It’s Dangerous to Allow Governors Determine Fate of Nigerians, Says Abia PDP

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

The Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed worry over the reported moves by some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to work against the president assenting to the amended Electoral Act.

The State chairman of the party, Hon Asiforo Okere told journalists in Umuahia that governors were taking Nigeria for a ride and warned of the danger of leaving the fate of the entire nation and its democratic governance in the hands of governors who are guided by selfish interests.

He regretted that the continued delay in signing the amended electoral act into law by President Muhammadu Buhari was being masterminded by state governors, saying the APC kept “changing the goal post and finding fault with every aspect of the electoral act.”

“We should not allow governors determine the fate of Nigerians. We should make laws that will stand the test of time in order to strengthen our democracy (so that) we won’t continue to talk about nascent democracy,” he said.

Okere, who is a former Speaker of Abia House of Assembly, stated that state chief executives should be made to understand that, “laws are made for Nigeria, not governors” and that “laws are made for tomorrow not just for today,” adding that governors only think of protecting their interests while in office.

On the electoral setbacks suffered by Abia PDP in the last general election, the party chairman vowed that PDP would never relent in its efforts to recover all the legislative seats it lost to the opposition parties in the 2019 general election.

“We are not relenting; we are forging ahead,” he assured, adding that the state party leadership would soon embark on local government tours “to assess the strength of our party at the grassroots “.

In the 2019 poll the ruling party suffered setbacks mostly in Abia North zone where it lost all the National Assembly seats as well as a significant number of state assembly seats to the All Progressives Congress(APC).

Okere, who emerged the Abia PDP chairman on August 2020 had on assumption of office promised to recover the lost seats. He has so far succeeded in the Aba federal constituency which had been held by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) since 2015 but a by-election after the death of Hon Ossy Prestige gave PDP the chance to regain control.

The Abia PDP chairman restated his commitment to realise his vision of strengthening the ruling party “as never before, adding that the party was marching to the next general election season with confidence.

He said that PDP would still retain the Abia governorship seat in 2023 since, saying under the administration of Ikpeazu, the party “has performed very well”.

Though there have been reported declarations of by politicians to vie for the governorship ticket of the Abia PDP, the party chairman said that the leadership was not aware of such political ambitions.
No fewer than three persons have publicly expressed

interest to become the standard bearer of Abia PDP in the 2023 poll. They include Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe from Abia South; founder/chancellor of Greg University Uturu, Prof. Greg Ibe, Abia North and Mr. Ncheta Omerekpe from Abia Central.

But Hon Okere insisted that the party has no record of Abaribe’s expressed ambition or that of any other aspirant for that matter, adding that no aspirant has so far informed the party leadership of their ambition to vie for for any elective office in 2023.

He stated that even with the heightening tension over the zoning of the governorship ticket of Abia PDP, the party was not yet ready to make known its position on the issue.
“We encourage all aspirants to continue with consultations until the party makes a pronouncement,” he said.