APGA Stakeholders condemn Sly Ezeokenwa alleged interference in Onitsha South stakeholders nomination exercise...as Alor emerges victorious
By Cyprian Ebele, Onitsha
With few days to the conduct of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) primaries for local government election, the National chairman of APGA, Chief Sly Ezeokenwa, has been accused of conducting a parallel APGA stakeholders nomination exercise in Onitsha South Local Government area outside the one generally ageed upon.
According to a chieftain of the party, Michael Abia, "It was agreed by the Onitsha South stakeholders that we will conduct our nomination exercise on the 9th of February 2026 at the council secretariat but all of a sudden the APGA chairman in the Local Government, Chief Uche Umennakenyi, said that the nomination exercise date and venue have been cancelled.
"We didn't know it was a ploy to maneuver the nomination exercise in their favour as Umennakenyi through WhatsApp messages to some stakeholders said the venue is no longer council secretariat but Notion hotel located opposite the council secretariat and same 9th February.
"We heard Sly Ezeokenwa, APGA national chairman, has a candidate who will not win if the nomination exercise is done by registered stakeholders at the Secretariat and so he backed up the parallel one, using the party chairman in the area without informing the local Government area chairman, Chief Emeka Orji, who is the APGA leader, of the latest development, change in venue.
"We, stakeholders unanimously agreed to disregard the sudden WhatsApp messages sent to few individuals by the Local Government Party Chairman, Umennakenyi as such cancellation ought to be on party letterheaded papers signed and dated by appropriate officer(s)," he stated.
In a swift reaction when contacted, the chairman of the Local Government area, Orji, expressed disappointment over the purported cancellation of the election, stating that he did not receive any formal notice of the cancellation and that the stakeholders had been informed by the party chairman, Umennakenyi, that the election would hold 9th February at the council secretariat
"I contacted appropriate quarters in Awka, most of them expressed disappointment about the cancellation. Even till this moment, I heard Umennakenyi the local government party chairman was circulating the notice of the cancellation, he didn't call me, the leader of the local government, he didn't send any message.
"I heard they want to conduct an election at Notion Hotel in front of the Council building, so they cancelled the election here at the Local Government Secretariat without any reason and went to the hotel in front of the council Secretariat building to conduct the election, all the party faithful, even the voters were here.
"I'm waiting for the report of the election to come out, based on the report, I can be able to give an account of what happened here today, There was an alleged attempt to maneuver but their preferred candidate, Peter Ikechukwu Mofunanya is unpopular.
"People knowing you by your name, you felt you are popular, but when it comes to voting system, you find out that you are not popular, as a mayor of this council, I will like somebody that will do more than me, somebody that has the heart to govern Onitsha South Local government system" Orji posited.
However, despite the antics of the party chairman in the area and his cohorts, the scheduled nomination exercise was carried out at the council secretariat through secret ballot voting where out of 53 valid votes cast, Nduka Alor won land slide by scoring 28 votes while the runner up, Dr. Emeka Anaebonam, got 12 votes, 3rd position went to Hon. Peter Mofunanya with 11 votes and the 4th contestant, Promise Egbeji, had 2 votes and one vote declared invalid.
The returning officer, Paul Onuachalla, had in his post election speech described the election as a seamless exercise, transparent, free and fair adding that everybody voted according to his/her conscience, and lauded all for a job well don.
On the purported conduct of a parallel stakeholders nomination exercise at Notion hotel, he stated that, "Any other stakeholders nomination exercise outside the council secretariat is illegal and unacceptable. We heard the APGA national chairman is responsible that he has a candidate and we condemn it in totality."
In his contribution, the Special Adviser to the Mayor on Political Matters, Comrade Chiadikobi Dunu expressed satisfaction with the peacefully conduct of the election even as he condemned the cancellation of the meeting at the council Secretariat which he said was the authentic venue while the same meeting was ongoing in a hotel outside the secretariat.
He pleaded to the appropriate quarters to allow peace to reign stating that the introduction of a parallel stakeholders nomination exercise by the national chairman of APGA just for his candidate to win makes him to condecend so low.
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