Leaders of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ezinihitte Local Government Area, Imo, have dissociated themselves from the circulating list of candidates purportedly from them for the upcoming council poll in the state.
The leaders under the aegis of Ezi North Leadership Bloc said this while addressing newsmen, at Ubonukam, Onicha, Ezinihitte on Thursday, ahead of the state’s Sept. 21, 20240 council election.
The group’s spokesman, Chief Christian Njoku, urged Gov. Hope Uzodinma and the party’s leadership to ignore the purported list of consensus candidates adding that it did not emanate from them.
Njoku, former state chairman of the defunct National Republican Convention, said Ezinihitte LGA has two political blocs, Ezi north and Ezi south, from where consensus candidates are usually selected.
He said in line with existing power sharing arrangements in the LGA, Ezi North and Ezi south blocs usually produce one of either the member of the House of Assembly or the LGA chairman as the case may be.
He also said this had been the standing arrangement, as each of the political blocs was made up of six wards.
According to him all elective positions in the LGA were currently occupied by those from the Ezi south bloc hence the need to ensure that in the spirit of equity, the LGA chairmanship position is zoned to Ezi north.
“In the 2023 general election, one of our sons from the Ezi north bloc contested for the House of Assembly seat.
“But, in keeping with existing power sharing agreements, both blocs ignored him and voted for the APC candidate from the Ezi south bloc and got our collective support.
“The APC Chairman for Ezinihitte LGA, Mr Mark Adindu; the House of Assembly member, Mr Henry Agbasonu; the APC Owerri Zonal Chairman, Mr Justice Ogu are from the Ezi south bloc”, he said.
According to him, this is same as the member representing Ezinihitte in the Federal House of Representatives, Mr Emeka Chinedu.
“We now wonder why anyone would not support Ezi north for the only remaining elective office, the LGA chairmanship position since we already paid our dues’’, he said.
He urged the state chairman of party, Dr McDonald Ebere, and Uzodinma, not to accept the names making the rounds in the media as a consensus candidate from the LGA.
“We have six qualified aspirants from Ezi north and the party is at liberty to select anyone of them as its consensus candidate; they all have our trust and support “, he said. (NAN)
