Guber Candidate: Abia PDP To Choose By Consensus

Abia state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may not organize primary elections to choose its governorship candidate for 2011 gubernatorial election in the state. 

Abia PDP chairman, Sir Ndid Okereke gave the indication when he announced that the primaries earlier slated for the last quarter of this year has been shelved.

 Speaking at the party secretariat in Umuahia Thursday, when Chief Damian Anayo Ozurumba, declared his intention to run for the governorship of Abia on the platform of PDP, Okereke disclosed that the state working committee has resolved that all PDP governorship aspirants would have to choose a candidate from amongst themselves. 

According to him, a closed door meeting of all the aspirants would be convened  where they would be requested to reach a consensus on who will fly the flag of the party in 2011 gubernatorial election.

“We will lock them up in the venue and allow them to slug it out by themselves without the involvement of a second party to ensure peace and harmony among them and members of the chapter in general,” Okereke said.  

The chairman said the chapter took the resolution to avoid bitter acrimonies by aggrieved aspirants after the primaries as well as to allow the candidate enough time to campaign without any form of distraction.  

He ceased the occasion to announce that the chapter would not accept imposition of candidates for the 2011 election on the party from any quarters or persons, adding, its consequences had always been disastrous.  

Earlier, Ozurumba,  had described himself as the most qualified aspirant and appealed to party and its members to give him their mandate to end the long suffering of people of the state.  

The one-time Isiala Ngwa South local government chairman, and one term member of the House of Representatives, claimed that only him, among all the aspirants, knows where the shoe pinches the people of the state most.  

Reacting to the party’s position on the conduct of primaries, he said as a democrat and a disciplined member of the party, he would abide by every of its resolution .

  As at Press time,  Chief Ikechi Emenike, Chief Reagan Uformba, Senator Enyinnaya Abaraibe, Hon Ozurumba, Chief Henry Ikoh, Chief Tony Enwereuzor, and Chief Chime Asonye are the aspirants who indicated their interests to run for Abia Governorship election next year. 

It is still uncertain whether  the party’s flag bearer in the 2007, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, who is  still challenging the election of Governor Theodore Orji before the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri would join the race. He has not been categorical but has hinted that he would not retire from politics in case he loses his present legal battle to dislodge Governor Orji.