About 15 gubernatorial aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Imo State have adopted Ike C. Ibe as their consensus candidate.

The aggrieved aspirants announced their position under the platform of Imo APGA Governorship Aspirants Forum.

In a statement by their spokesperson, Dr. Sam Amadi, they promised not to accept the reconciliatory moves by the party’s standard-bearer, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, or the Jerry Chukwueke-led National Reconciliatory Committee, until the right thing was done.

In the “Public Statement on the Botched Imo APGA Governorship Primaries,” they hinged their decision on the inability of APGA leadership to organise credible governorship primaries in the state.

The aspirants, among others, had last week broken away from the main party, and named Ibe the National Chairman of a New All Progressives Grand Alliance (N-APGA).

The statement said: “The forum expressed its continued disappointment at the inability of the national leadership of the party to realise its gross violation of the party’s constitution and election guidelines and wanton disregard for the rights of its members.

“The forum expected the national leadership to respond to these concerns, and expressed its unrelenting commitment to ensure that these violations are successfully challenged in court.”

The aspirants urged the public to disregard the rumours that they were planning to reconcile with the leadership of APGA.

While stating that they don’t have any personal grievance with Ararume, they insisted that they would not attend any meeting with him, as long as the national leadership has not clearly stated that no primaries were held in Imo for the 2019 elections.

“The only condition under which members of the forum would meet with any member of the APGA reconciliation team, no matter who leads it, is if the national leadership unequivocally and publicly declares that it has not selected any governorship candidate for the party in the state,” the forum said.

They described as fraud, the collection of about N4 billion from them as nomination and expression of interest forms, without holding primaries.

The forum promised to prosecute its petition with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the criminal extortion by the party’s leadership.
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