Abia LG Poll: Lawmaker Predicts Impressive Outing for LP Despite Internal Crisis
Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
Despite the internal leadership wrangling rocking the Labour Party(LP), the party members are still upbeat that the ruling party in Abia State would carry the day in the forthcoming local government election in the state.
In the run up to the LG poll scheduled for November 2, 2024, the LP leadership crisis at the national level has equally snowballed to Abia State, the only state controlled by the party.
But a member of the Abia State House of Assembly, Hon Nwoke Kalu Mba, has brushed aside any negative impact of the battle for the soul of LP, saying that as far as the state is concerned the party remains in full control.
He told journalists in Umuahia that LP was fully prepared for the grass-roots election, maintaining that there was no doubt the ruling party would come out tops in all the 17 LGAs of Abia State.
Hon Nwoke, who represents Ohafia South state constituency in the legislature, said that LP was riding on the back of Governor Alex Otti, who has posted a sterling performance in less than two years of his administration.
He stated that Otti has done well enough for Abians to reward him and reciprocate his good governance by voting for LP in the forthcoming Council poll.
The lawmaker argued that if with all its ‘misrule’, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) could remain in control of Abia State for almost 24 years, then LP can expect to be in power for upwards of 32 years given Otti’s performance.
According to him, what Otti has done so far in turning around the fortunes of Abia State is just a tip of the iceberg, hence Abians should expect more.
He noted that the governor has in stock a lot of people-centred programmes and projects that would ultimately make Abia Statea reference point in good governance in Nigeria.
On the outcome of the ruling party’s primaries to elect candidates for the LG poll, Mba expressed his misgivings on what happened at his Ohafor ward in Ohafia Local Government Area.
He said that the consensus councillorship candidate for Ohafor ward was replaced by somebody who recently defected from PDP, and had indeed worked against LP in the 2023 general election.
Mba blamed the Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu, for the imposition of councillorship candidate in Ohafor, an allegation that the office of the Deputy Governor has denied.
According to him, “Our consensus councillor candidate, who we have presented to the party had already purchased his nomination and Interest Form and had filled it and returned back to the party only for us to hear the next day that the number two man had substituted the name with another person’s name.” Mba said that the substitution was a slight on his person being an elected state lawmaker from Ohafor ward, adding that “we are condemning it. All Ohafor ward LP and non LP members are condemning that.”
The Ohafia South lawmaker disclosed that stakeholders from his ward had petitioned Governor Otti over the imposition and also protested against the action of the deputy governor.
He appealed to the governor to urgently look into the matter to save LP from a possible backlash due to the level of anger in Ohafor over the substitution of the ward’s candidate.
Nonetheless, Hon Mba stated that Labour Party in Ohafia remains strong and has enough followership to win any election.
In addition, he pointed out that “Ohafia has never had it so good before in terms of (dividends of) politics” having produced the current number citizen of Abia State.
“We have a House of Representatives member. We have an avalanche of government appointees.
“So, there’s no other way that we have to show appreciation than to come out en masse and vote massively for the Labour Party candidate,” the lawmaker asserted.
