2019: Imo Guber aspirant rejects ‘Direct Primary’

An All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship aspirant in Imo State, Chima Anozie, has urged his supporters to disregard the reports that the State chapter of the party has adopted indirect primary as the mode to elect its flag bearers in the 2019 general elections.

Anozie, who briefed the media after obtaining his expression of interest and nomination forms for Imo State Governorship race on Friday at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, noted that the State APC stakeholders have not met to take a position on the mode of primary for the elections.

A faction of Imo State APC, under the chairmanship of Chidi Nwafor met on Thursday in Owerri and announced that it has adopted indirect primary to elect its candidates.

The Imo APC position however is contrary to the directives of the National leadership of the party, which has emphasized that the party has adopted direct primary process for all categories of its election ahead of the 2019 polls.

Anozie, who was the first aspirant from Imo to pick forms ahead of the elections, maintained that the State can only take a position, in a meeting that would be attended by all the stakeholders from both factions.

“I want to make it known here that the Imo APC has not taken any position on its mode of primary for electing candidates for our elections. I am an aspirant, I have bought my expression of interest and nomination forms for the governorship election.

Can you say I am not a stakeholder in the party? Who were the stakeholders that met? This is about election and it is all about testing our popularity at the grassroots. Why then are we afraid of that aspect of our democracy?

“For the party to arrive at a position of the process, all the stakeholders must be in agreement as directed by the National leadership of our party. If not, Imo APC would face serious crisis that may affect its performance in the 2019 elections”, he noted.

The aspirant also said that for fairness, the APC governorship ticket should be conceded to the people of Owerri zone.