APC Deputy National Chairman: Soludo’s Progressives Working Together Claim Is a Deception

Dr Mrs Oby Ajih, senator Uche Ekwunife and Dr. Ben Nwoye at APC Stakeholders meeting in Awka,on Saturday

The Deputy National Chairman, South, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Ben Nwoye, has described Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo’s claim that progressives are working together as a deception.

Nwoye said the APC was working hard to ensure that its members and supporters voted for all the party’s candidates in the forthcoming elections, from the presidential level to the state House of Assembly.

He made the statement on Saturday at an APC stakeholders’ meeting convened by Senator Uche Ekwunife in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

“We are working hard to ensure that our President wins. If he wins, he will not forget us. We must make sure that Uche Ekwunife wins. If she wins the senatorial seat, she will not forget us, and the same applies to our representatives and House of Assembly members,” he said.

Nwoye maintained that there was only one APC, dismissing as a fallacy the narrative that different groups of progressives were working together.

According to him, party members must make a clear choice between supporting the APC and opposing it.

“They are using deception to collect our appointments from the federal level. It has to stop, and once Ekwunife is elected, it will stop. On the 16th, we must come out en masse to vote for all our candidates, from the President to the House of Assembly. We must vote from top to bottom. We cannot have a candidate and vote for another person,” he said.

He urged the people of Anambra Central to support Ekwunife and other APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.

Describing Ekwunife as an “energiser” who brings life to every organisation or community she joins, Nwoye said she had previously served in the Senate and had demonstrated her capacity to represent the people.

“She has been in the Senate before and we saw her works, and we are expecting her to do more,” he said.

The APC senatorial candidate for Anambra Central, Senator Uche Ekwunife, also called on party members to vote for APC candidates across the state.

Ekwunife said the stakeholders’ meeting was important because party members and stakeholders were central to the functioning of the organisation.

“We decided to invite stakeholders because without stakeholders, the party does not exist. Everybody here is a stakeholder, and with the calibre of people here, there is nothing stopping us from winning the election,” she said.

She said the party had the capacity to win but needed commitment, sacrifice, coordinated action and adherence to what she described as God’s direction.
“We have all the potency to win the election, and what we need is our time, commitment and, above all, our actions and prayers for God’s directive. Without God, nothing is possible,” she said.

Ekwunife also urged APC members to support President Bola Tinubu, citing what she described as evidence of his administration’s work across the South-East.

“We have every reason to vote for President Tinubu. If we move from here to Onitsha, from Enugu to Umuahia, the evidence of the President’s work is everywhere,” she said.

She urged party members to remain proud of the APC and work towards strengthening the party across the state’s wards.

“We should be proud of APC because it is doing well in the zone. We should be proud of our party. We must support all the wards in the state for APC to win,” she said.

Ekwunife also appealed to party stakeholders to avoid internal disputes that could undermine the party’s electoral efforts.

“We call on stakeholders to avoid all crises that are capable of derailing our dream of winning. Every party has a crisis, and these crises should not cost us our deserved victory and dreams,” she said.

She called for unity, collective action and sacrifice among party members, stressing that victory would require the commitment of all stakeholders.

“We must come together and work together for our success. For us to win, we must be collective and support each other. We must sacrifice our time, energy, resources and others, and it becomes meaningful only when we work as a team,” she said.

She further charged party members to protect and support the party’s candidates throughout the electoral process.

“Make sure that your candidates are your goal. Be their keeper and protect them at all times. APC is coming home, and your efforts shall not be in vain. We must work harder to win in the state,” she said.

Ekwunife also highlighted her previous record of constituency projects, saying she was among the first lawmakers to prioritise such projects and that communities across Anambra Central had benefited from her representation.

“I have the capacity and the drive to bring good things and development to Anambra Central. I have done that before, and I will do it again,” she said.

The APC Zonal Woman Leader, South-East, Dr. Oby Ajih, expressed confidence in Ekwunife’s candidacy, describing her as an experienced politician whose previous service had demonstrated her capacity.

“We must work hard to ensure that she wins. Her coming out is a blessing to us. If she is elected again, she will represent us well and effectively. What happened in Anambra in 2023 will not happen again,” she said.

Ajih also called for reconciliation among aggrieved party members, urging stakeholders to set aside their differences and unite behind the party’s candidates.

She appealed to all those who felt aggrieved to embrace forgiveness and work together in pursuit of the party’s electoral objectives.