The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State has set up a committee to investigate reason for the abysmal performance of its presidential candidate in the just-concluded election, President Muhammadu Buhari.
The party said it is confident of its popularity in the state and was surprised that its candidate lost the election in the state, and as such was set to investigate reasons behind it, with a view to moving the party forward in subsequent election, and punishing those found culpable.
The Acting State chairman of the party, Basil Ejidike, who addressed state executive members of the party during a meeting held in Awka to inaugurate the committee, said the committee will investigate the role of every stakeholder in the state during the election.
In his address, he said, “Political parties are formed for the sole purpose of winning elections, and if we cannot win election, then we are not in business.
“That is the reason we set up this fact-finding committee that will deeply probe into what happened before and during the last general election, which saw our party(APC) lying prostrate and without anything to show for it existence and participation in the election.”
President Buhari had scored about 33,000 votes in the last presidential election in the state, while his opponent in the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar scored over 500,000 votes.
Though Ejidike insisted that the score in Anambra was a big leap considering its score in the state in 2015, he insisted that it is determined to investigate the role of its stakeholders, candidates and members in the election, to ascertain the reason for its abysmal performance, with a view to performing better.
The acting chairman, while handing out to the committee the term of reference, said its job also includes highlighting areas of strength of the party in that state, with a view to maximizing it in future elections.
He said, “Nothing should be left untouched in our collective quest to unravel what actually went wrong, and to see what can be done to redirect and re-strengthen the party on a sustainable path of growth and development.
“The committee also has the powers to recommend sanctions where necessary.”
He added that the committee has two weeks to submit its report as it would form a working document for a summit of the party in the state, which would hold at the end of April.
Leader of the party in the state, Dr Chris Ngige had threatened to go to court, during the declaration of the presidential result in Anambra, alleging that the result did not represent the popularity of the party in the state.
The 13-member committee, which has Mr CJ Chinwuba as chairman, Kingsley Ibe as Vice Chairman and Dr Peter Ogbuka as Secretary, while being sworn in, promised to justify the confidence reposed on them by ensuring speedy completion of the task.
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