The campaign organisation of Abia 2027 Governorship Election Aspirant, Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu, has rejected a reported zoning arrangement by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, describing it as “kangaroo,” illegal, and unconstitutional.
In a statement, the group said its attention was drawn to a press release issued by Uche Aguoru, the Abia State Publicity Secretary of the APC, announcing a purported zoning arrangement by the State Working Committee (SWC), which allegedly cedes the party’s governorship ticket to Abia Central Senatorial District and discourages intending aspirants from purchasing expression of interest forms.
The organisation, however, questioned the authenticity of the claim, stressing that it deliberately described the announcement as “purported” because most members of the Abia APC SWC are currently not in the state and have not convened any formal meeting in the past week.
It further described the alleged arrangement as frivolous, reckless, unconstitutional, and entirely alien to all known precedents of the party in Abia State.
Providing historical context, the group stated that since the inception of the APC in Abia State, there has never been any zoning arrangement for the party’s governorship ticket. It noted that in 2015, Nyerere Chinenye Ayim from Abia South clinched the governorship ticket with the support of all party members, defeating High Chief Ikechi Emenike, who also contested.
The statement added that in 2019, Hon. Martins Azubuike from Abia Central contested the primaries alongside Prince Paul Ikonne from Abia South and Uche Sampson Ogah from Abia North, with the latter emerging as the party’s candidate. It also recalled that in 2023, High Chief Ikechi Emenike from Abia Central clinched the ticket, even though other aspirants, including Uche Ogah, purchased forms and participated in the primaries.
The Mascot Uzor Kalu Campaign Organisation said it unequivocally rejects the purported zoning arrangement in its entirety and will not accept it under any circumstances. It warned that any surreptitious attempt by self serving elements within the party to weaponise the SWC in a bid to frustrate the governorship ambition of Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu would be met with what it described as hardcore, lawful, and unyielding resistance.
The group called on supporters of Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu within the party to remain calm, resolute, and steadfast, alleging that those behind the move, having failed in an earlier attempt to impose a fraudulent consensus, have now resorted to another divisive and ill conceived scheme, which it said is already dead on arrival.
It added that the APC in Abia must not be reduced to a playground for undemocratic impositions, insisting that the will of the people, expressed through a free, fair, and credible primary process, must prevail.
The statement was signed by the Media Team of the Mascot Uzor Kalu Campaign Organisation.
