Barely a week to the local government election in Abia, confusion has risen over who is the authentic chairman of the ruling party in the state, Labour Party (LP), and should authenticate the list of candidates being filed for the November 2, poll.
This comes as the state police command said it had invited the party’s deputy national chairman, Ceekay Igara, and three others for alleged impersonation, obtaining by false pretense and conduct likely to cause a breach to peace.
A statement issued Sunday by Abia police spokesperson, Maureen Chinaka, said Igara was invited by detectives from the state command headquarters, where his statement was taken and he was released while investigation is ongoing.
“Yesterday (19/10/24), detectives from the command, invited Mr Igara, to the command headquarters, took his statement and released him the same day.
“Investigation,” according to the statement, “is ongoing.”
However, it was gathered that heavily armed masked men had the same day invaded an LP meeting location in Aba, disrupted the meeting and whisked Igara and others, including the acting State chairman, Dr GO Ndubueze, away in an unbranded motor car.
A source at the meeting said, members present quickly began solidarity chants condemning the act which was said to be on the “orders from above.”
Igara, a former state chairman of the party, got elevated after being elected as the National Vice Chairman (Southeast), at the disputed Nnewi convention, which saw Chief Julius Abure’s re-election as National chairman, a situation that has not been accepted by many top leaders of the party, including its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Abia Governor, Dr Alex Otti, among others.
In Abia, Igara, on assuming the national vice chair ship post, was replaced by Emmanuel Otti, as acting state chairman, pending the next convention and election of new executives, but in a swift reaction to a botched stakeholders meeting which sacked the Julius Abure led National Executive Committee (NEC) and set up a caretaker committee, it dissolved the Otti favoured new state executive and appointed Dr GO Ndubueze, as caretaker committee chairman.
It is against this backdrop that Abia stakeholders are confused on which group to follow, as the scheduled council elections gets nearer, with each of the groups claiming to be the one to present authentic candidates that will become officially recognized by ABSIEC, at the polls.
