APGA plots PDP’s fall in S-East

By Tony Edike

ENUGU-The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, is striving hard to wrestle the South-East geo-political zone from Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

APGA’s game plan, anchored on alleged inadequate representation of the zone in PDP as well as in federal appointments so far made by the Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency, is likely to lead to a mass defection of PDP members to APGA soon, particularly in Anambra and Imo states.

Vanguard learnt that the move, strongly backed by the two APGA governors, Peter Obi and Rochas Okorocha of Anambra and Imo states, respectively, is aimed at swaying the support of Ndigbo for APGA, in view of their perceived marginalisation in political appointments and provision of amenities by the Federal Government.

Disturbed by PDP’s refusal to retain the position of its National Chairman in the South-East as well as the denial of the zone the opportunity to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Igbo in PDP believe that their massive support for the party in the last general elections was not acknowledged by the President and PDP leadership.

Some leaders of APGA were said to have initiated talks with some chieftains of PDP in the zone on the need to form a strong alliance that would give Ndigbo a bargaining power and reposition the zone for political patronage before the 2015 elections.

APGA is for Ndigbo – Chairman

Enugu State Chairman of APGA, Mr. Okechukwu Nkoloagu, who spoke on the development weekend, said APGA had remained the party for all Igbos, despite the fact that some states in the South-East were being governed by PDP.

He confirmed that there was a strong move to reposition the party ahead of 2015, to ensure that the feat achieved by Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the South-West in the 2011 election was re-enacted in the South-East in 2015.

As with ACN in S-West…

He said: “The issue is that we (APGA) are not wooing PDP because it is a well known fact that majority of PDP members in the South-East are members of APGA and everybody is aware of this. PDP has no genuine membership in Igboland.

“By 2015, what happened in the South-West will happen in the South-East. That is, APGA will take over the entire East like the ACN took over the entire West in this year’s elections.

“It is established that an Igboman can only have his say at the centre through APGA because past and present events in the country have shown that Ndigbo have no place in PDP.”