Abia Bye-Election: No Imposition Of Candidate For House of Reps -APGA

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia says  it will conduct primary election for aspirants for the upcoming House of Representatives bye-election in the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)  had announced March 27 for the poll to replace the vacant position in Aba North and Aba South Federal Constituency.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls  that the position became vacant following the death of Rep. Prestige Osy on February 6.
The state Chairman of APGA, Rev. Augustine Ehiemere,  said on Wednesday in Umuahia that all  aspirants for the position would go through party’s primary for members to make their choice.
Ehiemere spoke during the declaration of interest for the vacant seat at the party’s headquarters by an Aba-based business promoter, Mr Destiny Nwagwu.
He said: “Nobody will impose any candidate on the party. We cannot allow what happened in 2019 to repeat itself.
“We have had ugly experiences where people came into APGA at the last minute, pick the ticket for election but abandoned the party when they failed to achieve their selfish aim.
“We need a core party man, who has the heart and blood of the party as our candidate for the bye-election.
“We have all suffered for the party and anybody who wants to impose a candidate on the party does not mean well for APGA,” Ehiemere said.
According to him, APGA’s doors are open to other aspirants and anybody that wants to run on its platform should  indicate.
“This is a new face of APGA and we will resist the situation where aspirants, who came in at the last minute, will later begin to treat us as strangers and slaves in our own house,” he said.
He admonished APGA members and supporters not to betray the party during the election.
“Our party is in danger. We must produce a replacement for our late representative. If we miss this opportunity, it will be bad for us.
“Therefore, I appeal to you not to take money from anybody and scuttle our dream,” Ehiemere said.
Other speakers at the event, including the party’s Secretary and Legal Adviser, Sunday Onukwubiri and Chukwuemeka Nwokoro, urged members to remain resolute and approach the election with unity of purpose.
In a brief remark, Nwagwu said he had been a party man “pushing for APGA’s victory in past elections”.
The aspirant, who was APGA’s candidate in the 2019 House of Assembly election in Aba North constituency, said he was prepared to subject himself to the party’s primary election.
He said that as a believer in democratic principle, he would not want to emerge as a consensus candidate.