for them to reposition the party for ahead of future elections.
“But, as far as I’m concerned, Oye and Abia leadership-led Reverend Augustine Ehiemere have destroyed APGA.”
DAILY POST recalls that the Abia state chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA) is currently enmeshed in factional crisis over who controls the soul of the party in the state.
The fight is between Augustine Ehiemere-led faction of APGA and Hon. Nkem Okoro-led State Working Committee(SWC) of the party in Abia state.
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