Chieftain of the APC in Ebonyi State, and the chairman, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Elias Mbam yesterday said the defection of Governor David Umahi from PDP into the All Progressive Congress (APC), will boost the chances of the party in 2023 general elections in Ebonyi state.
Mbam spoke to journalists in Abakaliki after stakeholders meeting with the Governor in Osborn hotel Uburu during which the Umahi disclosed his plan to resign from PDP and join APC.
Mbam who was one of the major stakeholders of the party that attended the meeting told journalists that the Governor coming into the APC has added more advantage to the party and expressed hope that APC will take over the mantle of leadership in Ebonyi State come 2023.
“The Governor made it clear that whoever he has offended should forgive him. He said we are one family and decisions will not be taken in the party by him alone.
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“APC as a party in the state was already moving forward and had a lot of chances of winning 2023 elections. Umahi coming into the party has added more advantage to the party. So, it is as good as we are going to sleep because we are certainly going to win 2023 election in the state”.
“We want to see south more relevant at the centre and I see Governor Umahi’s decision to join the APC as a wise and commendable decision. It is good for our state Ebonyi, it is good for south-east and it is good for the Igbo nation.
“Ebonyi state needs to be at the centre. The best way of being represented in a meeting is to be present. If Ebonyi state is not present where major decisions are taking, certainly, it will affect what we get from there. . So, our being at the centre will enable our fair share to be actualized. So, I support the Governor’s decision to join our great party and I will support him to ensure that this his decision is realized”, he stated.
Correspondent reports that Umahi at the critical APC stakeholders meeting which the minister of science and technology Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, APC BoT member chief Austin Edeze were conspicuously absent, told those in attendance that it was important to note that by 2023 the Igbos would have served the PDP for over 20 years and it was high time Ndigbo started asking what was the stake of the Igbos in the Nigerian polity. That their protestation in PDP was because the party has not factored the Igbos into their scheme that ‘the southeast people are not conquered, people’.
Umahi said he believes that a lot of openings will be up for Ebonyi State and Igbos in the APC especially if there is an alliance between the Southeast and northerners.
The Governor is billed to officially defect to APC within the week with members of the state executive council some state Assembly members and 99% of his appointees.
