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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, Hon. Mezie Chiekwe Esiaga, has predicted disastrous outing for the party in the state should it field an unpopular governorship candidate for the 2027 general election.
Esiaga, who rejected the party’s governorship primary that produced Eric Opah, described the exercise as a “sham”. Esiaga alleged that the process lacked credibility and warned that the party risks a disastrous outing in the 2027 governorship election if it fails to address what he described as an injustice against long-standing members of the party.
“The governorship contest initially involved two known aspirants, Chief Henry Ikoh and Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu, before a third aspirant, Mr Eric Opah, surfaced shortly before the primary.
“I saw Eric Opah for the first time on May 14, during a meeting in Umuahia, a few hours to our primary. As one of the founding members of this party, it surprised me that someone who, to the best of my knowledge, had barely spent two weeks in the APC, suddenly emerged as a governorship aspirant,” Esiaga stated.
He questioned the rationale behind presenting Opah as the party’s flag bearer, alleging that the businessman had only recently publicly commended the administration of incumbent Governor Alex Otti.
“How can a man who recently stood before a gathering and praised the incumbent governor, saying his people in Lagos would organise a reception for him (Otti) because he was doing well, suddenly become the person carrying the APC governorship banner? It is difficult for me to understand what happened during that primary,” he said.
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Esiaga insisted that with the withdrawal of Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu from the race, the party should hand its governorship ticket to Chief Henry Ikoh, whom he described as “a loyal party man” who had invested years building the APC structure in Abia.
“Henry Ikoh has worked tirelessly for the party over the years. He is a familiar face in Abia APC, a former commissioner, former minister, and currently the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede. The ticket should be given to him if we truly want to compete,” he argued.
The APC stalwart further warned that ignoring his advice could cost the party dearly at the polls. He said that the former minister, who is also the Renewed Hope Ambassador in Abia, has both grassroots support and statewide appeal.
“I am not a prophet, and my father was not a prophet, but let me prophesy as I did in 2022. I warned, then, about what would happen in 2023, when Ikechi Emenike was fielded as our governorship flag bearer, and it came to pass.
“History may repeat itself. If Henry Ikoh is not on the ballot, the result we will get may be worse than what we recorded in the last governorship election,” Esiaga declared.
He disclosed that he had concluded plans to write to President Bola Tinubu, appealing for intervention, to save the party from what he described as a looming self-inflicted crisis.
“I am preparing a letter to Mr President because this matter requires urgent attention. We cannot afford to make mistakes that will hand victory to our opponents even before the election,” he added.
