The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia, under the two leaderships of Donatus Nwankpa and Chief Ikechi Emenike, on Saturday organised parallel state congresses in Umuahia.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise, conducted by the group loyal to Emenike, was supervised by the State Congress Committee, led by Rep. Kolawole Babatunde.
The committee returned Chief Enyinnaya Harbour as the state Chairman, having polled 1,260 votes with 17 voided votes.
The committee also returned Chief Chidi Agbaja, who scored 1,200 votes, with 22 voided votes, as the state Secretary.
It returned Chief Obinna Atuonwu, who polled 1,214 votes with 20 voided votes, as the state Organising Secretary.
All the canditates ran the election without any opponents, while zonal offices were filled by consensus.
Addressing the party faithful at the end of the exercise, Babatunde said that 1,277 delegates of the 1,700 delegates were accredited for the exercise.
He expressed delight with the orderliness and peace that characterised the congress.
He hoped that “God will help the new executive to steer the ship of the party successfully for the next four years.
“I pray that God will use the executive to deliver victory to the party in the 2023 election in Abia,” he said.
In an acceptance speech, Habour said the party was at a threshold to achieving electoral victory, which had eluded the party in the state since 2015.
He warned that his executive would not condone anti-party activities by members, saying, “we will not tolerate any member who will be APC in the day and another party at night.
NAN reports that Rep. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the Dep. Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, attended the congress.
The exercise, which took place at Chidiebere Park on Uzuakoli Road, was manned by heavily armed security operatives from the Department of State Service and Nigeria Police.
In another development, the group loyal to Chief Donatus Nwankpa held its own congress at the Umuahia Township Stadium.
The Leader of the State Congress Committe, Alh. Aliyu Ugbane, said he did not know about the existence of any faction of the party in Abia.
Ugbane said he was brought to the venue of the congress by Nwankpa, as soon he arrived at the party secretariat in Umuahia.
Meanwhile, 100 delegates from Ukwa East and Ukwa West Local Government Areas staged a walk out of the congress.
The delegates, who were led by a chieftain of the party in the area, Chief Sylvanus Nwaji, told newsmen that they felt shortchanged.
Also, prominent members of the group, including a former Governorship Candidate of the party, Chief Uche Ogah, and Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Dr Alex Otti, who decamped to APC in 2020, former lawmakers, Sen. Nkechi Nwogu and Sen. Chris Adighije, kept away from the exercise.
NAN reports that voting was still in progress at the time of filing this report. (NAN)
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