Fresh Trouble For Orji Uzor Kalu In New Party As APC Members In Abia State Reject Him

A report available has it

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abia State, Paul Ikonne, has said a former governor of the state, Orji Kalu, joined the party to cause confusion.

The ex-governor last week defected to the APC from the Progressive People Alliance, PPA.

Mr. Ikonne said the former governor has nothing to offer the APC politically.

Mr. Ikonne, who was the gubernatorial candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the 2011 elections in the state, disclosed this in a press conference, Sunday, in Abuja.
He said the defection of Mr. Kalu “is nothing to celebrate.”

“There is nothing to celebrate about Orji Kalu joining the party because Abia APC and south-east APC is being rebuilt and repositioned for proper impact for us to make the desired change like we did during the last presidential election.

“We played a critical role. So, having Orji Kalu join the APC is nothing to celebrate

“If every person in Nigerian politics plays the kind of politics Orji Kalu plays, you will find out that we won’t make a headway,” he said.‬

‪Mr. Ikonne said he has nothing personal against the governor, adding that what the APC doesn’t wants in the south-east is confusion.

“We don’t want the Southeast APC to be thrown into confusion because we have prominent people, people of honour, people who laboured to make sure that the PDP did not have a free day.

“We have the likes of Senator Chris Ngige, the governor of Imo state, Minister of Science and Technology and some other prominent people,” he said.

Mr. Ikonne also said contrary to widespread belief, the APC is united and has no factions.

“To the best of my knowledge, we have only one camp in the APC and that camp is what brought Mr. President on board.

“It is the mass movement of people and the integrity of the president, so come 2019 APC will win based on that integrity.

“I must say this that when you personalise politics around just a man, such a man must be a man of integrity.”

Mr. Ikonne said his views represent the sentiments of party leaders in Abia State.

He said he was also concerned that Mr. Kalu is currently facing charges of corruption and his joining APC could taint the anti-corruption posture of the Buhari administration.

“Nigeria is coming back to international limelight because the president has a track record of integrity.

“Going by Kalu’s antecedents, you know the answers. Right now, what we are looking for are men and women of integrity that will work with Mr. President”, he said.‬

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