- Uzodinma urged party members to work together, make sacrifices, and support one another to ensure victory, acknowledging the high costs involved.
- He promised to refund expenses to unsuccessful aspirants and praised the party’s unity.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has revealed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) may adopt consensus candidates for the upcoming local government elections.
Addressing party aspirants and stakeholders in Owerri, Uzodimma explained that this approach aims to promote unity and stability within the party.
The decision comes amid a surge in interest from potential candidates, with over 800 aspirants vying for councillorship positions and over 200 for chairmanship roles.
Uzodimma outlined the party’s constitutional selection methods, emphasizing consensus as the preferred option, followed by direct or indirect primaries if necessary.
He said: “Consensus will be conducted for the 27 chairmanship positions and the 305 ward counsellors.
“The decision became imperative following the high number of interested candidates in the polls.
“The number of aspirants today for counsellorship is over 800, and over 200 for chairmanship.
“There are three ways of producing a candidate in the Constitution of APC – by direct primaries, indirect primaries and the third is by consensus.
“We will look at the peculiarities of each LGA. Our first option will be consensus.
“Where it is difficult to arrive at a consensus, we will go into a contest, using either direct or indirect method to elect candidates,” he said.
The governor congratulated the party on its electoral victory at the Supreme Court, saying that the judgment had paved the way for the smooth conduct of the upcoming council elections.
“Before now, it seems impossible because of the insecurity in various LGAs of the state,” he further said.
The governor, who reminded the party faithful that APC was one family in the state, urged them to make sacrifices for the victory of the party.
“What I will consider this time is that cost of things are high.
“I will plead with the party to go into the contest with one spirit.
“Those who win, we will encourage them to work with those who didn’t win.
“Those who didn’t win, because they are too many, and too much money is involved, we will do our best to refund your money,” he assured the aspirants.
In a brief remark, the state Chairman of the party, Mr MacDonald Ebere, thanked the governor for his leadership role.