Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, on Sunday had a taste of the resentment pervading the state, when angry residents in Aba revolted, booing and pelting him as well as his associates with sachet water.
This is coming a few days after youths from Ukwa, in Abia South Senatorial District, shut down oil wells in the area in protest of Ikpeazu’s candidacy, claiming that they were shortchanged.
Trouble stated for Ikpeazu, at the climax of the annual Half Marathon organised by a local radio station, at Enyimba Stadium in Aba, when some PDP supporters tried to hoist his banner.
Daily Sun gathered that this had attracted opposition from the crowd, shouting: “No, no, no; we don’t want him; No, no, no; we don’t want him; he is not our choice for the governorship; he is not our choice for the governorship.”
This vehement opposition by the crowd, it was gathered, stalled the hoisting of Ikpeazu’s banner, as the people openly threatened to shut down the stadium if the contrary was done.
When it appeared that everything was over and the master of ceremony began to recognise dignitaries, the crowd went wild when the name of Ikpeazu, who was seated at the VIP stand of the stadium, was mentioned. The crowd started booing again and shouting: “We don’t want him; we don’t want him; we don’t want him; go away, go away, go away.”
Also, when the name of Senator Enyinnaya Abiribe, who got automatic ticket to return to the Senate for the third time, was mentioned, the crowd also booed.
Ikpeazu, who was dazed by the crowd’s reaction, was to face a more embarrassing situation when he was leaving the stadium. The crowd shifted attention at him and surged forward, pelting his convoy with sachet water, booing and shouting: “Go, go; we don’t want you; go, go; we don’t want you.”
It took the effort of security personnel attached to the PDP governorship candidate to shield him from being physically assaulted.
…Ukwa youths insist on governorship, shun reconciliation committee
By OUR REPORTER
Youths of Ukwa in Abia South Senatorial District of Abia State have insisted on having the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 polls, saying that no amount of falsehood by Abia Government officials could change there course.
The youths are also distancing people of the area from the Reconciliation Committee set up by the state government and headed by a former national chairman of PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, describing it as an insult to their sensibilities.
Youths from Ukwa last week protested what they described as shortchange in the political equation of the state in that they were relegated to the background politically when they were supposed to produce the next governor of the state.
To drive home their grievances, the youths shut down oil wells in the area and blocked the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway causing heavy gridlock on the ever-busy Highway.
Reacting to the youths’ protest, the Special Adviser to Abia State governor on Security, Chief Ukpai Agwu Ukpai said the youths should not have protested since the person picked by the PDP to carry the banner of the party in the 2015 gubernatorial polls was from their area.
He was also quoted to have advised the youths that instead of protesting, they should embrace the Reconciliation Committee set up by the state government.
Piqued by the reaction of Ukpai, the Ukwa Youth Renaissance Forum in a statement by its co-ordinator, Mr. Dennis Nwankwo and the secretary of Ukwa Youth Volunteer Vanguard, Prince Uche Iwezor insisted on the people of the area having the governorship in 2015.
They said Ukpai was not saying the truth when he said the person the PDP in the state had chosen as its candidate in the governorship race in 2015 was from their area, stating that Ukwa is distinctly different from Ngwa.
According to them, “the man who said that the PDP governorship candidate is from our area is either he does not know what he is talking about or deliberately decided to stand the truth on its head to achieve a set goal.”
They said they had nothing to do with the Reconciliation Committee set up by the state government, stressing that such committee was set up to insult the sensibilities of PDP members in the state and as such, none of their people would have anything to do with the committee.
The youths said Ukwa people had suffered for long in the mist of plenty, adding that they were no longer going to play second fiddle in Abia South in particular and the state in general.
“They said they had set up a Reconciliation Committee, for who? Whom are you going to reconcile, the person you purposely injured? Our people will have nothing to do with that committee, it is an insult.
“We have suffered much for long in the mist of plenty and we are no longer going to play any second fiddle again. It is either we have the governorship of the state or nothing,” they said.
Youths of Ukwa in Abia South Senatorial District of Abia State have insisted on having the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 polls, saying that no amount of falsehood by Abia Government officials could change there course.
The youths are also distancing people of the area from the Reconciliation Committee set up by the state government and headed by a former national chairman of PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, describing it as an insult to their sensibilities.
Youths from Ukwa last week protested what they described as shortchange in the political equation of the state in that they were relegated to the background politically when they were supposed to produce the next governor of the state.
To drive home their grievances, the youths shut down oil wells in the area and blocked the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway causing heavy gridlock on the ever-busy Highway.
Reacting to the youths’ protest, the Special Adviser to Abia State governor on Security, Chief Ukpai Agwu Ukpai said the youths should not have protested since the person picked by the PDP to carry the banner of the party in the 2015 gubernatorial polls was from their area.
He was also quoted to have advised the youths that instead of protesting, they should embrace the Reconciliation Committee set up by the state government.
Piqued by the reaction of Ukpai, the Ukwa Youth Renaissance Forum in a statement by its co-ordinator, Mr. Dennis Nwankwo and the secretary of Ukwa Youth Volunteer Vanguard, Prince Uche Iwezor insisted on the people of the area having the governorship in 2015.
They said Ukpai was not saying the truth when he said the person the PDP in the state had chosen as its candidate in the governorship race in 2015 was from their area, stating that Ukwa is distinctly different from Ngwa.
According to them, “the man who said that the PDP governorship candidate is from our area is either he does not know what he is talking about or deliberately decided to stand the truth on its head to achieve a set goal.”
They said they had nothing to do with the Reconciliation Committee set up by the state government, stressing that such committee was set up to insult the sensibilities of PDP members in the state and as such, none of their people would have anything to do with the committee.
The youths said Ukwa people had suffered for long in the mist of plenty, adding that they were no longer going to play second fiddle in Abia South in particular and the state in general.
“They said they had set up a Reconciliation Committee, for who? Whom are you going to reconcile, the person you purposely injured? Our people will have nothing to do with that committee, it is an insult.
“We have suffered much for long in the mist of plenty and we are no longer going to play any second fiddle again. It is either we have the governorship of the state or nothing,” they said.
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