Governorship candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) in Abia State, Dr. Gershon Amuta has called on political office seekers not to show desperation while trying to actualize their ambitions.
Amuta who is now a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stated this in an interview with newsmen in Umuahia while reacting to the opposition from a section of the three Ngwa local governments in Abia Central zone against the decision of the Abia state PDP caucus zoning the governorship position to Abia South senatorial zone.
He charged the people of the three Ngwa council areas in Abia Central zone; Isiala Ngwa North, Isiala Ngwa South and Osisioma Ngwa to desist from causing confusion and support their Abia South brothers to produce a governor in the interest of the Ukwa/Ngwa clan which has never produced one.
“If you don’t get elected or appointed into an office, you must be patient. Don’t be desperate because it won’t help you. I have not been elected into any office since I lost the election to be governor under the NRC in 1991/1992; I’m still alive. I have never been a minister or a commissioner. I have assisted people to become commissioners, council chairmen and other positions but I have not died. I have remained a faithful party person. There is no way that somebody from Isiala Ngwa North, Isiala Ngwa South and Osisioma Ngwa will not be part of the incoming administration. It can’t happen because Abia South cannot take all the available positions.
“They must abide with party decisions. If they are patient, the party will ensure they would be involved in the incoming government. Zoning is rotational, today it has gone to the Ukwa and Ngwa people in Abia South but we don’t know who is going to emerge governor, whether from Ngwa or Ukwa. After eight years, it will move to another zone. These young men opposing this decision from the three LGAs in Abia Central and other places will not all die; they will still be there to actualize their ambitions. When it comes to the Abia Central zone again, the Ngwa man can rightly aspire to be governor.
“Let our brothers from these three local governments not behave as bulls in a china shop. If they are true party people, they must know that when a party takes a decision, it is final. The office of a governor and the paraphernalia attached to that position is too large. In PDP, anybody who is loyal would be accommodated in governance. So, I urge my brothers from the three Ngwa local governments in Abia Central zone to abide with the decision of the PDP caucus because it is in the best interest of the party. Anybody who means well for Abia state will tell you that zoning the governorship position to Abia South is in order.”
The party chieftain, who commended Gov. Theodore Orji for insisting on power shift to Abia South, warned those who may be aggrieved by the decision of the party not to defect to another party as it will not be in their interest.
“Any aspirant who makes the mistake of going to another party to contest will regret the decision. Let them not defect, they will be accommodated. But if they insist, we will see who will have the last laugh. Of course, they already know that there is no other party in Abia. The opposition parties only exist on paper.”
Amuta who is also a member of the Abia PDP Elders’ Council, disclosed that the aspirants outside Abia South zone would be free to contest if they insist on running in defiance of the party’s directive.
“They are welcome if they insist on contesting for the PDP ticket at the primary election. The party needs money and cannot refuse any aspirant who wants to buy nomination forms. The issue is that the party leadership has taken a decision,” he added.