Enugu – Mrs Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Justice Sector Reform, says the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State cannot afford to go into elections divided.
Ibekaku-Nwagwu said this on Saturday in Enugu during a reception in her honour by members of the party in Enugu West Senatorial zone of the state.
The presidential aide has called on members of the party to close ranks and work as a united family. The party has been torn by factions in the state due to leadership tussle.
The presidential aide, who is also the candidate of the party for the Enugu West Senatorial election, appealed to those that lost in the nomination process to support her ambition.
She expressed willingness to work with all members of the party to ensure a good outing come 2019 election, adding “If I had lost in the nomination process I would have supported them. “We must work as one in order to deliver the party because it is not going to be easy.
This is the time that we need everybody and regardless of what people are saying we need to make peace,” she said. Ibekaku-Nwagwu said that the Buhari administration had made the job a lot easier for them through the massive infrastructure upgrade in the zone.
“The popularity of the president in this area has grown due to the various projects he has cited here. Our people now know the difference and will appreciate him in due time,” she said.
She said Enugu West Senatorial Zone which had been represented by the Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, needed a new lease of life.
She said that the past 16 years had been tales of woes by the constituents, adding that the people of the area must be freed. Earlier, the Woman Leader of the party in the area, Mrs Theresa Okolie, said that the people of the area had no choice than to support the APC. Okolie said that they needed a representative that would be accountable to the people.
The woman leader said it was sad that in spite of the position of their current representative in the Red Chambers “our infrastructure has not improved and the living condition of our people is bad”. She said that over the years, development had been skewed in favour of a particular area, leading to deplorable infrastructure in most areas.
Also, the Parish Priest of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Ibite Okpatu, Rev. Fr. John Amadi, said that the zone needed to have a change of their representative at the senate. Amadi said it was unacceptable that one man would be angling to be in the senate for 20 years without much to show for it.
“For instance, we have seen quite a little development in Udi Local Government Area over these years. The people should come together to choose a candidate that will be there for everybody,” Amadi said.
