By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The Presidential candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the last Saturday general election, Prof. Peter Umeadi, has accused the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Victor Oye, and the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo of frustrating his ambition and dream of becoming Nigeria’s next president.
Prof. Umeadi stated this while addressing newsmen in the state on his candidacy in the keenly-contested election.
According to him, the APGA National Chairman and Governor Soludo who is APGA National Leader did not give him any form of support or encouragement as the presidential candidate of the party. He also revealed that he didn’t receive one Kobo or any financial back-up from the party, and further explained that it was through his personal efforts that he was able to achieve the little he achieve in the election, starting from purchase of form to the main election day.
Umeadi, who is a former Chief Judge of the State, explained that he was not actually asking for Anambra state’s money, but insisted that people would have helped fund his campaign activities if Governor Soludo and Dr. Oye had been supporting and campaigning for him.
However, he attested that he received and enjoyed the supports and encouragements of the local government chairmen of APGA; but explained that they themselves also got disappointed at how Oye and Soludo sidelined and treated him unfairly. He further narrated how Governor Soludo dodged him off after keeping him waiting for hours in his office the day he went to visit him.
He said: “As I speak with you, nothing has ever come to me from the party; not one naira has been given to me as the candidate of the party by Soludo and Oye.
“Whatever efforts and breakthroughs I recorded in this presidential election have been through personal and self-efforts.
“I’m not asking for the state money. They are not supporting me either. If they are supporting and campaigning for me, people will help in funding my activities.”
He also added that he was skipped in APGA campaign flags and billboards of the APGA contestants because Soludo and Oye instructed the contestants not to work for him.
“All you see in the national campaign flag is APGA all the way; vote for Senate, House of Representatives, and the President is skipped.
“In other parties and under same circumstances, the party’s National and State Assembly contestants have their billboards and campaign posters with their presidential candidates. But none included me in their billboards and campaign posters because they were instructed not to work for me.
“The party, from day one, particularly the governor, sidelined me. He has not even received me. I went to see him; my name was listed in the manifest; he knew I was coming. The Deputy Chief of Staff even called me the day I went to see the governor that my name was in the manifest. I went and stayed for three hours – 2 p.m to 5 p.m – to see the governor and he refused to see me.
“I was humiliated because the security men and others around saw what happened. His party’s presidential candidate waited for three hours in his office without seeing him!
“They did everything to play down and frustrate me from the race, but I was determined. I marched on, refused to be discouraged and frustrated.
“They don’t want to project me, but they do not have any option. I am the face of APGA in Nigeria, whether they like it or not.”
In his reaction, Governor Soludo denied all the accusations by Umeadi and explained that he fully supported and gave Umeadi the necessary encouragements he ought to give him as the National Leader of APGA who owes support to every electoral candidate of the party.
Soludo, who reacted through his Press Secretary, Christian Aburime dismissed Umeadi’s allegations as untrue, even as he promised to remain supportive to all APGA flag bears and the party’s affairs.
