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Tag: Uche Nwosu

  • Okorocha campaigns for AA’s Nwosu at APC rally

    Imo State Governor Rocha Okorocha on Saturday took advantage of the southeast zonal rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to campaign for the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) Uche Nwosu.

    Senator Hope Uzodinma is the APC governorship candidate but the governor is backing his son-in-law, Nwosu, who lost out in the battle for APC ticket.

    Despite the presence of wife of the President Aisha Buhari represented by wife of the vice president, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo and Uzodinma, Okorocha told voters to pick Nwosu over the APC candidate.

    He however declared support for President Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential race.

    According to Okorocha: “Imo victory for Buhari is designed sealed for Buhari. In Imo state we have 47 political parties and one of the perfect alliances is Action Alliance led by Uche Nwosu.

    “Nwosu is APC in spirit. APC owes Imo people an apology because of the injustice meted to Imo people.

    “In Imo state, Nwosu will win Imo state. It is not anti -party. We refused imposition in Imo state.”

    He went on:  “I am in charge and no sane youth will come and create tension in this state.

    “ Let me say this madam First Lady, this time around we are not here to ask you to campaign for Buhari, what my wife has done is to tell you that Buhari is on ground.

    Mrs. Osinbajo called on APC supporters lo vote for President Muhammadu Buhari.

    According to her: “I am here to represent the wife of the President of the wife of Nigeria. She has asked me to greet you all.

    “She said that everybody should vote APC, and that APC will win in every state. She says nobody should be sleeping on the day of election.

    “There must be no fighting because government is interested in women and youths.

    “I am proud to be a Nigeria woman because Nigeria women are beautiful, strong and successful. We are happy with the President because he is taking us to the next level with APC.”

    Southeast zone coordinator of APC, Nkechi Okorocha, said: “You all are welcome to the Southeast APC rally for women and youths in Imo state.  In 2019 our president will resume that seat that he has started.

    “We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for his genuine leadership and love for this country.

    “For the future to be secured Buhari is the only hope. We are here to say that Buhari must return.

    “The reason is that Buhari loves the unity of this country, he loves this country, so there is no vacancy in Aso Rock.

    “It is only Buhari that can complete what they have started. So that we know that indeed Nigeria is united.”

    Diginitries who attended the event included the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu; Imo state governorship candidate of APC Senator Hope Uzodimma; Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo North); Abia APC governorship candidate, Uche Ogar and Imo candidate of Action Alliance, Uche Nwosu.

  • Hoodlums disrupt APC women rally in Imo

     

    Armed youths suspected to be supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday disrupted the Southeast zonal rally for youths and women of APC in Imo state.

    The rampaging youths, who were chanting the praises of APC governorship candidate, Senator Hope Uzodinma, attacked supporters of the Action Alliance (AA) governorship candidate, Uche Nwosu.

    No fewer than 15 persons sustained severe injuries and were rushed to an undisclosed hospital.

    The Nation gathered that the APC candidate’s supporters were furious by the massive number of the Action Alliance supporters that attempted the rally.

    READ ALSO: 2018/12/08 Imo APC crisis irreconcilable, says Okorocha

    It took heavy shootings from security operatives to bring the situation under control.

    Governor Rochas Okorocha who was visibly angry over the development, said the thugs were hired from outside the state.

    “Before I start my speech, there should be absolute silence. All these youths making that noise while I am taking are not from Imo state.

    “I want you all to drop your posters and hands up. All the youths must take my instructions. I am here to support my wife who has put all these together.

    “I am in charge and no sane youth will come and create tension in this state.”

     

  • ‘No amount of blackmail can stop my support for Buhari’

    The governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), Uche Nwosu, has restated that no amount of cheap blackmail will dissuade him and his followers from supporting President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection.

    Nwosu who left the All Progressives Congress (APC) after the controversial governorship primaries, stated that the circumstance that forced him to dump the APC has nothing to do with President Buhari.

    He said that his support for the President is beyond personal considerations or party and religious inclinations.

    Nwosu argued further that those fighting to get the attention of the President by blackmailing him cannot deliver him in their booths because “they are not popular”.

