A group, Concerned Imo Labour Party Youths, has appealed to delegates to the party’s governorship primary to elect Chief Joseph Ukaegbu as candidate for the upcoming governorship poll in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the primary election is scheduled for April 13.
The group’s Leader, Mr Emmanuel Ekeji, made the appeal, while addressing newsmen on the resolution reached at its meeting in Owerri.
Ekeji described Ukaegbu, popularly called Chief Ikenga, “as the only gubernatorial aspirant of the party, who had been with the party from the scratch”.
He said that all other aspirants, who did not care about LP, “joined now because of the wave of the Obidient Movement”.
Ekeji also said that Ukaegbu was a pioneer member and candidate of LP in 2019, who gave other candidates a good challenge and refused alleged offers by political parties to woo him.
He said that, as a man who saw tomorrow, Ukaegbu remained in LP patiently, waiting for its glory days to come.
“This has come through with the emergence of Mr Peter Obi as the LP Presidential Candidate.
“Today, Chief Ikenga is standing on the stage side-by-side fellow great sons of Imo, who are equally in the race for Imo governorship ticket.
“One of them must bear the flag for LP in the forthcoming Imo governorship election in November.
“We urge party delegates to ensure they don’t hand over LP structure in the state to the All Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.
According to him, the rate of infiltration into LP is expected, but we don’t expect delegates to be deceived into electing alleged APC surrogates to hold the LP ticket.
“This is a very sincere counsel to our dear delegates,” he said.
Also, a Zonal Coordinator of the group, Mr Osinachi Mbaoma, said it was better to elect “the only original LP member among the aspirants than make the mistake to sell Imo LP to APC.”
Mbaoma said Ukeagbu’s greatest passion was to help the poor, “which is exactly the kind of man Imo state needs as a governor.
“Chief Ikenga has the required wisdom and intellectual sagacity to turn the fortunes of Imo around, especially with his global network and experience.
“He is an investor per excellence, who knows exactly how to unlock the prosperity of Imo.
“Indeed, he has the solution for Imo.
“His political structure – Imo Solution – is not just a name, but the real definition of who Chief Ikenga is and what he stands for.
“We therefore urge Imo LP delegates not to go for old names and faces in Imo politics.
“We need a true servant-leader like David, who was in the bush with his father’s flock, doing great exploits behind the scene,” Mbaoma said. (NAN)
