By Oginyi Ruth
The shock of the defeat of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi state in the just concluded 2019 general elections is still causing ripples among some members and supporters of the party in the state.
This has led to series of blames and counter blames among the party stakeholders, but the Campaign Director of the governorship election, Senator Anthony Agbo stunned the party supporters when he came up with reasons why the party lost completely in the election.
Speaking with WARRI TODAY, in Abakaliki on Wednesday, the Ebonyi 2019 Liberation Campaign Director Senator Anthony Agbo explained that APC never campaigned for the election.
Agbo said if they had campaigned, they would have won the election pointing that the over 81,000 votes scored by the party was out of the love and trust the electorate had for the party.
The Senator said that campaign organization was never mobilized financially, logistically for the job by the governorship candidate Senator Sonni Ogbuoji rather he claimed to have perfected plans on how he will be announced the winner of the election on March 9th, 2019 in Abuja.
The liberation campaign director explained that the problem of the party which 90% of Ebonyi people saw as best option for 2019 started when names of aspirants who won during the party primaries were changed by the gubernatorial candidate and his cohorts and every effort to reverse the ugly development by the campaign council proved abortive.
He added that the gubernatorial candidate after the primaries failed to embrace the party stakeholders and his fellow aspirants who lost in the primaries rather he relocated and was operating from Abuja without having the grassroot.
Agbo therefore call on every member of APC to disregard any report which is accusing the campaign council or any other person of contributing to their woeful failure in the 2019 general election as Ogbuoji never campaigned for the election.
Senator Agbo disclosed that only Two million, five hundred and eighty thousand naira was released to the party chairman Eze Nwachukwu, on March 8 as the gubernatorial candidate claimed that the national headquarters of APC didn’t give any money for the election and described the story as mystery to the party stakeholders. He commended the voters for trusting and voting for party even when the party didn’t campaign.
Read him, “We wish to state here clearly and categorically that the campaign council, from its inauguration on 2nd December till the end of the elections on 9th March, 2019 didn’t receive any money for campaign from the governorship candidate, Senator Sonni Ogbuoji or from any other person or source, not even a dime.
“APC did not campaign for the election. In all sincerity, Ebonyi people loved APC and wanted to vote massively for the party, but they were not encouraged to do so through elaborate outreach. Outside the local government rallies that was held across the 13 local government areas, which was routine introduction of the candidate to the people, no other elaborate close range campaign that befits a governorship project was done by the party.
“We passionately thank the over 94,000,-and 81,000 Ebonyi people who voted for APC in the presidential and governorship elections respectively for standing against all odds and demonstrating extraordinary heroism, love and passion towards APC and our candidates.”
