Convention: Respondents in Imo condemn APC over Igbo exclusion

Residents of Imo State have strongly criticized the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for sidelining the South East zone in its leadership structure following last week’s national convention in Abuja. Many respondents described the exclusion as unfair and unrepresentative, expressing widespread dissatisfaction over the region’s absence from the party’s mainstream leadership.

The respondents, one after the other, were furious at the composition of the APC leadership which totally disregarded the South East interest. An analyst and commentator on national issues, Ebenezer Amadi, regretted that the APC had made itself a national party in power that promoted hatred, disunity while marginalizing Ndigbo as a zone.

“In an APC National Convention where the leadership of the party was made public, the ruling party mindlessly left out Ndigbo in its ranking positions. This is absolutely lamentable. It shows that the APC has no regard for the South East. The party, once again, through its new leadership, has demonstrated its hatred against Ndigbo”, Amadi stated.

He continued, “How many of your people got the statutory party positions? There is no Igbo man in key government positions and the zone is not also captured in the party statutory positions.

Take a look at this: The Igbo is not the national chairman, not the deputy national chairman, not the national secretary, not the woman leader, not the youth leader, and not even the national organising secretary of the APC. This is nothing but pure exclusion. It means APC does not pander towards the Igbo and what the nation represents”.

A community leader in Aboh Mbaise LGA of Imo State, Chief Charles Nwachukwu, noted that the APC, based on its present leadership positions, had confirmed the fears of many that the broom party was perfectly designed to deal ruthlessly with Ndigbo. According to him, “It is now clear that the APC does not have the interest of the South East at heart. How can a ruling party exclude an entire region from its leadership positions? I mean, the Igbo as zone is left out in the top ranking structure of the party and nobody is saying anything. For me, it is unacceptable”.

In his submission, the state deputy chairman, Imo ADC, Chief Demain Ezeagu, insisted that the senior Igbo members in APC were to blame for whatever wrong attitude the national leadership of the party had been effecting on the South East. He said, “The point is, our people at the top echleon of APC must be held accountable for whatever wrong doings the national leadership of the ruling party is administering to us, Ndigbo.

“Let me ask, our two governors from Imo and Ebonyi states – the former is the APC Governors Forum, there is a minister like Chief Dave Umahi, there is Sen Orji Uzor Kalu, as well as the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, The Rt Hon Ben Kalu, and several others. What is their contributions to the ill treatment usually meted out on the South East Zone? Have they complained? Have they politely protested? What efforts have they made in trying to correct these anomalies against Ndigbo”?

Ezeagu said the APC has over and over again showed its disfavour to Ndigbo. “You see, when the PDP was the ruling party, it gave Ndigbo senate presidents, five in all; it gave Ndigbo deputy speaker of the House of Representatives; it made Igbo wards the army commander, after 45 years; appointed a police IG, for the first time since Nigeria started; and equally named an Igbo as the Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“I still remember that the PDP as a ruling party made Enugu airport international, gave the South East a zonal police command, for the first time since independence. My question is, which has the APC done or given to South East? This is why the party is not popular in South East. This is why it has no following in the Igbo nation. APC should go and do better than it has been doing”, Ezeagu noted.