A chieftain of the Anambra State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, Ike Bishop Okoronkwo has said the party has fallen apart since Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu won its gubernatorial ticket.
Ukachukwu was announced the winner of the APC primary election in a process that has been described as marred by violence and irregularities.
His emergence led to the resignation of a few of his fellow aspirants from the party while many party officials in the ward and local government levels have also been said to have resigned and defected.
In an open letter to the southeast organizing secretary of the party, Edozie Ikedife to support his claims that Valentine Ozigbo lost the election, Ike Okoronkwo, a supporter of Ozigbo said if APC fielded Ukachukwu for the election, it would make it easier for the incumbent governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo to win.
He told Ikedife: “Mr Nicholas Ukachukwu did not win that primary; he bought it, boxed it, and bolted it behind the walls of a contrived delegate list filled with ghost names and housekeepers from Abuja.
“If he were half as popular as you claim, why the need for thugs, for the violence, for theatrical accreditation, for the flooding of the primary venue by paid crowds? Why the fear of a real contest?
“Since Nicholas Ukachukwu’s imposition, the APC in Anambra has unravelled. More than 300 party executives have resigned. The base is disillusioned. Meetings are empty, morale has collapsed. With Nicholas, APC didn’t gain strength—it lost its soul. The party is now a shadow of itself, and in Anambra, effectively dead on arrival.
“Governor Chukwuma Soludo is relieved at this sham primary because he knows Nicholas is a political walkover. But he wouldn’t sleep so easy if he had to face a candidate with credibility, competence, and a vision—a candidate like Val Ozigbo.
“There are whispers, persistent and damning about Ukachukwu’s academic record and his criminal litigation history with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. It would be wise to focus less on sermonising and more on ensuring that your chosen principal can withstand the scrutiny of daylight,” Okoronkwo said.
Meanwhile, Ukachukwu is not relenting in his pursuit as he has been consistently engaged in political meetings with various groups in the state, oiling his political machinery as the date for listing of campaigns draws near.