The Ebonyi state chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha has vowed to ensure that the governor, David Umahi wins as senator for Ebonyi south senatorial zone in the forthcoming 2023 general election.
Emegha who spoke with journalists in Abakaliki on the sidelines of the recent INEC release of national Assembly candidates of political parties said that the state EXCOs of APC, were not panicking that the governor's name are uploaded by INEC through court order.
He however commended the independent National electoral commission, INEC, for uploading the name of the governor, David Umahi as the senatorial candidate of APC for Ebonyi south senatorial zone.
Emegha said: "There was no time the excos of APC in Ebonyi were panicking about the releases of names of the candidates by INEC because we followed do processes. And as such, those that emerged were the people that the members of the party in their various wards, constituencies and senatorial districts voted for, to go and contest in the forthcoming general election, come 2023.
"Since do processes were followed, we were not panicking about the commitment of the national leadership of APC to upload the names of those that emerged or that it will go the other way.
"The governor's name, David Umahi has finally been enlisted by INEC as the authentic senatorial candidate of APC in Ebonyi south zone. Some people said that the name of the governor, was imputed through a Court order. Yes, what that simply means, is that the court mandated that the re-conduction of the Ebonyi south senatorial Primary election by APC that took place at Afikpo North LGA headquarters be obeyed, and that's why INEC, noted that it is by court order.
"Court ruled that the party should re-conduct that primary election, it was done and Umahi won. And so, we all can attest that such ruling came, and we followed do process. We obeyed that court order. We went back to the venue at the fixed date and re-conducted that election.
Emegha also reacted to the allegation making the rounds in the state that, the party used a different delegate list to conduct, the re-conducted Ebonyi south senatorial primary election, which according to investigation, resulted to the edging out of some contestants.
According to him: "It is not the national leadership of APC that approves the delegate list. The only thing that national leadership of APC does is to give you form. The delegates were 3 by wards and 5 per local government areas. When the form is giving to you, you pay it directly to the national leadership of APC. The delegates didn't purchase the form and then paid it to the state account, they paid it to the national account.
"The national constituted a committee that came to Ebonyi and conducted the delegates election, and then the committee reported back to the national, those delegates that won during the congresses, were the names of people that the committee gave to us.
"The allegation that we used a different delegate list, is false. Nobody can say that we used a different delegate list to conduct our primary election. The woman who is opposing the election, why didn't she come? She backed out from the Primary election of the APC, even when she knew that court has ordered that Ebonyi south senatorial primary election be re-conducted.
"She wanted to scuttle the Ebonyi south senatorial primary election by trying to get court injection but it didn't work for her. And now, she is coming back to say that different delegate list was used. Did she wanted us to use different delegate list?
"The court said that we should go and re-conducted the Ebonyi south senatorial primary election. It didn't say 'go and change the delegates list'. It wasn't me that conducted the primary election, the national leadership of APC had to send the people that came and re-conducted the Ebonyi south senatorial zone primary election. The people that came to re-conduct the election, came with the delegates list" he stressed.
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