APGA Primary election: LGA delegates Aspirant, Aririguzo rejects ‘purported’ process
.Says National body of the Party is bent on destroying Imo APGA.
As the scheduled all progressive grand Alliance party guber primary did not hold,the party LGA delegates across the 27 LGA of the state, has accused it national bodies that their decision to imposed candidate upon party faithfuls in Imo APGA is geared towards destroying the party in the state.
This was started within the week, as these delegates, who felt shortchanged briefed Imo Journalist on the state of the party in the state.
Meanwhile, One of the aspirants, Dr. Chief Mrs. Ngozi Aririguzo, contesting under the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA for the Governorship position of Imo State come November 11, 2023, has rejected the process that produced one Mr. Tony Ejiogu, as the party flag bearer of the party, saying, “there was no Primary election conducted by APGA on Sunday, April 16, 2023″.
Aririguzo stated this on Wednesday while briefing news men in Owerri, the state capital.
She disclosed that as an aspirant who bought the party form and fufilled all that was necessary for her to take part in the race, that she never participated in any Primary election conducted by the party, and so will not accept whatever that comes out of any imaginary primaries.
According to her, ” I want to categorically state that the purported Primary of APGA that was supposed to take place on Sunday, April 16, 2023, was a charade, and so in other words, there was no primaries.
“I bought my form in Abuja like every other aspirant, did all the due consultations I was supposed to do, and at the end of it all I was now ready for the Primary election.
“I was with the State Working Committee of the party on Saturday, April 15, 2023, where we had a successful meeting. Members of APGA were so excited when they saw me because I have been in the party for years; was ones a Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, ran for the House of Assembly position for Ahiazu Mbaise under the platform of the party, and so they know that I have the capacity and all it takes to take APGA to a higher level.
“That Saturday I was waiting to be invited for the screening before the primaries, but I was not, it was the state Chairman that later informed me that our party primary election will be held the next day, which was Sunday, April 16, 2023.
“When I arrived at the venue of the primary election at the state headquarters of APGA at Egbu road, the delegates were all there, the Chairman of the committee and his entourage were there, and there were problem, here and there, and when I tried to inquire about what was going on, I found out that they have changed the list of the delegates, and most of the delegates that were at the venue, their names did not appear on the list. It was them that we started contesting against the process. When they found out that their plans has been exposed, they started looking for an alternative venue to do the election.
“While I, the party executives, and some members of the party were still at the venue, they moved to another venue; which some of the party faithfuls went there and interrupted whatever plans they had. They again moved to another venue at Egbeada, the party faithfuls still followed them their, and stopped them.
“So anybody saying that there was APGA primary election on Sunday is just telling a big lie, for I am still waiting for the election. I certified all the necessary requirements to take part in the primaries and have the capacity to win and fly the flag of APGA in the state.
“The National body the day I came to buy ticket would have told me they have someone in mind to give the ticket, but they welcomed me, took my money and there has not been any form of communication from them to me till date.
“True APGAs in the state are not happy with what the national body is trying to do, and from the look of things it seems that they are trying to destroy APGA in the state, but we that have the blood of APGA running in us will not want such a thing to happen, and so we will do anything we can to redeem the image of the party in the state.
“As an APGA member, I have come to build up the party in the state, you will agree with me that what has been happening in APGA every 4 years 2018 precisely, and other years back are not palatable at all. I have come to rebuild the party, give hope to the hopeless, and credence to whatever the party is doing in the state.
“I assured the state Working Committee members of the party during our meeting that if I don’t win the primaries, that I will surely support whosoever that emerges, and expects the person to do same if I win. So I should be given a fair chance to win or loss, ‘Aririguzo averred.
She further appealed to the party executives to ensure that they conduct a fresh primary election, saying that she knows that if the election was conducted on Sunday that she would have ‘beaten her opponent hands down’, as according to her, she has the massive support of the women and youths of the party.
