The All Progressives Congress, APC, South-East chapter, in an emergency meeting converged today in Enugu, has dissociated self from the move made by Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha for taking part in the party just concluded presidential primary , described him as a lone ranger operating in his own world.
this was disclosed in a statement signed by the publicity secretary of the party in the zone, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, and made available to newsmen, he said Okorocha’s ambition cost the zone important positions in the party.
The statement read, “May I express my dismay over statement in national newspapers credited to Governor Rochas Okorocha, the leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) in my zone the South East to the effect that, ‘By participating in the contest, I have been able to prove that the president can come from any part of the country. It is the understanding of APC that the president should come from the North ever since. I know about that, but I don’t like those facts, so I have come to distort those facts which are not the truth.’
“May I ask His Excellency is the distortion facts more important than the collective interest of the marginalized Ndigbo?
“His Excellency’s statement is one of self denial for rather than apologising to Ndigbo for his gambit, which made Ndigbo to lose the national chairmanship of the APC, placed us in a weak position to vie for Vice President; he is regrettably justifying the unjustifiable.
“One had thought that as a leader he could had placed the collective interest of Ndigbo above his Nollywood show, since he is quite aware of the position of the party as regards zoning”.
“For the avoidance of doubt, in a South East Caucus meeting at His Excellency, Dr Ogboninya Onu’s residence at Abuja in July, 2014, some of us agreed that he is eminently qualified to vie for presidency, but given the prevailing understanding that the presidency is going North, we should vie for chairmanship and vice president slots, waiting for the next 8 years when it is coming South. He refused and boasted that he is going to win the presidential primary.
“I personally narrated to him that zoning like every convention has its moral weight, the North having patriotically zoned the presidency to the South. I further persuaded him to go back to Imo State and conclude the good works he is doing so as to present a good legacy, when the rotation comes South, the South West and South South having occupied the coveted presidency respectively since our return to civil rule in 1999. That Dr Onu should be supported for chairmanship, he backed out.
“One, therefore, challenges our dear Governor Okorocha to openly apologize to Ndigbo for throwing away the golden opportunity we had to produce either chairman or Vice President if he had listened to reason; rather than rationalizing irrational disposition of his.
“In sum, Ndigbo should hold our leader, Governor Okorocha responsible for our marginalization in the APC; not our brothers from the South South or South West who strategically plotted how best to be part of the Buhari-Bandwagon Vehicle for Salvation”, he concluded.
Source: Dailypost
