Rev. Augustine Ehiemere, Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Abia State, has stated that the South East geographical zone requires more loud senators like Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe in the Senate to prevent total political demotion.
Ehiemere, who spoke to journalists in Umuahia, lamented the dearth of gutsy and vocal Igbo MPs in the National Assembly to promote the cause of Ndigbo as one of the reasons the South East has been pushed to the margins.
He claimed that most NASS members of South East origin had neglected to speak out for due to selfish political objectives.
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The APGA boss encouraged Ndigbo not to vote for any NASS candidate who is not willing to stand up for the Igbo cause.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was persuaded by Ehiemere not to run against Senator Abaribe, APGA’s nominee for the Abia Central senatorial seat.
According to the APGA Chairman, Ikpeazu’s record as a sitting Governor pales in comparison to Abaribe’s accomplishments in the Senate, and thus he should avoid contesting the former Senate Minority Leader.
” It’s not in doubt that Senator Abaribe is the only known and fearless voice of the South East in the current Senate, and the people of Abia Central cannot afford to dump him for a governor who has not justified his two terms in office, he said.
Ehiemere further said:” I don’t know what Ikpeazu is going to do at the Senate. If he could not fix the roads in his constituency with all the available resources as Governor for eight years, how will he do the magic as a senator without allocations?
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” I have seen Abaribe’s performances; besides being the only vocal senator for South East, he has also been able to do what Ikpeazu could not do as Governor.
” There is no community in Abia South that doesn’t feel the impact of Abaribe. For the past six days he has been going about commissioning projects but he makes no noise about it”.
According to Ehiemere, if Ndigbo had more senators like Abaribe, the South East would not be pushed to the margins of the country.
He refuted any disagreement between APGA gubernatorial candidate Professor Greg Ibe and his running companion, Hon. Obinna Ichita, adding the two are still friendly.
Ehiemere claimed that those who felt threatened by APGA’s growing support across the state were behind the various anti-party propaganda campaigns.
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He called the recent Abuja High Court decision nullifying APGA’s governorship primary “a supermarket judgement” that “cannot withstand the scrutiny of the Appeal Court.”
Ehiemere urged APGA members and supporters not to be alarmed by the judgment, which he claimed had been appealed, and expressed confidence that it would be overturned by the Appellate Court.
He also dismissed statements attributed to Chief Nnanna Ukaegbu claiming the leadership of the APGA in the state as ludicrous.
Ehiemere stated that Ukaegbu’s claims that he would comply with the Abuja court decision by organizing a new primary should be dismissed.
He said that “Ukaegbu is an impostor who comes around every four years to claim the leadership of APGA in the state”.
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According to him, Ukaegbu’s name is not in the APGA’s registration and should not be regarded seriously, and he (Ehiemere) remains the party’s authentic chairman.
He urged Abians to remain united against anti-democratic elements suffocating the state and to continue supporting APGA in order “to give birth to a new Abia.”
Ehiemere specifically asked the people of Abia North to decide if they want to produce the next Governor of the state or are content with the position of Deputy Governor.
He predicted a resounding victory for APGA in the 2023 election across South East, claiming that the incumbent All Progressive Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had disappointed the region.
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