.Ticket Winners Afraid Opponents May Go To Court After Elections
Even as none of the candidates from Imo State who will carry the party’s flag for next year’s general election has come out in the open to express reservations about the troubles bedeviling the state chapter of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in recent times, Trumpeta can reveal that there is fear of the unknown in the party.
The fear of the unknown has to do with the status of the candidates who emerged after the primaries in Owerri, the state capital.
Our correspondent who was at the party office on Okigwe road, Owerri, scooped from officials and candidates during their discussion that the issue of two separate Supreme Court judgments concerning which faction is properly in charge of the state chapter of APC is still a serious matter worrying the party members.
Two factions of the party led by two different persons are laying claim to the state APC offices in Imo. While that of Macdonald Ebere is holding forth to power, sacked Dan Nwafor team is still claiming to be the recognized officers.
A flashback reveals that in early month of 2019, the exco of Nwafor was sacked by the National Working Committee led by Adams Oshiomole, for Prince Marcon Nlemigbo led caretaker committee to take over. But their mandate expired after the congress and the handed over to duly elected officials led by Ebere. These actions prompted Nwafor to go to court and won at various levels before Supreme Court gave final judgment on May 27, 2022. Before the party could assimilate the judgment, another one in favour of Ebere came early June to rubbish earlier judgments in favour of Nwafor.
Based on these developments the candidates of the APC who emerged after the primaries are edgy that since the exercises were conducted with Ebere incharge of the party before the latest Supreme Court judgment that nailed the planned stay of Nwafor, candidates of opposition parties who may lose at the end of 2023 elections may go to court to challenge their status to stand the polls due to factional differences rocking the party.
It was learnt from officials of the state party secretariat that the APC candidates are also consulting lawyers and making inquiries from legal experts about the implication of their candidacy for the election.
This newspaper learnt that what happened in Zamfara after the 2019 election is another pointer giving the APC ticket bearers cold feet in Imo ahead next year’s election.
