The 2019 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Imo State, Uche Nwosu, on Tuesday, said that the ruling party was the cause of its poor outing in the Anambra State governorship election which was held on Saturday.
Nwosu said that the party’s woeful outing in the Anambra State governorship election which saw it not even winning any local government area in the 20 LGAs the Independent National Electoral Commission had collated results, was “self-inflicted.”
Nwosu, a son-in-law to a former governor of Imo State and now senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha, accused the APC of not having respect for the founding chieftains and members of the party in the South East zone.
He said the party had abandoned those who worked hard to form and grow the party in the South-East region and preferred those who joined it from the other political parties.
Nwosu also disclosed that the APC had no reward system for its founding members, adding that he was not surprised the party didn’t do well at the polls in Anambra State.
He said the party had no reason to have neglected Okorocha; the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbennaya Onu and George Moghalu as regards the Anambra State governorship election.
Nwosu said Okorocha, Ngige, Onu, Moghalu and others formed the APC structure in the South-East, regretting that the current leadership of the party had refused to reward them for bringing the APC to the South-East region.
Nwosu said, “What is happening to the APC in the South-East is a result of a poor reward system.
“The APC undermined those who worked so hard to plant the party in the zone and instead embraced newcomers who do not have what it takes to endear the party to the people,” he said.
He insisted that unless the party retraced its steps in the conduct of free and fair primaries, and declare the winners without manipulation, reconcile all the aggrieved old members, it may not recover from the self-afflicted crisis before the 2023 general election.
The APC chieftain maintained, “If the founding fathers of the party are not appeased and handed back the reins of the APC, its fortune will continue to go down.”
Offering solutions for the party’s leadership challenges ahead of the 2023 elections, Nwosu advised the Buni-led committee to consult the founding members of the APC in the zone.
He listed those to be consulted as Okorocha, Ngige, Onu, Moghalu, among others.
The Imo-born politician, who expressed optimism that the party would coast to victory, said the above top government functionaries were open to genuine discussions that would engender genuine reconciliation.
He added, “The party leadership can’t ignore those that worked so hard and invested their resources and time and expect to continue to win elections. “The party can’t gloss over the fact that all is not well, but all hope is not lost if it can reconcile the aggrieved leaders.
“What happened in the Anambra State governorship election is a confirmation of the fact that the party veered off from the original plan but all that can be remedied.”
(Punch)
