9th April, 2022
strong>By Douglas Okoro
Some chieftains of All Progressives Congress (APC) of Izzi extraction in Ebonyi have warned that the plan to impose Mr Francis Nwifuru, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly as the party’s governorship 2023 candidate would be resisted.
The concerned stakeholders who included; Chief Michael Udenwe, Chief Nick Ochigbo, Chief Nshi, Chief Godwin Nwamkpuma among others, described the plot as undemocratic at a press briefing on Saturday in Abakaliki
In a statement read by Chief Alex Nwofe, former Nigeria Ambassador to North Korea on behalf of 16 others said that the party would not risk going into the 2023 general elections afflicted with crisis.
They observed that the state government had tacitly endorsed Nwifuru who is from the clan by not condemning the action of the traditional rulers who recently allegedly endorsed the speaker.
“The state government has maintained silence on the action of the royal fathers from Izzi who have openly indulged in partisan politics by the endorsement.
“The three house of Assembly members from Izzi clan, three council chairmen and all the political appointees from the area have followed suit signalling a tacit support by state government.
“Government condoned the actions of the appointees who aired their endorsement on the Ebonyi Broadcasting Corporation (EBBC), a state owned media even when a meeting on who will fly APC ticket from Izzi clan has not been concluded,” the statement read.
The group added that if the plan was allowed to scale through that it would spell disaster for the party in the 2023 governorship election in the state.
The stakeholders therefore appealed to at a press briefing on Saturday in Abakaliki urged Sen. Abdulahi Adamu, APC National Chairman to intervene to save the party from the looming crisis.
They noted that despite calls on the state government and Leadership of the party to intervene,nothing had been done to call those pushing Nwifuru’s endorsement to order.
“We have accordingly resolved to withdrawal from activities of the zoning committee inaugurated by the party.
“We hereby dissociate ourselves from further deliberations on the matter as we have lost confidence in the fairness and impartiality of the members of the committee to achieve the target as mandated by His Excellency, Gov. Dave Umahi.
“We therefore call on the national chairman of our great party and all the national executives of our party to intervene . There is need to nip the crisis in the bud before it escalates to ruin the chances of our party in winning the forthcoming general elections,” Nwofe said.)
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Izzi clan in Ebonyi North Senatorial District is one of the largest social-cultural groupings in Abakaliki bloc where the governorship has been zoned to.
NAN further reports that Izzi people are predominantly found in Abakaliki, Ebonyi and Izzi local government areas of the state.