By Okey Maduforo Awka .
Ward Chairmen and Secretaries , of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Awka North Local Government Area and all the executives of the party in the local government area have rejected the announcement of Ekegbue Emmanuel Chinedu as the winner of Awka North State Constituency primary election for the ticket to contest for House of Assembly.
The entire executives of the local government who met in Awka protested the purported victory of Ekegbue, insisting that members of the party in the local government voted overwhelmingly for the incumbent member of the House of Assembly, Ikwunne Chimezie Johnmark.
Results of the primary election already circulated on social media showed that Ikwunne Chimezie Johnmark scored 1,633, while Ekegbue Emmanuel Chinedu scored 4,721 and was declared winner.
But the chairmen and secretaries told journalists in Awka that the election was hijacked and results manufactured and submitted without voting in most communities.
They insisted that Ikwunne won, stating that the man declared as the winner is unpopular and incapable of winning the main election if made the candidate of the party.
The Local Government chairman of APGA, Hon James Onwuka who spoke on behalf of the LG exco and the chairmen of wards and secretaries said they were ready to resign their positions if the governor called for a repeat and if he (Ekegbue) won.
Onwuka said: “We are begging Mr Governor to please use his power to reverse the election result of Awka North State Constituency. We are the hierarchy of the party in the local government. What you see here are chairmen and secretaries of the 14 ward of Awka North Local Government Area, while I’m the overall chairman, and the secretary is here.
“What we are saying is that we voted for the incumbent member, Hon Johnmark Ikwunne, and we want him as the candidate. Even if they do not want him, then let it be another person and not Ekegbue Emmanuel Chinedu, because we are sure he can not lead our party to win election.
“We are ready to resign if Ekegbue who was declared winner ever gets even 10 percent of the votes of the council area in a free and fair contest, if there is a rerun.
“We are begging Mr Governor to come and solve this problem. If Ekegbue emerges in a rerun, we are ready to resign our seats because we know that he is unpopular and not capable of winning election.”
Earlier, the Chairmen of the various wards in the communities that make up Awka North Local Government Area spoke about their disapproval and the mess they witnessed on the primary election day.
Giving accounts, the chairmen said: “In Awba Ofemili we were still waiting for election to start when we heard that results have been submitted. In Ebenebe it was the same thing and we heard that the local government chairman was part of the coninvance.
“In Amansea, we came together for the election but some thugs came and chased everyone away. Then later in the night we heard that election held and results have surfaced. In Mgbakwu Ward it is same and Isuaniocha too, the thugs used their hands to write what ever they liked as results. We are saying that what happened in the entire Awka North on Saturday is not election.”
Though Ikwunne was not at the meeting, the party leaders spoke glowingly of his representation in the House of Assembly, insisting he won the primary election and that he is the only candidate capable of challenging other parties in the general election.
A source however told our correspondent that the candidate had filed a petition to the party’s appeal panel, challenging the declaration of Ekegbue .
