Crisis is looming in the Ikwuano local government area chapter of the
People’s Democratic Party(PDP), as the party’s National Organizing
Secretary ,Col. Austin Akobundu, (rtd) insists on imposing his
candidates as PDP executives.
Some stakeholders of the party in the area lamented that Akobundu is
insisting on having his way, despite the rotation agreement that exists
among different sections of the local government. The stakeholders are
said to have met and vowed to give him a fierce battle, or the party
explodes.
They threatened to work against the PDP in the 2023 general elections,
if Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and the state caucus of the PDP fail to call
Akobundu to order.
Pointblanknews.com gathered that the Abia PDP had during its caucus
meeting on March 1, 2020, adopted zoning and rotation of political
offices across the state.
Major stakeholders of Abia PDP present at the meeting including Akobundu
supported the resolution and never raised any objection.
However, Akobundu has now rejected the decision of the party caucus and
insists on returning the sitting PDP chairman of Ikwuano LGA, Obioma
Igwe, as against the party’s rotational policy which allows all the
executive positions to be rotated.
The Ikwuano LGA PDP chairman, Mr. Obioma Igwe hails from the Southern
part of the LGA while the Northern part should produce his successor.
However, Akobundu insists on retaining the current leadership structure
which favours his preferred candidate who is the sitting chairman of the
party
.
It was gathered that other stakeholders of the party in the council such
as the member representing Umuahia North/Umuahia South and Ikwuano
federal constituency, Hon. Sam Onuigbo; Commissioner for Housing, Abia
state, Hon. Theophilus Ugboaja and other top shots of the party have
warned Akobundu on the dangers of imposing the leadership of the
party. They cited the incident of 2015 House of Assembly poll in Ikwuano
LGA where Akobundu imposed his then Personal Assistant, as the candidate
of the PDP and the people protested and voted for the APGA candidate.
Most of the stakeholders have vowed to resist Akobundu’s attempt at
hijacking the party’s leadership for selfish reasons.
Sources told pointblanknews.com that Akobundu’s insistence on imposing
the entire leadership structure of the party is to enable him install
his in-law as the LGA chairman in the forthcoming council polls in the
state.
Akobundu also confided in some of his loyalists that he has his eyes on
the Abia Central Senate seat in 2023 general election. This is also
contrary to the rotation agreement between the Umuahia/Ikwuano bloc and
the Ngwa bloc which make up Abia Central zone. In 2023, it will be the
turn of the Ngwa bloc to produce the next senator after Senator Theodore
Orji.
They lamented that Akobundu in the same manner, imposed his nephew, Hon.
Stanley Nwabuisi , as the representative of Ikwuano state constituency
in the House of Assembly.
Some of the Ikwuano PDP stakeholders who preferred anonymity, said, ”
Col. Akobundu is never satisfied, he wants all the party positions to be
occupied by his stooges. Against the rotation policy of the party where
is a leader, Akobundu insists the sitting PDP LGA chairman and other
excos must be retained. It is all in efforts to install his stooges as
party executives. He wants to install his in-law as LGA chairman in the
next local government election. He imposed his nephew , Stanley
Nwabuisis, as House of Assembly member. He wants to go the senate in
2023. He has been minister and now, National Organizing Secretary. We
have sacrificed a lot for Akobundu, this time, he will not succeed. We
are ready for him. If Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and other party leaders
fail to call him to order, we will shock PDP in 2023, we did it in 2015
and PDP lost. We will do it again.”