Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s widow, Bianca Ojukwu, has described the All Progressives Grand Alliance as a secret cult, expressing worry over the party’s dwindling political fortune.
“APGA is now like a secret cult, and this has reduced our once vibrant party to a shadow of its former self,” she lamented.
Ojukwu made the remarks in a statement to mark the posthumous birthday of the late Biafran warlord on November 4.
She expressed grave worry that APGA members were defecting in large numbers to other political parties, particularly the All Progressives Congress.
Ms Ojukwu blamed the current crisis in APGA on the party’s “leadership failure.”
She said, “Bad leadership has left a deeply wounded and visibly divided party, with members decamping from the party almost on a daily basis with the alacrity of rats deserting a sinking ship,”
“Curiously, they are almost all defecting to APC. Our party has lost almost half of our state and national legislators, several principal members of our board of trustees, including the secretary of the board.”
“The serving deputy governor of the state, Dr Nkem Okeke, who joined the APC recently, party local government leaders, countless party executive members, including Governor Obiano’s own ward chairman all joining APC is very worrisome,” she added.
Ms Ojukwu blamed APGA’s present leader, Governor Willie Obiano and his henchmen for the party’s downfall.
According to her, the state is suffering the most extreme state of insecurity under his watch, which has recently seen several citizens, including a traditional ruler in his community, gunned down in broad daylight.
“To the governor’s credit, Anambra airport is nearing completion, but then, the intercity roads and roads leading to the communities are in a terrible state, and this has created a persistent gridlock within the state”, she said.
The former beauty queen, however, expressed optimism that despite the obvious cracks, she was confident that APGA would do well during the Saturday election.
She said APGA was not just a political party but a state of mind.
“The party has a good candidate in this guber election in the person of Prof. Charles Soludo, and he has all it takes to chart a new course both in the trajectory of the party and the state,” she said.