Leaders and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) met in Owerri, Imo State capital Saturday to deliberate on issues facing the party in the region and fashion out strategies to win all available positions in the 2023 general elections. Other issues such as insecurity and infrastructure challenges were discussed. According to the governor of Imo State, Chief Hope Uzodimma, his administration will ensure collaborative efforts to restore peace in the south-east before the 2023 elections.
At the event, Uzodimma took a swipe at opposition politicians and accused them of refusing to condemn killings, destruction of public properties, and other crimes in the zone.
“We will stop at nothing to ensure that peace is restored in south-east before 2023 general election,” he said.
“We must move forward. The day I will leave our state to non-state actors will never come.”
Speaking on the 2023 general election, the governor said the APC is in charge of twenty-two states, and expressed optimism that his party will secure victory across the states.
Also speaking, Ijeoma Arodiogbu, APC’s national vice-chairman in the south-east, said the ruling party has performed well, especially in the region, with the completion of the second Niger Bridge.
“We are united in our resolve to ensure that our presidential candidate, his Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, receives the support of the south-east come next year,” he said.
“We are also pleased with his choice of vice-presidential candidate in the person of his Excellency, Senator Kashim Shettima.”
Arodiogbu urged APC stakeholders in the south-east to convince their communities to support the party.
The APC governorship candidate for Abia State Chief Ikechi Emenike used the opportunity to call for party unity. He informed the gathering that the APC in Abia is one, and that the party has achieved reconciliation and unity through a Reconciliation Committee headed by elderstateman, Senator Chris Adighije. He added that the APC is poised to provide the quality of governance Abia State has never experienced since creation with his mission statement which is to “Rescue And Develop Abia (RADA). Adding that even if Nigeria fails to develop, that Abia State will experience a great leap forward. He called on the South East to come together and make themselves relevant and make demands from the Nigerian patrimony.
The event which attracted hundreds of APC leaders and stakeholders from all the five South East states had in attendance the state chairmen of the APC from Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi and Imo; Uche Nnaji, governorship candidate of the party from Enugu and Francis Nwifuru, lawmaker from Ebonyi.
Also present were Emma Eneukwu, the APC deputy national chairman, south; Goodluck Opiah, minister of state for education; Ikechukwu Ikoh, minister of state for science and technology, among others.