Abia PDP, Campaign Council Spokesmen bicker over party’s deputy governorship candidacy
PDP
Few days to Saturday’s governorship and state Assembly elections, the Abia State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Vice Chairman/Acting Publicity Secretary, Elder Abraham Amah, and the Publicity Secretary of the Party’s Campaign Council, Dr. Eze Chikamnayo, who is also the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, are bickering over who among two nominated candidates, Okey Igwe and Dr. Jasper Uche, is the authentic deputy governorship candidate of the party.
While Amah said it is Igwe, who was the former running mate to Prof. Eleazar Ikonne, the late party governorship candidate, Chikamnayo said it is Uche, who was appointed running mate to Ikonne’s successor, Okey Ahiwe.
Amah had told journalists at Umuahia, on Sunday, that although Uche’s name was forwarded to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, and Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, in a letter to INEC Chairman, dated February 20, 2023, replaced Uche’s name with that of Igwe, stating that Uche’s name was mistakenly submitted.
But Chikamnayo, while reacting to Amah’s statement, faulted him, saying that beside commenting on the deputy governorship candidacy matter, which, he said, was in court, Amah lacked authority to speak for the party in the state; hence; it was within his (Chikamnayo) authority to speak on such matter as Campaign Council Spokesman.
But, yesterday, while faulting Chikamnayo, whom Amah said spoke in his capacity as Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee of the Abia PDP Campaign Council, described Chikamnayo’s position as one that is “clearly subservient to the position of the state Publicity Secretary of the party.”
He said Chikamnayo “arrogated the powers to speak for Abia PDP to himself, which, in every imaginable circumstance, is a misnomer. He is not at liberty to speak for the party unless otherwise instructed, and the matter is clearly a party matter for which he has no authority to delve into.”
