Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State have appealed to the national leadership of the party to ensure that the upcoming congresses in the state are all inclusive, open, free, and fair; and that every member of the party in the state is at liberty to contest for any position of his or her choice.

Addressing the media in Awka, yesterday, a former Deputy Speaker in Anambra State, Mike Ugwah, said the concerned stakeholders with representatives across the 21 local government areas in Anambra State are making the appeal as a measure to save the party from total extinction in Anambra.

The stakeholders said the APC is moribund in Anambra State and requires urgent re-organisation and re-invigoration, hence the need to ensure that fresh breeds are injected into the party leadership in the state.

“The present party executives from ward to state are not only inactive, they have totally lost steam. Culminating in Mr. President garnering an embarrassing 5,111 votes in Anambra State in the 2023 presidential election. For Mr. President to make an appreciable inroad in Anambra State in the forthcoming presidential election in 2027, and for APC to be alive again in Anambra State, it is very necessary that an entirely new executives, at all levels of our great party in Anambra State, are elected.

“It is on record that since after the 2023 presidential election, there has been a tremendous inflow of new entrants from other parties into our great party, who are higher in number than the substantive members of the party, hence there is every need to accommodate them in the new executives, in order to give them a sense of belonging, least they feel unaccepted and be constrained to leave our great party, which will further undermine our party’s capabilities, knowing full well that Mr. Peter Obi of ADC is from our state.”

Appealing to the APC National Chairman, the stakeholders alleged that Senator Uche Ekwunife and Hon. Nze Chidi Duru is bent on derailing the upcoming congresses and, also, destroying the party in Anambra State.

“We further wish to state that Senator Uche Ekwunife, who is a member of the National Congress Committee, and Hon. Chidi Duru does not represent APC Anambra State and any list of party executives submitted by them should be totally rejected.

Any attempt to perpetuate the present party executives in office will further destroy the party in Anambra State”, the group said.

The group called the attention of all members of the APC National Working Committee, Hon. Aminu Bello Masari; Chairman, APC Convention Coordination Committee and Senator Pius Ayim, Deputy Chairman, APC Convention Coordinator Committee on the situation.

Some of the stakeholders in the briefing included Hon. Basil Iwuoha, former state lawmaker; Hon. Kenechukwu Nzekwe, a party chairmanship aspirant; Chief Peter Nwaedozie, and Hon. Bright Osemeka, former chairman of Onitsha North Local Government Area. (The Sun)