APC youths protest exclusion of Ekwunife , insist no primary without her as confusion rages at Olivia Montage Hotel , venue of primary

www.odogwublog.com reports that confusion best describes the situation at the venue of the ongoing All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries for selection of the candidate for the forthcoming Anambra Central senatorial zone re-run elections billed for February 23rd this year.
Confusion again at the venue was whether Ekwunife will truly participate in the primary election, having been purportedly disqualified by the party’s screening panel but her members were there in their thousands.
But as at 18: 54 pm, accreditation was only about to start whereas the participants gathered as early as 7 am for the event, even though there was no National committee member or that of the South-East officials of the party as at the time of filling the story. The state leadership was however there.
Members were asked to go outside the hotel for accreditation to start but when they noticed it was a ploy to maneuver the process they refused and Police men were drafted in to chase away the intimidating crowd inside the hotel premises along Onitsha-Enugu express way when they refused.
They were chased outside the venue as time of writing this report even as so many members decided to leave from the venue.
Again, Barr Mrs Sharon Ikeazor  arrived the venue but Mrs Uche Ekwunife was not at the venue as at the time of filing this report but their supporters were in their thousands waiting patiently.
It was a war between the new comers and old members of the party as the old members said it is going to be Ikeazor while new members insist Ekwunife.
The leadership of the  party was confused because the members of supporters of Ekwunife on ground if allowed to participate would win the primary and from developments there, Ekwunife was still in the race against disqualification blues flying around.
New members of APC from PDP and APGA insisted Ekwunife is the only one who can truly battle and defeat the duo of PDP and the APGA.
One of her supporters said, “What we have been telling the old APC members to take into consideration is the fact that they need to field a very popular candidate, a candidate who has address, not just anyone, because they need someone who has been in the party for donkey years.
“We also think that some of them have started realizing that they need a candidate who can represent them in the main election.” He said.
The election has already taken the shape of a battle between new members of the party who joined Mrs Ekwunife after decamping from the PDP, against the old members who have remained in the party


APC youths protest exclusion of Ekwunife , insist no primary without her

Youth wing  of Anambra chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC have protested attempts by the leadership of the party to hold a nocturnal primary election for one out of the two aspirants contesting the ticket of the party for the Anambra Central Senatorial election.
The youths allege that everything at the Olivia Montage Hotel venue of the primary election are all shrouded in secrecy, as no member of the executive has accepted to address journalists or even party supporters on what was going on since early morning they thronged the venue.

Arrival of Barr Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, sparked off protests by the youths of the party making it look as if the primary is only for her. She refused to address them despite the solidarity song.
 Hon Ebele Obi, a former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly who spoke on her behalf assured members of the party that she will emerge as the candidate of the party at the end of the day as loose ends were being knotted.

He said, “This is the one we know, she has remained our own and we can always vouch for her. She is very qualified for the job, and we will support her for this election. She will win the primaries and also go ahead to win the election.

“We are all insisting on a primary election, but it will be a walk over for her, and we are very confident of that.” Obi said.
 Almost immediately, arrangement started for accreditation, but the youths insisted that the party has two aspirants, and as such, a primary election cannot be held for just one of them.

They stoutly resisted, asking anyone who was planning to go on with the election without Mrs Ekwunife should not do so in the interest of the party
Yet nobody has addressed the members of the party who trooped out to witness the election since very early in the morning. They have become disenchanted that even the three man committee from the national headquarters of the party who are in the state to conduct the election had whispered to some party leaders that they were in the state to harmonize and affirm Mrs Ikeazor as the candidate of the party.
The members of APC especially new comers were asking that a primary election be conducted for the two aspirants, since a recent press release the national and state sent out, stated that the party was ready to give fair playing field to all aspirants.
But, interestingly, supporters of both Ekwunife and Ikeazor have insisted that a primary election be conducted, exuding confidence that their aspirants will win the election on fair grounds.
National officers of the party who were drafted to conduct the election have since left the venue of the election, following refusal by members of the party in the state to accept the affirmation of Barr Ikeazor, but the party members were still there waiting.
Hon Elias Onyeagu, former chairman of Dunukofia chapter of APC said that APC must beware as imposition of candidate was the reason PDP has lost steam, and that if imposition is truly the reason for their traveling down to Awka from Abuja, then the party has started dying.