From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
Stakeholders of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State have called on former governor of the state, Mr. Peter Obi, to return to his former party and contest the presidential election in 2019 on its platform.
The group told Obi that returning to APGA could be better for him than remaining in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because he has no chance of making any meaningful political gain there.
Speaking at a meeting, a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka informed the former governor that his decision to contest the Anambra central rerun election under the platform of PDP would not work in his favour because PDP is not popular enough to win the election.
Ezeonwuka said besides, the PDP is not likely to field a candidate in the rerun election, begging Obi to return to APGA and join the race for presidency under the platform of his former party, APGA.
“It is our earnest wish to see APGA as the rallying political point for the South East geopolitical zone and somebody like Peter Obi can be useful to that effect.
“We want to build on APGA so that we can achieve better interest from the bargains of the power play at the centre, the way South West used the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
“So, why can’t we use APGA in the South East here? This is why we are asking our former governor to drop his senatorial ambition and come back to APGA and let’s build on the party.”
Convener of the meeting, Tony Uche, who is the senior special adviser to Governor Willie Obiano on Youth Mobilisation dismissed Obi’s senatorial ambition and noted that the good performance of APGA government under Obiano, has invariably made the candidate of APGA for the Anambra Central senatorial rerun election, Chief Victor Umeh the choice of the people of Anambra Central.