Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi state, Monday, urged the All Progressives Congress, (APC) members in Ebonyi state to see anyone in the party as a member despite when a person joined the party.
He said there is nothing like foundational APC members, and foundational Peoples Democratic Party members, adding that there is nobody in the party that was not in one party before the other.
The governor disclosed this in Abakaliki, during the APC stakeholders meeting on Monday.
Umahi noted that if APC did not need more members, the party will not be doing everything to win more Governors from PDP.
He stated: “There is nobody here that was not in one party before the other. So, we are all joining APC at different time. And so, there is nothing like foundational APC members, foundational PDP members, there is nothing like that.
“If APC did not need more members, they will not be doing everything to win more Governors from PDP, this is very vital and we demonstrated this in the caretaker committee and they came together, they are not working as old APC old PDP, they are working as APC and this is what we emphasized” he stated.
Umahi called for transparency and consensus in the forthcoming congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
He maintained that despite APC insisting on consensus, that the consensus must be tested in the field to ensure the emergence of popular candidates and rancor free exercise.
The governor stated that anyone who wants to contest should be allowed to do, even as he urged members of the party to work together to ensure its victory in 2023 general elections.
“Our party emphasizes consensus but this consensus must be tested in the field because if you say that this person is the most popular and acceptable by the people, the will of the people must prevail if we want to win elections.
“Consensus does not mean that we will stay in Abakaliki and results of those who will represent the rural people that is not consensus. Consensus is where at least 80% of the stakeholders of a particular ward agree that these people are the most popular people not when one or two stakeholders say these are the list, I don’t think this is what we are looking for.
“So, we will like to have transparent congress, we will like the rural people to have their say so that our elections will be rancor free, so that there will be peace.
“We are not going to stop anybody from buying form, nobody is going to be stopped from buying forms. anybody who refused to be abide by the consensus arrangement at the ward must be allowed to stand the election”, he said.
Earlier, the state Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC, Hon. Stanley Okoro Emegha, urged the party members to work together to ensure the success of the congresses.
He called on them to follow the right channel in tabling their grievances whenever they feel aggrieved.
“We will never allow anybody to change the narratives. We have a lot of avenues by Ebonyi behaviour and the provisions of the constitution to handle issues if you feel aggrieved. Writing to the national is not the best because nobody from outside will come in between to solve our problems, we will solve our problems by ourselves”, he noted.