Assembly candidates seek Tinubu’s intervention

The 24 All Progressives Congress candidates in the 2023 Abia State House of Assembly election have called on President Bola Tinubu to wade into the crisis and put an end to the factionalisation of the party in the state.

This came as the only elected APC lawmaker in the State House of Assembly, Mr Anderson Akaliro led the other candidates on a reconciliation mission to Abuja on Monday.

In a communique tagged “Abia APC crisis peace initiative,” issued on Monday, Akaliro called on the national leadership of the party to, as a matter of urgency, convene a meeting and invite all leaders and stakeholders of the party to seek an end to the impasse.

The meeting, he said, should include the South East zonal caucus, Abuja-based party gladiators, key stakeholders, the 2023 APC candidates to the Abia House of Assembly, Federal House of Representatives and Senate.

“With all sitting at a round table to get the commitment of the leaders and interest groups to a peace accord,” the communique read partly.

The communique further read in part, “We are calling on President Tinubu, the APC national leadership and the National Assembly members from Abia State and all individual factions to come together so that the factions within the ranks and files of the party would be dissolved into one indivisible unit.

“We are aware of the forthcoming congress, and we employ the party leadership to commit to ensuring that all interest groups are duly represented in the state, local government areas, and ward party positions.”

This, according to him, will be a prelude to a free and fair party primaries in 2026.

“We want peace in the Abia APC because there are multiple factions, which is why we lost the election.

“24 of us contested for the State Assembly election and 23 lost; the factions contributed to our loss. We only have one person as an APC member who won the election,” he lamented.

While describing the interface as fruitful, he added, “A few people who are benefitting from the crisis tactically avoided the meeting of the reconciliation team in Abuja.”

According to him, “The facade of unity is but a veil over the fissures that have led to our collective losses in political contests, and it is time for introspection and action. The potential within our ranks is immense, with leaders of influence and respect. It is our firm belief that through reconciliation and unity, the APC in Abia State will emerge stronger and victorious in future electoral endeavours.”

Akaliro called on the party to take advantage of the influx of new members into the party to forge a common front that would enable APC in the state to wage war against its common enemy and prepare grounds for victory in future elections.

The meeting was held at the Abuja residence of prominent party chieftain, Hon Dike Uche.