Chairmanship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded 2024 local government elections in Ebonyi State have commended Governor Francis Nwifuru for his role in the emergence of the party’s candidates across the 13 local government areas of the state.
However, they have urged the governor to, as a father of the party, intervene and address the grievances of aggrieved party members who purchased nomination and expression of interest forms but were denied the opportunity to participate in primaries.
Speaking to journalists in Abakaliki, an APC chieftain from Ezza North Local Government Area, Hon. Nwankpuma Theophilus, praised Governor Nwifuru’s leadership but advised him to urgently look into the plight of party members who felt shortchanged during the 2024 local government election process.
According to Nwankpuma, as preparations begin for future local government elections in the state, it has become necessary to draw attention to the feelings of aggrieved APC members who, he alleged, were extorted during the sale of nomination and expression of interest forms in the 2024 polls.
He recalled what he described as a disturbing situation where the Ebonyi State APC Chairman, Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha, allowed several aspirants to purchase chairmanship forms without giving them the opportunity to test their popularity through party primaries.
Nwankpuma, however, commended the APC chairman for learning from past mistakes and retracing his steps, but regretted that the damage caused by the earlier actions had already affected the party’s image and internal cohesion.
He condemned the mass production and sale of expression of interest and nomination forms without providing a level playing ground for aspirants, noting that many party stalwarts spent huge sums of money running into millions of naira without being allowed to participate in primaries.
“It is a worrying trend where the ruling APC in the state during the 2024 local government elections deceived aspirants into spending huge amounts of money to purchase expression of interest and nomination forms without giving them the opportunity to test their popularity,” he said.
Nwankpuma stressed that it had become clear that the state APC chairman must have realized the implications of repeating what he described as the ugly trend witnessed during the 2024 local government elections, where aspirants were allegedly misled to purchase forms without being allowed to go to the field.
He further lamented that the APC in Ebonyi State lacked a human face under the current leadership, adding that many aggrieved members had yet to be addressed or compensated.
The APC chieftain appealed to Governor Nwifuru to step in and reconcile the aggrieved members in the interest of party unity and stability, warning that unresolved grievances could negatively affect the party’s fortunes in future elections.