    According to him, “Whether they blackmail us or not, the truth is that we have made up our minds to support President Buhari. If I will not be supporting President Buhari, I won’t be putting his pictures on my billboards and campaign posters, otherwise who am I deceiving. We have together with the governor of the state, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, made up our mind to support President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 and nothing can change that.

    Read Also: Imo APC ticket: I won’t succumb to threat – Nwosu

    “In 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari won with a wide margin in my Eziama-Obire Ward and in the 2019 election, despite being the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance, I will deliver President Buhari in my Ward but those running to Abuja to blackmail me cannot convince a single person to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “All those carrying the blackmail should come out and show us their supporters that will vote for President Buhari all they are interested in is to use the President’s name and compromise the election because they know that they don’t stand a chance in a free and fair election but that will not work in Imo State”.

    He added that those relying on rigging the 2019 governorship election will be disappointed as the people of the state will resist any such attempt.

    In his words, “We have implicit trust in the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under Marmood Yakubu to deliver a credible election. So those relying on rigging and other malpractices will fail. Imolites will resist any attempt to steal their mandate, the people’s vote must count.

    “In fact anybody thinking of rigging the 2019 election is making a big mistake because we will resist it, the youths of Imo state will resist it, the women and the leaders of the state will resist, if you are not popular, you are not popular and INEC knows that it is not possible to write result in Imo state. People should know that the era of sitting at home and writing results is gone

  • 2019: Rochas didn’t ask son-in-law to defect –Imo APC chair

    A CHAIRMANof the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State, Dan Nwafor, has dismissed reports that the state governor, Rochas Okorocha encouraged his son-in-law and Chief of Staff to the governor, Ogumba Uche Nwosu to defect to the Action Alliance.

    Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Nwafo said there was no evidence  that the state governor, Rochas Okorocha, asked his son-inlaw and other lawmakers to leave the party and join the Action Alliance, challenging  anyone with such information to make it public.

    He said: “The governor of the state, who is a cofounder of this party in Nigeria, is a senatorial candidate of the party. I am not aware that the governor permitted anybody to go to any party. If you have the proofs, bring them.

    “Uche Nwosu was the foremost governorship aspirant of the party and due to irreconcilable differences, he felt he should pursue his ambition elsewhere. As a state chairman, I am sad. Even though I need all my governorship aspirants to be in the party, I cannot stop him. “If he had decided to choose his political path, I will wish him well. But I will work for my party and my party will win.

    That is where I stand. Everybody planning to run for governorship position in Imo State in one way or the other is close to me. But will I say because I know them before, when they move to one party or the other, I am supposed to know where they are going to? I am the state chairman of the party, I will work for the party and I am committed to the party.

    “Anything that will make my party fail, I should be worried about it. So, whenever persons are leaving the party, I’m concerned. What is my job? What is our job? To see how we can make sure to bring other alternatives that can create tabling window elections.

    “When one person leaves, we are working hard to bring in five, six, seven who would replace them. APC is our party, and we are in the APC. The party is working together. For some people, it takes faster or longer for their wounds to heal. But we are all in the process of healing our wounds. We are working together, we must put our past behind us.

    The focus is that, President Buhari will win and all the candidates of our Party in APC Imo will win, so, we are working with everyone in Imo APC.”

  • Imo APC crisis irreconcilable – Okorocha

    Uzodinma, Nwosu snub APC peace Committee

    Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha,  Thursday,  gave a damming verdict on the post primary election crisis rocking the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating that the situation is irreconcilable.

    Okorocha told the Kano State governor Abdullahi Ganduje led APC Reconciliation Committee that everything has been done to resolve the issues but to no avail, heightening the fears that the party may not come out of the post primary election crisis that has engulfed it before the general election.

    Okorocha in his opening remarks at the meeting held at the Imo International Convention Centre (IICC), said that he honoured the meeting because of his relationship with the Chairman of the Committee (Ganduje) and former governor of Akwa Ibom state, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

    According to him, “there shouldn’t have been crisis in the party because of the affinity of the members, we are like one big family. When we came in 2011 it was a miracle, the who is who in Imo politics were against us but we won that election. We moved from APGA to APC because of the name of President Muhammadu Buhari which is synonymous withintegrity. I am a foundation member of the APC. I suggested the name APC.

