…. Party stalwarts stranded, following frequent change of names
…Blame Sen. Uba and state chairman, Basil Ejidike, for the tampering
The camp of Anambra State delegates to the ongoing presidential primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC), is now in turmoil following the random change of delegates ‘elected’ to represent the state. The state has a total of 63 national delegates, three each from the state’s 21 local government areas.
Over the last three weeks, our sources say, there has been at least three different lists emanating from the Anambra State chapter of the APC.
Although the authentic list of delegates has since been filed with the APC headquarters and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, leaders of the party in the state remain determined to effect changes to the already established list. Besides the removal of certain individuals due to political exigencies, the latest attempt to foist a change is been championed by members of the state working committee, SWC, who insist on being accommodated.
Tempers, however, flared last night as the chapter met at the Maitama office of the acclaimed leader of the party in the state, Senator Andy Uba. Sources close to the meeting disclosed that many party stalwarts were shocked during accreditation, when they discovered that their names had disappeared from the list. In their place were SWC members from each LGA.
Some of those whose names were tampered with include Chief Johnbosco Onunkwo, a frontline gubernatorial aspirant and financier of the party, BenChuks Nwosu, a former speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Chief Chibuzor Obiakor, the party’s state agent at the last governorship election in the state, Hon. Chizoba Obidigwe, a former member of the House of Representatives and leader of the party in Ayamelum LGA, and Chief Dubem Obaze, a leading stalwart.
In fact, matters nearly degenerated into fisticuffs after representatives of APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu visited the Anambra delegation and announced a welcome package of N250,000 for each delegate.
Although the state chairman had earlier announced a 15 percent deduction from every monetary gift to the delegates, he ended up deducting N50,000, instead of N37,500 from the money donated from the Tinubu team.
For now, delegates wait for the accreditation process to commence, even as they continue to grumble over the contentious Anambra delegates list.