Abia APC Ward, LG Congresses Successful -Deputy Speaker, Kalu, Party Scribes
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has commended the All Progressives Congress (APC) for conducting rancour free, successful ward and local government congresses in Abia State.
Speaking in Umuahia on Friday while making final appraisal of the recent exercise in Abia State, Kalu attributed the success of the congresses to the inclusive approach of the system, saying it is attracting new members to the party.
He said that the new approach has given the people a sense of belonging and ultimately returned the party to them.
Kalu expressed gratitude to the Congress Committee, the stakeholders and the leaders of APC from the national to the ward level for their untiring efforts in uniting the members, enjoining all to continue working in tandem with each other for victory in the forthcoming 2027 elections and beyond.
“This is to say that we are practicing what we preach and what we preach has been unity, peace, inclusivity. United we stand, divided we fall. It has never been this good since 2014. We have come of age and said there is no need to fight. Let’s return the party to the people. This is what they have expressed. There is upward surge into our party because people are feeling important and relevant. We are saying instead of this congress, let it unite us. People are seeing their nominees on the list. Not one person, sitting in his house and nominating for the entire State.
“Like the chairman of the committee said, I stayed back in in my own ward and local government. The reason is that I trust the leaders in various other local government areas and wards. I trust they have the capacity to produce who will lead them. And since we don’t have this deficit of trust, it will motivate and stimulate unity, respect for one another. We are united. No factions in Abia”.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman, Congress Committee of All Progressives Congress (APC) for ward and local government areas in Abia State, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Go’ar commended the members of the party in Abia for conducting themselves peacefully during the exercise.
He lauded the Deputy Speaker for showing leadership.
“If I were a teacher, I would score the success of the ward and local government congresses excellent. You cannot get excellent without a hard work. It comes as a result of the hard work. And I want to credit the success to the ground handlers. Like I said yesterday, they are the local organising committee right down to the ward which you have excellently constituted. I want to say here without any fear of contraction that they have done an excellent work and made our work very, very simple.
“I want to talk about the Deputy Speaker. When we came down to Abia State, I had expected him to be going round in the name of supervision, going here and there but to my greatest surprise, even his greatest ward, he didn’t go as if he was under house arrest. He just confined himself to his house and then participated in his ward and LG congresses and that was all. When I chatted with him and said Your Excellency, why are you not moving round, he said there is executive member he will he not work with when they emerge; that everybody from Abia State, whether he or she, he will conveniently work with that person. So, there is no point moving around, influencing any decision of the Committee. I give high commendation. I have even been sending interim report to the national chairman.
“We as members of this team are very grateful. We are highly impressed. I think with this spirit, we will maintain the tempo to the State Congress and I am sure, Abia State will be rated one of the best States in organising congresses.
“We will go back the national Secretariat and give a clear testimony of what you people have done here and the leadership of Your Excellency. This exercise has been excellent. Don’t relent. Maintain the tempo upt to the time we will come back for the State Congress. And then, Abia State will be rated as one of the best States in Nigeria. The President and the NWC are closely monitoring what is happening. And sincerely speaking, with what the national chairman told me, I feel satisfied.”
In his remarks, the National Welfare Secretary of the Party, Chief Donatus Nwankpa hailed the unity that currently exists in the party and the success of the congresses.
“This has been a very wonderful turning point in our political history. The calmness, understanding and the ability of our people to give up for other people to take over shows a new brand of leadership rooted in the culture of collegiate understanding. Most of the things you see are never as a result of an individual overlording. There have been consultations, deliberations, discussions and all persons coming together in a synchronized and synthesized level. We want to thank the Deputy Speaker. You have demonstrated strength and capacity, and we want to thank Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the former governor of this State, Hon. Minister of Labour, Nkiruka Onyejiocha, all our leaders who at every point participated in this. This has been all inclusive. And we have told those who for one reason or the other are not going back to the Executive, we need you more because our mission is that come 2027, APC will take over the governance of Abia State. We are not compromising that and for Mr. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, APC under this new leadership is not talking about 25 percent but overwhelming victory.
“We will win for our President, Governor, National Assembly members and House of Assembly candidates. And when the time comes, we will also win for chairmen and councillors. Let me thank the spirit of sportsmanship we saw in our people. There is an atmosphere of unity and conviviality. For you committee, you were not transactional. You came here to do what the party asked you to do”, he said.
Similarly, the chairman of the 7-man local organizing committee, Chief Marc Wabara represented by the former governorship candidate of the party in the State, Dr. Ayim Nyerere said that a new APC has emerged in Abia.
“We want to thank you for visiting Abia. We want to thank God for giving us a leader who has piloted, supervised and superintended the affairs of APC in Abia State since we adopted him as the Leader of APC in Abia State.
“Since the inception of APC, we have not had it this good. Our congresses were always characterized by violence but we witnessed in the last two days is a manifestation of the leadership we have presently in Abia State.
“The ward and Local Government congresses were rancour free, a testament to the new Abia APC that we now have. This has sent signals to all concerned, in the parties both the ones in power that come 2027, our President, Ahmed Tinubu will be returned. It is a new political dawn in Abia State. We want to thank you, what you saw on the field is a clear manifestation of what Abia State stands for now as far APC and politics is concerned. We want to thank you and also thank His Excellency, the Deputy Speaker. They said when the Righteous are in authority, the people will rejoice. Abia has gotten a brighter future. Forward ever, backward never”, he said.