Concerned APC Members Oppose Valentine Ozigbo’s Defection to Party
AWKA/Nigeria: A group under the aegis of Concerned Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State has rejected plans by Valentine Ozigbo, the 2021 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to join the party.
The group urged the national leadership of the APC to reject Ozigbo’s move, which they alleged was solely an attempt to use the party as a platform to contest the forthcoming governorship election. They claimed that Ozigbo, a known loyalist of the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, had concluded plans to defect to the APC and contest for its ticket in the April 5 primary.
Chief Festus Ezeako, chairman of the Concerned APC Members, warned the party against admitting Ozigbo, accusing him of bringing denominational politics into the fold. He cautioned that the APC must resist any attempt to introduce religious sentiments into its affairs.
“Ozigbo made a U-turn from the Labour Party and is now on his way to join the APC. He has already begun whipping up religious and denominational sentiments even before fully joining the party,” Ezeako alleged.
“The bad news is that the denominational politics they used to destroy the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Labour Party is the only value he is bringing to APC. He is hinging his desire to join APC on religious and denominational grounds, which the party must reject instantly.”
Ezeako recalled that during the 2021 Anambra governorship election, Ozigbo and his supporters secured endorsements from Catholic bishops in Anambra and beyond but still lost the election. He noted that stakeholders in the state had rejected the religious sentiments promoted by Ozigbo, leading to widespread resentment among other denominations.
“All of them put together did not support him, and he failed. He will fail again because denominational sentiment has become a vexed issue in Anambra State governorship elections,” he stated.
The APC chieftain also dismissed Ozigbo’s political relevance, arguing that his defection would only serve as a distraction. He claimed that the “Obedient Movement,” which Ozigbo had aligned with in the last election, had since lost momentum and was never his political structure to begin with.
“Ozigbo’s entry into APC will be a distraction. He is neither coming in with any political structure nor strong influence. The Obedient Movement has since fizzled out, and it was never his structure anyway. So, of what value is Ozigbo’s entry into APC if not to cause confusion in a party that does not accept religious and denominational division?” Ezeako queried.
