*BY RALPH EJIMKONYE*
The All Progressive Congress, APC has opened up on the defection of Uche Nwosu, son in law to Governor Rochas Okorocha to another political party.
The party leadership in Abuja and Owerri spoke in different tunes just as the December 2nd deadline for the names of substitution of candidates by INEC comes close.
Nwosu had been reported to have secured the governorship ticket of the Action Alliance, AA, after a failed bid to grab the ticket of the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP.
Governor Rochas Okorocha who has been backing Nwosu had said he cannot stop his son in law and other political followers to seek political succor in another political platform to further their ambition.
Speaking in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lanre Issa Onilu while assessing the defection of those who lost the party’s tickets said the Governor’s men placed individual interest above party interest.
He said, “APC as a party is looking critically at that development and in due course take a position on it. However, in the interim, we will continue to encourage our members not to be driven by selfish ambition but rather to be driven by higher ideals that the party represents
But the State leadership of the party in a statement signed by FCC Onwusoanya Jones said the APC in Imo State is saddened by “rumours” that Nwosu is on the verge of defecting to another party
Part of the statement reads “While we continue with our last ditch efforts to see what we can rescue out of what is looking to have already become a very bad situation, we concede that losing these leaders and their followers to any other Party will be a huge disaster to our Party in the State, and will seriously endanger our chances of retaining the governorship of the State, which before now had seemed an assured outcome.
“We sincerely apologise to Ugwumba Uche Nwosu and the other 24 members of our great Party whose duly secured mandate was stolen from them by some strangers in our Party in connivance with some highly compromised democratic felons within our Party.
“We concede that Ugwumba Uche Nwosu clearly won the Direct governorship primary election of our great Party which held in the State, overwhelmingly, but his mandate was stolen from him in a most brazen manner and handed over to highest bidders whose only electoral value lies in their ability to manipulate electoral processes in their favour. We apologize to Ugwumba Uche Nwosu for the ill treatments meted out to him by this cabal in the name of our Party.
“These Party members, especially, the former Chief of Staff to the Imo State Government have contributed enormously to the successes of our great Party at every level and are the major reasons why our Party is the most popular and most grassroots rooted political Party in the State.
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