By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Ahead of party primaries for the November 6, 2021 governorship election in Anambra State, Youth leaders of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 21 local government areas on Friday stormed the party’s state office to protest an alleged plan to hand pick a candidate.

The scores of protesters who carried placards warned the leadership of the party against imposition of candidates for the forthcoming election.

The spokesman of the youths, Mr Michael Izunna, cautioned the party to tread carefully in choosing a governorship candidate to avoid implosion in the party.

He said: “We are here to call for a free and fair primary election in our party. We have the interest of the party at heart; that is why we are here to plead with the party to do the right thing.

“We have heard that there are plans to make members of United Anambra Youth Assembly (U-AYA) and United Anambra Women Assembly (U-AWA) as delegates. We strongly oppose this and call for a normal primary election.

“We are here because we love the party. We will be ready to defend APGA with our blood anywhere, and that makes us stakeholders in the party. We will not stay and watch our party do the wrong thing.

“The message we are bringing to the leadership of the party today is that it must carry the youths along as far as the process leading to the election is concerned, again is that the primary election must be free and fair. Let every aspirant must go to the election and let the delegates be free to elect their candidate.”

A source however said the protest march was not unconnected with alleged plans by the leadership of the party to favour members of a political group, U-AYA and U-AWA as delegates in the forthcoming primary of the party.

U-AYA has been at the forefront of the call for the party to pick former CBN governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo as its flag bearer for the November 2021 governorship election in Anambra State.

Addressing the protesters, the State youth leader of the party, Mr Magnus Eziokwu, on behalf of the chairman of the party assured that the process would be fair.

He said APGA is known for free and fair primary elections, saying that both leaders at the national and state level are people whose love for the youths have been attested to.

“We thank you for coming to register your protest, and I want to assure you that we all are concerned about a free and fair primary election in the party, and we will spare nothing to achieve that,” he added.