Talks advance for Ekweremadu to join APC

There are strong indications that former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, may join the All Progressives Congress (APC) as part of efforts to realise his governorship aspiration in Enugu State, as talks are now at an advanced stage for it.

The Guardian learnt, yesterday, that Ekweremadu and Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State had, on Monday, met with the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu.

The closed-door meeting was said to have lasted for three hours at the party’s secretariat in Abuja. Sources said that although the lawmaker had requested for Enugu governorship ticket of the party, he was, however, told to go join the party, adding that the APC had concluded its guber primary, where Chief Uche Nnaji emerged the governorship candidate.

At the end of the meeting, Uzodimma said: “We came to see my friend for a ‘tete –a – tete.’” But many believe that it was probably to make a case for Ekweremadu, who failed to participate in the governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which held last weekend in the state.”

Ekweremadu had announced his withdrawal from the race less than 24 hours to the commencement of the primary, apparently because of alleged irregularities in the conduct of the April 30 delegates’ election of the party.

Although he had relied on the court to right the alleged wrongs, the court had, however, dismissed the suit he filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Last Sunday, state chairman of the APC, Ugochukwu Agballah, told a news conference that he had rejected a plea by Ekweremadu to pick the governorship ticket of the party on the ground that the demand was “repugnant” and antithetical to the Electoral Act.

He further warned that the party would not give its ticket to Ekweremadu because Nnaji already won the ticket. Despite the dark clouds over the move, supporters of the former deputy senate president were optimistic, yesterday, that their principal would realise the dream of flying the APC’s governorship flag in the 2023 elections, stressing that there was ample time to do so.