27th December, 2023
By Chukwuemeka Opara
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has knocked Austin, the younger brother of the former governor of Dave Umahi, out of contention for the vacant southern senatorial district seat of Ebonyi with the zoning of the ticket to Onicha Local Government Area of the state.
Ebonyi South senatorial seat became vacant following the resignation of David Umahi, the immediate past governor of the state, who took up the seat at the end of his tenure to take up ministerial appointment in the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu.
The seat was recently declared vacant by Senate President Godswill Akpabio following which the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC announced that it would conduct bye-elections into the seat and other vacant ones on 3 February 2023.
Consequently, Umahi’s younger Brother, Austin, was the Director-General of the APC’s campaign committee in the last general elections and had declared interest in contesting for the vacant seat in the bye-elections.
But Austin was practically knocked out of the contest in a statement signed by Ebonyi APC Chairman, Chief Stanley Okoro-Emegha and other State Working Committee (SWC) members announcing the zoning of the Senatorial district ticket to Onicha on Tuesday.
The statement indicated that the state governor is in support of the zoning arrangement.
The party noted that Ohaozara LGA where the Umahi brothers hail from already has a Ministerial seat, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner and a Senior Special Assistant to the President in its kitty as such, it was threading the path of equity and justice with the zoning of the senatorial district ticket to Onicha Local Government Area of the state.
“Nature abhors a vacuum, hence the need to fill the vacant position of the district.
“The APC Leader in Ebonyi, Gov. Francis Nwifuru, has exemplified leadership embodied in equity and justice and such was worthy of emulation,” the statement said.
It stated that with the current distribution of political positions in the district, only Onicha LGA has no exalted political position of honour.
“Afikpo North LGA produced the Deputy Governor and a House of Representatives member, while Edda LGA produced the state party chairman.
“Ivo LGA has a House of Representatives member, Ohaozara LGA has a Minister, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner and a Senior Special Assistant to the President,”
“Onicha LGA has none and in the spirit of equity and justice as propagated by the party’s leader, the vacant seat should be zoned to it,” the statement read.
The party in the statement said that it was in total alignment with the state governor on the decision.
“The SWC is in tandem with our leader’s philosophy of ensuring peace and peaceful coexistence in all parts of the state,” the communique read.