    “When we started, we were called names, we were made to look like aliens in our state, this is the only state you have elected office holders that are of the APC extration. Those Oshiomole gave the tickets were not APC members, the worst political injustice in the history of Nogeria happened in Imo”.

    Read Also: Imo 2019: I will support Nwosu in any party- Okorocha

    He added that, “the only reason these people are here is because of Buhari,  not because they have benefitted. The issue we have is with Adams Oshiomole, he stole the mandate of the people and gave it away for reasons best known to him. The people here are concerned because the name of the person on APC ticket is not the candidate of their choice.

    “Let me make bold to say that this not about the people here but across the breadth of the state,  the name you here is Uche Nwosu.  But to me against all the speculations that I am leaving APC is not true, all the State and Local Government Executive is intact. We have done everything to resolve the issue but it appears to have gone beyond repair. The situation at hand has gone beyond what we can manage”.

    Chairman of the Committee, Ganduje,  however said that the first task of the Committee has been achieved as they have gotten the assurances of the Imo governor that he will remain in the party and will work for the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, stating that, “he has done it before and he will do it again”.

    Meanwhile the APC governorship candidate, Senator Hope Uzodinma and his faction of the party, snubbed the peace parley.

    Also absent was the former Chief of Staff to the Imo State Governor and the winner of the October 6 governorship election, Uche Nwosu.

    However hundreds of APC faithful loyal to the governor’s camp attended the meeting.

    Tempers rose at the beginning of the meeting when a clip of the Ahmed Gulak Committee meeting with party’s stakeholders when he cancelled the governorship primary before absconding the following morning to Abuja where he announced Uzodinma as the winner of the primary election.

     

  • Imo 2019: I will support Nwosu in any party- Okorocha

    …says aggrieved APC members will support Buhari

     

    Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha Tuesday said that he won’t stop his former Chief of Staff, Uche Nwosu from realizing his governorship ambition in any other political party other than the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    While reiterating that he (Okorocha) remains in APC, the governor however maintained that Nwosu will get his support in any party he chooses to run for the Imo governorship.

    Read Also:Imo APC ticket: I won’t succumb to threat – Nwosu

    He insisted that Nwosu remains his preferred governorship candidate, even though he may not be running under his party, the APC, describing the emergence of the APC governorship candidate, Senator Hope Uzodinma as the “worst imposition in Nigerian political history”.

    But the Imo governor assured reassured that his followers will deliver President Muhammadu Buhari, despite their grievances over the conduct of the (APC).

    According to him, “in the 2019 general election, we are going to vote for candidates and not political parties. I am in the best position to assess the candidates and I know that among all the governorship candidates, Nwosu remains the best. I have told Imolites to check the records of those clamoring to govern the state before voting for them.

    “What we saw in Imo APC was a clear case of injustice and the worst imposition in history. The party members are aggrieved and they will be moving to another party to pursue their ambitions but we are going to form alliance with whichever party they choose to deliver President Buhari”.

    He continued that, “what is happening in Imo APC is interesting and strange, a party known for uprightness, justice and fairness has exemplified by President Muhammadu Buhari, has been dented by the actions of the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole for whatever reasons he is yet to disclose.

    “I have been trying to manage the situation but I have no moral justification to stop the aggrieved candidates who felt shortchanged from realizing their ambitions in any other party but I have not left APC and does not intend to leave APC. But you must realize that in Imo we don’t play party politics but politics of individuals. People did not join APC because of anybody but because of me”.

    Nwosu when contacted assured that he will mobilize all the aggrieved APC members to work for President Buhari’s victory despite the provocation.

    Though silent on his next line of action towards actualizing his governorship ambition, Nwosu said that he remains the most popular governorship candidate in the state and will emerge the next governor of the state.

    He said, “the actions of the National Chairman will not affect our support for President Muhammadu Buhari. Our support and love for him transcends party affiliation, we are convinced that his reelection will be in the best interest of the Igbo in particular and Nigeria in general”.

