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“Why South-East won’t accept APC”

Osita Kalu Orji is the leader of Concerned Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youths, Ebonyi State. In this interview with UCHENNA INYA, he speaks on Governor Dave Umahi’s defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the state of affairs in the state PDP after the governor’s defection

 

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Dave Umahi, said he defected to the APC because of injustice the PDP meted to South-East. What is your take on that?

 

We want to make it clear that PDP has never meted injustice to South- East as stated by our political leader, His Excellency, Chief Dave Umahi, who left the PDP for APC. We are not against any person defecting to APC but we are against blackmailing of the South-East geopolitical zone and the PDP.

 

We have carefully analyzed the dumping of the PDP by the Governor, which made him everything he boasts of today and can tell the public that it was more of a move towards actualizing self-interest than the coloration being given by the governor that party meted injustice to the South-East.

 

Are the youths of the party in support of the quest for a president of South- East extraction in 2023?

 

 

We have taken our time to study the events trailing the agitation of the Ebonyi State governor for a Nigerian president of the South- East extraction.

 

As an organisation poised to providing and engendering the cause of all-inclusive leadership drive, giving equitable attention to power sharing and allotment, we wish to say here that it is long overdue to have a president of this nation from the South-East region.

 

It’s a right, not a privilege. It is a cause that is worth fighting for and PDP youths in Ebonyi State will continue to agitate for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction but we must put away sentiment while doing this.

 

Given the governor’s defection to the APC, do you think the APC will zone its 2023 presidential ticket to the South- East?

 

The APC that our dear governor has ran into, has never zoned its presidential ticket to the South- East and such a possibility is still in doubt. If we say that someone could be seeking asylum in the arms of   a ruling party against post tenure stewardship review, we should not be misconstrued. The South-East will never be in support of the APC because of the marginalization the party has meted on us.

 

At least, we have a dear brother in Ebonyi State here; His Excellency, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who is most qualified to be the Secretary to the Government of the Federation but because he is from South- East, the APC refused to give him that position. This is one of the arrowheads of the formation of APC.

 

You said that APC has not zoned its presidential ticket to South-East and that there is no possibility that it will do so. If by tomorrow the party zones its 2023 presidential ticket to the zone, will you support the party?

 

I said it before that PDP youths in Ebonyi State will continue to agitate for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction. The agitation is still in progress, so we are urging all the political parties in the country to zone their 2023 presidential tickets to South-East region.

 

On your question that if APC zones its 2023 presidential ticket to South-East and if I will support them; I want to say that party decision still remains supreme till further notice.

 

Do you think the PDP is still strong in Ebonyi State the way it used to be?

 

As young people in the PDP who have always contributed our quota to the growth of democracy in Ebonyi, we are proud to say that the party is robustly intact in the state with eight out of the nine National Assembly members from the state; three serving senators and five House of Representatives members and many state Assembly members and the major stakeholders of the state stocked in the party.

 

In as much as we continue to plead with the governor to rescind his move, we are enthused that the house is full with its human and material strength. So, we shall continue to pay our loyalty to the PDP as it remains the party with the democratic ethos to drive the wheels of good governance forward to the most desired harbour.

 

There two factions of PDP currently in the state, which faction does members of your group belong to?

The constitution of PDP is clear on this thing and the constitution of the party remains that once there is a defection and the governor who is the leader of the party leaves the party, those structures he holds in the party, including the State Working Committee of the party must be dissolved.

 

So, the National Working Committee of the party acted in order by dissolving the State Working Committee of the party to avoid crisis in the party. They have every right to dissolve the State Working Committee, they have that right and we are happy about their action to save our party.

 

My view remains that there is no crisis in the state chapter of PDP that warranted the defection of the governor to the APC.

 

We are in PDP and PDP is one in the state, there is no faction in the party, there is no division in PDP in Ebonyi state, there is no crisis in PDP at the National level.

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