JETHRO IBILEKE/Asaba
The interim chairman (South-South zone), of Nigeria’s All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Tom Ikimi, has boasted that the newly registered party will win the governorship elections that would be conducted in the states of the South-South region in 2015.
Ikimi made this boast Wednesday in Asaba, capital of Delta state during a harmonisation meeting of the State chapter of the party. He said that the party was winning more converts even from the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and other parties.
According to him, the five PDP governors from the north who have been criss-crossing the country in search of solution to PDP crisis would pitch their tent with the APC at the end.
“In 2015, the configuration of Nigeria will change. Delta State will be APC by then. Rivers is about to fall. Cross River is calling on us to come and Akwa-Ibom is a sure berth.
“Democracy is sure because of APC. Five PDP governors have been moving about challenging their party; they cannot do them anything because they will come to us. In fact, don’t say I told you, they are coming to APC,” Ikimi said.
Describing APC as an alternative party and not opposition party, Ikimi said the destiny of the party has been foretold as a party that would “join in the ranks of parties across the world in a wind of change where the opposition party takes over government from useless sitting governments.
“It has happened in Italy, it has happened in France. In Africa, it happened in Sierra Leone, Ghana and Senegal and the next destination of change is Nigeria.
“It took us sometime to register because of the agents of the other party who knew that what has put us in disadvantage was because we were too scattered before. So PDP could do whatever it did to ensure that we were not registered but now we have been registered and nobody can de-register us.”
He said the national leaders were in Delta State to formally establish the party, explaining that a harmonisation committee would be set to properly fuse the structure of the legacy parties into APC and ensure that there were regular meetings at all levels in the state starting the polling unit.
On the Delta central senatorial bye-election, Ikimi said at the appropriate time the party would democratically select a candidate to fly the APC flag, adding that the candidate would be supported to ensure that the seat was won.
The meeting was witnessed by leaders of the party including John Oyegun, Frank Kokori, Francis Okpozo, Olisamaka Akamukali as well as supporters of aspirants to the Delta central senatorial bye-election.