  • Imo APC ticket: I won’t succumb to threat – Nwosu

    Former Chief of Staff to the Imo State governor, Uche Nwosu, has described the threat handed on aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to withdraw their Court actions or face sanctions by the National Working Committee of the party as an act of arm twisting and unacceptable.

    The APC NWC had threatened to invoke sanctions on all members of the party who took the party to Court over the fall out of the just concluded primaries, unless they withdraw the suits

    But Nwosu who is the winner of the October 6 APC governorship primary in Imo State, insisted that the threat of sanction will not stop him from pursuing his case to a logical conclusion and reclaiming his mandate.

    He stated that before approaching the Court over his stolen mandate as the authentic APC governorship candidate in Imo state, he had first of all made concerted efforts to have the leadership of the party resolve the crisis using internal mechanism to no avail.

    He disclosed that he had written several letters to the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole with the hope of bringing him to intervene and resolve the matter at the early stage but was rebuffed.

    Nwosu recounted that when he discovered through credible intelligence that Ahmed Gulak was not coming to conduct governorship primary in Imo but was assigned to deliver a certain aspirant, he raised the alarm through a letter to the National Chairman but was painfully ignored.

    Read Also: 2019: Igbo support for Buhari still intact – Nwosu

    According to him, “it is unfortunate that the National Chairman of our party is just waking up now after causing the trouble. He had all the time to have resolved the issue before now but refused to do so. In line with the constitution of the party, I had exhausted all avenues to have my matter resolved using internal mechanism but nobody came to my aid.

    “I personally wrote three different letters to the National Chairman and I have the acknowledgment but he never responded to any of the letters. My first letter was to inform that Ahmed Gulak was not coming to conduct primary election in Imo, that he was coming to impose a certain aspirant but he snubbed me, the second was to complain about how Gulak absconded to Abuja to announce fake result still he didn’t respond and the last one was to tell him not to substitute my name as the winner of the governorship primary.

    “All these letters were never considered by the National Chairman who went ahead to substitute my name, he had a lot of time to resolve the issue but he did nothing and now that I am in Court, I will pursue my matter to a logical conclusion and reclaim my stolen mandate, no amount of threat will make me abandon my mandate”.

    Meanwhile in one of the letters made available to journalists, Nwosu had raised concern over the appointment of Ahmed Gulak as the Chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee for the State.

    The said letter read in part, “I write to appeal to you Mr. Chairman to change the person of Gulak as Chairman of the committee because of his comment/boast that he is coming to Imo state to deliver his friend Senator Hope Uzodinma as APC gubernatorial candidate”.

    Nwosu argued further that the letters were abundant evidence that he had followed due process in seeking redress before approaching the Court “as the last hope of the common man”.

  • 2019: Igbo support for Buhari still intact – Nwosu

    Former Chief of Staff to the Imo State governor, Uche Nwosu, Friday dismissed the reported endorsement of the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, by a section of Igbo leaders as a ploy to create the erroneous impression that the Igbos are backing the PDP.

    He said that the support for Buhari by the Igbo is still intact.

    Nwosu stated that the endorsement by the selected leaders at the Enugu Summit does not reflect the position of Ndigbo and will not affect the chances of President Muhammadu Buhari in the Southeast.

    Read Also:PDP: Buhari, APC jittery over our candidate’s acceptance

    According to him, the Southeast has nothing tangible to show for its support for the PDP during its sixteen years in power to warrant the endorsement of its Presidential candidate or any other.

    The former Chief of Staff, who is also a stronger contender for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), assured that despite the post primary crisis rocking the party (APC) in the zone, President Buhari will still record landslide victory.

    In his words, “we are not losing sleep over the recent endorsement of Atiku by some Igbo leaders; the action will not change the reality on ground. The Southeast will deliver Buhari in 2019 because it is our best option. We cannot be distracted with the PDP’s Greek gift of Vice President, our focus as a people should be Igbo Presidency in 2023.

    “One important question we should be asking ourselves as Ndigbo is what did we benefit from the PDP for the 16 years it was in power to warrant the endorsement of its candidate, as against what we have recorded within the three years that President Buhari is in power”.

