The chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, Dr Kingsley Ononogbu, has said the party is seeking power in next year’s general elections to change the narrative of the state.
Ononogbu stated this yesterday when he hosted stakeholders from the 13 wards in Bende local government area of the state at his Mkpa country home, saying the stakeholders were critical to the success of the agenda.
“We want to rebuild the economy of the state. We want to use the resources of government, if elected into office, to move the state forward and to create jobs for our youths,” he said.
Ononogbu said under High Chief Ikechi Emenike as the governor, the state will witness an unprecedented turnaround in the economy that will be sustained by the building blocks of development that the administration will put in place.
He used the forum to explain that there was no faction in the party as dissenting groups had come together on June 18, 2022 for a unification meeting at Ntalakwu in Ikwuano local government area and settled their differences.
“There is no faction in the party. We have had our congresses and have been inaugurated. We have had our primaries and our candidates are recognized by the national headquarters. We have also attended the national convention.”
According to the chairman, whatever differences that were remaining will be settled by the Senator Chris Adighije-led eight-member peace and reconciliation committee mandated by the national leadership of the party to unify Abia APC.
“Whatever we need to do to ensure that the committee succeeds, we will do it,” he assured, adding that nobody would be allowed to sabotage the reconciliation process.
In his remarks, the minority leader of the state House of Assembly, Hon Chijioke Chukwu, lauded Ononogbu for organising the meeting, stressing that it had afforded the stakeholders opportunity to interact with the party leadership and express their views on the way forward.
Hon Chukwu, who represents Bende North state constituency, alleged that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party was working to disorganise the APC in the state to frustrate it from winning the 2023 elections.
He, therefore, urged APC members not to allow themselves to be used by the ruling party to scuttle the anticipated defeat which he said awaits the people he described as destroyers of Abia State.
Earlier, the organising secretary of the party, Deacon Obinna Atuomwu regretted the level of under-development in the state, adding that the situation will worsen if the present leadership was allowed to remain beyond 2023.
