Three aggrieved former state assembly aspirants for Mbaitoli Council of Imo State on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have threatened to leave with their over 5,000 supporters.
According to Ikechukwu Nwaokpara, Ugochukwu Osuji and Solomon Amaezechi, the decision to leave was as a result of maltreatment and negligence by the party leadership.
The trio in a letter addressed to the party Chairman in the area, Chinonye Agogbuo, said they are giving the leadership a one-month ultimatum to settle their grievances or they would leave the party.
OsunDaily News reports that the aggrieved party chieftains accused the party leadership of imposing one Innocent Ikpamezie as the partyโs flag bearer for the seat against the peopleโs will, and the partyโs Constitution.
The move, they described as not only being unfair and unjust but also a means to shortchange them.
The trio appealed to Governor Hope Uzodimma to intervene in the matter or risk losing at the forthcoming elections in the area if nothing is done about the situation.
โWe condemn, in strong terms, acts of negligence, humiliation, ingratitude, lies, deceit, apolitical and selective attitude of the party leadership, as well as leaders of the party in Mbaitoli Council towards us, as this cannot take the party to victory in the forthcoming general elections,” the letter stated in part.
The aggrieved members advanced that the party in Mbaitoli doesn’t only need peace, unity, cohesion, and togetherness, it also needs to recognise its members, especially aspirants, who have contributed immensely to the growth of the party in other to win at the forthcoming general elections.
โWe are, indeed, not unmindful of the fact that APC leadership, as well as the party leaders in Mbaitoli, may have deceitfully been giving Governor Uzodimma the impression that all is well, while all is not well.
“We demand to see and meet with the governor to intimate him of the true state of APC in Mbaitoli Council and what he should expect.
We and our supporters, hereby, give APC leadership of Mbaitoli a one-month notice, after which we may quit the party, with a view to examining the political pendulum and announcing our next political destination โ the aggrieved chieftains noted.
In his reaction, the partyโs state spokesperson, Cajetan Duke, has begged them to take the path of dialogue and continue to keep faith in the party.
This article was originally published on OsunDaily News