    He continued that, “most of the political decisions of some of our leaders are self-serving and not in the overall interest of the Igbo but this time we are committed to pursuing the best political option for the Igbo, which is supporting President Buhari’s second term.”

    Nwosu also added that, “the fact that majority of our party members are not happy with the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole over the manner he handled the party primaries across the zone does not affect our support for President Buhari. In fact it is beyond personal considerations, it is about the interest of Ndigbo and we will deliver President Buhari in 2019. The support for President Buhari is borne out his unequalled integrity and uprightness, which is what the country needs most now”.

  • I will reclaim my mandate before INEC deadline – Nwosu

    …. No plan to leave APC

    Former Chief of Staff to the Imo state governor, Uche Nwosu, Tuesday,  said that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Adams Oshiomole, will give him back the party’s governorship ticket before the December 1 Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deadline.
    Nwosu who was accorded a rowdy reception at the Sam Mbakwe Airport  by APC members, stated that he has no doubt that he will fly the party’s ticket in the 2019 governorship election.
    He dismissed as unfounded, reports that he is defecting from the APC to another where he hopes to actualize his ambition.
    According to him, the current  APC  governorship candidate, Senator Hope Uzodinma, “will not be governor of the state”.
    He stated that, “Uzodinma is a tenant in APC”.
    Nwosu who is laying claim to the governorship ticket of the party in the state, said that the Court will dispense justice in the matter.
    In his words, “I am the lawful governorship candidate of APC in Imo state. Our National Chairman did not respect the  rule of law and the constitution of our party in substituting my name for senator Hope Uzodinma.
    “The records are very  clear. I won the first primary election on October 2.I also won the second primary held on October 6.The records are there.The police, INEC and DSS reports affirmed my victories.
    “It is only for a matter of time.We will get justice in court.my name shall be on the ballot. I shall be announced as the APC governorship candidate in Imo state. Hope Uzodinma won’t be governor.”
    “There is no truth in the rumour that I have dumped APC for Democratic Alternative. I  am still in APC.I am a founding member of the ruling party.I won the ticket of the party and I shall led APC to victory in Imo state in 2019”.

  • INEC list: I am not distracted, says Nwosu

    The winner of the October 6 All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Imo State, Uche Nwosu on Saturday said that he is not distracted by the nominal list of governorship candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which did not include his name.

    He insisted that he is not deterred by the exclusion of his name on the provisional list but still undaunted in his ambition to be the next governor of the state.

    Nwosu whose name was substituted by the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomole, said that he still has faith in the judiciary, stating that he will employ all legitimate means to reclaim his mandate as the duly elected APC governorship candidate for Imo state.

    According to him, “My candidacy is not in contention as there are reports from relevant agencies affirming the October 6 primary election which I won, including that of the Police, DSS and INEC. So I am not worried over what is happening now because I know that it will only last for a while and my candidacy will be restored. I have faith in the Court to dispense justice”.

    He continued that the “Oshiomole’s decision not to obey a valid Court Order issued by a Court of competent jurisdiction restraining him and the party from forwarding any name other than my name as the APC governorship candidate will be defined by the Court because I believe in line with the principle of the rule of law,  which stipulates that no person is above the law, no matter how highly placed.

    “I am confident that all the irregularities perpetrated by Oshiomole will be reversed and the will of the members of our great party will prevail”.

    Read Also: Imo: My name has not been dropped – Nwosu

    It will be recalled that INEC in what could be described as a u-turn, displayed the name of Senator Hope Uzodinma as the APC governorship candidate at about 9pm, after it earlier declined to publish the APC candidate as a result of an Order of Court,  which restrained it from doing so.

    Recall that Oshiomole had during a press conference in Abuja, said that the NWC of the party had decided to adopt the cancelled result of the Ahmed Gulak Committee, which produced Uzodinma but which was rejected by the party for not complying with the guidelines for the primary.

    The Gulak Committee was subsequently disbanded and a new Committee led by Ibrahim Agbaboaka, a retired Army General was constituted to conduct a fresh governorship primary, which Nwosu won.