The All Progressives Congress on Saturday vowed to bury the
Peoples Democratic Party in the South-East.
The APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, who
made the vow in Enugu, urged the people of the South-East to embrace the party,
noting that the APC would guarantee their quest for an Igbo president.
Odigie-Oyegun spoke at a rally held to welcome former Enugu
State Governor, Sullivan Chime, to the APC.
Chime, who served as the governor of Enugu State on the
platform of the PDP from 2007 to 2015, formally registered as an APC member at
the elaborate event, held at his ward in Udi-Abia, Udi Local Government Area of
the state.
The event attracted several chieftains of the APC, including
Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal.
Addressing the crowd at the rally, Odigie-Oyegun spoke on
the need for the South-East, which is seen as a PDP stronghold, to be part of
the APC.
Noting that most of the prominent politicians in the zone
were leaving the former ruling party, Odigie-Oyegun stressed that the APC would
‘finally’ bury PDP in the South-East.
He said, “We are going to finally bury the PDP in the
eastern states. In the next election, who is going to be the governor of Enugu
State? Which party can best ensure Igbo presidency? Is it not APC? No other
party can ensure that. The people of the South-East are entitled to full
participation in this country, and APC is committed and ready to provide the
platform.
“For long, you (South-East) have been prevented from reaping
the fruits of your labour. The time has come for you to reap the fruits of your
labour. When I get back to Abuja now, I have a message for the national
headquarters of our party – Enugu State is ready, the people of the South-East
are ready. From the moment we won the last election, and seeing how skewed the
country is, part of the plan was to ensure that the South-East returns to the
mainstream of politics in this country.
Odigie-Oyegun dismissed a report that Chime’s move to APC
was prompted by fears of possible prosecution by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission.
Also speaking at the event, Tambuwal stressed that APC was
“ready to do business with the people of the South-East.”
Noting that Enugu State was the gateway to the South-East,
Tambuwal pointed out that an accord between the then Eastern Region and the
North led to the emergence of Alhaji Shehu Shagari as president in 1979.
Stressing the need for unity in the country, he said, “Chime
is joining APC at a time when we are working hard to ensure that Nigeria
remains a united country.”
Chime, in his address, thanked God for the opportunity to
finally leave PDP. I thank God that I have finally left that wreckage of a once
upon great party, PDP. We are postponing the burial date but the party is dead.
You cannot be talking about politics and be taken seriously when you are in
PDP.”
By Ihuoma Chiedozie
