The continuous appearances of Andoni Local Government chapter of the All Progressives Congress APC on the news particularly on the negative perspective are steps calling for the needed change within the party first before extending to the public.
Thus, the planned APC ward to ward rally schedule to hold in some wards in Andoni Wednesday March 11 was however scuttled following mass protest demonstrated by the majority of the party supporters and loyalists of the state deputy governor, Eng. Tele Ikuru against what they described as “high handedness of its state party chairman, Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya.
Addressing the mammoth crowd of supporters at his official lodge, the deputy governor while promising the intervention and interest of Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and the party gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside in resolving the issues tearing the Andoni chapter apart, said there had been no time in any history where the legs become active in tying the hands, adding that in a war front no sergeant leads the battle other than a general.
Engr. Ikuru reiterated the efforts of his overwhelming supporters in delivering Andoni APC at the forthcoming general polls if the necessary dialogue was reached, expressing optimism that the burning issues would be resolved in favour and in accordance to the demands of the majority supporters of the party in the LGA, since it is anti development for any minority to drive the machinery of any political system.
Earlier at the press centre of the ongoing new secretariat building of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the stakeholders of the Andoni chapter of APC who led peaceful demonstration to the centre, registered their rejection against the repression and rawness of the state chairman of the APC, Chief Davies Ikanya in handling the affairs of the party in the LGA.
Recalling the several anti-party activities of the state chairman, Chief Ikanya, one of the ward leaders and senior stakeholder in the LGA who was also among leaders of the protest, Hon. Jones Ogbuluijah recounted the many sins of the APC state chairman to include among others several acts of impunity, disrespect and disdain being exhibited by the state chairman against the office of the state deputy governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru.
According to Ogbaluijah, Ikanya who is irredeemably engrossed in the concoction and execution of divisive measures and actions that neither ventilate nor elevate the party has unilaterally altered the ward executive lists across the eleven wards of Andoni LGA during party primaries, hijacked party primaries materials to the private home of his Special Assistant, but for the timely intervention of the Nigeria police who saved the land from bloodbath.
Ikanya’s sins also include: jettisoned of the harmonized unit executive lists across the eleven (11) wards, unilaterally compiling and replacement with his co-owned group called pilot group, which did not spare the deputy governor’s unit.
The angry protesters revealed that pilot group is an off-shoot of PPA, a political organization owned and controlled by Chief Ikanya’s political godfather and gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party, Prince Tonye Princewill.
The Andoni stakeholders of the APC equally maintain that the pilot group is an agent of destabilization in APC sponsored by Prince Tonye Princewill, with its management and supervision as the responsibility of Chief Ikanya.
In furtherance of their claims, the stakeholders heated hard on the APC state chairman, describing him as a man given to histrionics, and political jobbery who enjoys and benefits from chaos, confusion and division, saying that they are deeply worried as the said APC state chairman is fraternizing with the Labour Party governorship candidate, and plotting the failure of their candidates in Andoni using the pilot group machinery to mobilize support for Prince Tonye Princewill.
Among its several demands, the supporters of the deputy governor are of the opinion that the structure of the party be return to the deputy governor, the unit executives be given their pride of place as mark of respect to the deputy governor.
The governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Dakuku Peterside, the party Board of Trustees are however, called upon to urgently mediate and holistically give the attention the matter deserves to save the party, threatening that the failure of the party in the LGA particularly during the upcoming general polls.
