Anthony Iwuoma
A stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Oseloka Zikora, has rubbished claims that the flag bearer of the party in the forthcoming Senatorial by-election in Imo North, Sir Frank Ibezim SFI, is not a member of the party.
Opponents of Ibezim, including the defeated female candidate, Chidinma Uwajumogu, had claimed that the APC candidate had resigned from the party in the run-up to the 2019 elections but never returned.
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Perhaps, building on Uwajumogu’s claim during an interview with Ijeoma Osamor of African Independent Television (AIT), factional State Publicity Secretary of the party, Onwuasoanya FCC Jones had, in a statement, on Monday, said: “The All Progressives Congress Imo State wishes to inform all party members, relevant agencies and institutions and the general public that Mr. Frank Ibezim, who is being paraded by some people as the purported candidate of the party for the upcoming Imo North Senatorial bye-election is not even a member of our party, talk less of being our candidate for any election on our party’s platform.
“Our records show that Mr. Ibezim defected to the Accord Party in the run-up to the 2019 elections and has up till this moment not returned to the All Progressives Congress.”
Onwuasoanya stated further: “We reiterate that Distinguished Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Ararume remains the duly nominated candidate of our party for the forthcoming Imo North Senatorial bye-election, having won the direct primaries conducted by our party on 3rd of September, 2020, and with no controversies over his membership of our party and qualification for the said election.”
However, the APC leader has faulted Onwuasoanya’s claim, stating: “Whereas our leader, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, HCN, out of frustration contested the House of Representatives election on the platform of Accord Party, SFI, like most of us, who supported HCN aspiration, never left APC. HCN has since come back to APC.
“For you to leave a party, you have to write a resignation letter to your ward chairman and take up membership of the new party. SFI did neither of these. The only person who can show evidence of such defection is Sir Frank’s APC ward chairman and even if he is not on our side, he has to produce a resignation letter from APC written and signed by SFI. Such a letter is non-existent; so, Onwuasoanya FCC Jones is just hallucinating,” Ozeloka said.
The multiple claims of victory by different contenders, people say, may result in APC going into the poll as a fractured house unless something is done fast.
A constituent described the development in the party as a sad joke.
He asked: “Where were these jokers all along; is it just after trouncing them that they realised that the candidate is not a member of their party? What if they had won and he lost, would that have made him a member of their party? Besides that, between the two claimants, Chidinma and Ararume, who actually won if not Ibezim? Why would both be claiming victory in an election APC had since confirmed its candidate?
“They should line up behind the winner like the seven other former aspirants and work collectively for the party’s victory instead of this counter-productive steps they are taking. Must 11 people win the same one position at the same time? When will Nigerian politicians learn to accept defeat?”
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has fixed the senatorial by-election for October 31, this year.
