Anambra APC: Onoh defends Bianca’s appointment

President Bola Tinubu’s former campaign spokesman in the south east, Dr. Josef Onoh has taken a swipe on members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State for accusing the President of encouraging anti-party activity through his appointment of Iyom Bianca Ojukwu as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. Onoh in his response […]

President Bola Tinubu’s former campaign spokesman in the south east, Dr. Josef Onoh has taken a swipe on members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State for accusing the President of encouraging anti-party activity through his appointment of Iyom Bianca Ojukwu as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Onoh in his response to the Anambra APC members accused them of being the worst anti-party members in Nigeria’s political experience.

Onoh gave many instances of anti-party engagements of the APC members in Anambra state, citing the case of November 9 2021 gubernatorial election where the APC in Anambra could not present a unified candidate and pointed also at the February 25 2023 presidential election where the party in the state also failed to vote for President Tinubu but gave the APC only 5,111 votes.

Making graphic elaboration on how the APC in Anambra state had always been a ‘cash out’ syndicate with no intention of winning any election in the state, Onoh recalled that prior to the 2021 and 2023 somersaults of the party in Anambra state, the party featured gladiators’ fights that ensured the party was not competitive in the election before the Supreme Court declared its participation in the 2021 election a nullity.

“The Anambra State chapter of the APC that are now against the President’s Ministerial appointment forgot the heartbreaking and avoidable disaster they collectively played that revolved around the party’s participation in the November 9, 2021 gubernatorial poll and the presidential election of 25, February 2023 in the state that ended up giving the party 5,111 votes for the president,” Onoh recalled.

He went back memory lane to remember that prior to that, the APC featured on the gubernatorial ballot, but that the pre-election ‘two fighting’ between Senator Andy Uba and Dr. George Moghalu on the one hand and Senator Chris Ngige and Uba, on the other, ensured that the party was not competitive in the election. That was before the Supreme Court declared its participation a nullity.

“As the saying goes, ‘whatever starts by division would continue to divide’, the same division that attended the governorship primary which threw up Senator Andy Uba, reared its head again during the APC Special Convention and Presidential primary in Abuja. While Uba presented himself as state leader of the party, Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, loomed large as Southeast leader. In the unfolding clash of interests, Uzodimma wanted delegates from Southeast to line up behind the presidential aspiration of Senate President, Dr. Ahmed Lawan. But, Uba preferred to align with 19 Northern Governors, who rejected the attempt to impose Lawan without their input.

“Their confusion and division threw up Paul Chukwuma, who tried to be an alternate leader for Anambra APC to douse the infighting among Uba, Ngige and Moghalu. As the build up to the general election gained momentum, the then Minister for Labour and Employment, Ngige, disclosed his decision to excuse himself from the campaigns.”

Onoh said that Ngige explained that as his brother, friends and political associates were contesting the presidential poll and that it would be hard for him to support any one among them, leading to his (Onoh) response to Ngige that he benefited from APC but refused to give back to the party. Ngige then maintained that Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), Senator Rabiu Musa Knwankwaso of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Bola Tinubu of APC were all close to him, stressing that each of them had worked closely with him in the past, and as such, he won’t campaign for any of them.

“So why are they complaining about the President’s appointment when their continuous activities are the worst act of anti-party and still dividing the party in the state?”

Onoh further labeled the Anambra APC as a party with primitive Igbo traditional ethics which encourages subjugation of women both in the family and political circles and hate uplifting women. He noted that it was the recognition of the delicate state of affairs in Anambra State chapter and their disposition to women that President Tinubu (then APC Presidential candidate) encouraged party leaders to appoint Senator Margery Okadigbo, as the state Director of APC Presidential Campaign Committee.

He further revealed that Okadigbo’s appointment threw up a different kind of internal hostilities among leaders such as Andy Uba, Chukwuma and the APC Anambra chapter tried to adduce reasons why the wife of the former President of Senate cannot do the job or organise a successful presidential campaign rally in the state.

He said that the same group accused Okadigbo of being a woman and aloof to the workings of APC in Anambra State and mounted pressure on now President Tinubu and former Governor Simon Lalong to rescind the appointment and go for a man that they claim enjoys grassroots support which Tinubu refused.

“Meanwhile, the same APC stakeholders went on engineering the public perception that the rally would not hold, also went to town with the alibi that being the home base of Peter Obi, the then LP presidential contender, it would amount to a waste of time and resources for APC to hold a presidential rally in Anambra State. They further alleged that Tinubu’s contempt against Southeast made it impossible for the APC leader to visit the state in the course of his drive to earn delegate votes prior to the party’s presidential primary. Clearly these APC characters that committed the highest form of anti-party against the party now have the audacity to accuse the president of anti-party actions.

“Sir Azuka Okwuosa, whose close association with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the past that facilitated Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s gracious approval of the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka for the then planned presidential rally and Governor Soludo was highly supportive of the President and ensured the presidential rally was a success while the so called Anambra APC stakeholders kept away and focused on undermining the party.

“Finally, may I remind the Anambra APC stakeholders and also the entire APC southeast of their betrayal of President Bola Tinubu aside from Imo and Ebonyi state, the other three States of Enugu, Anambra and Abia intentionally betrayed the President even an APC Senator got more votes in Abia than the president for an election held on the same day.

“May I remind the APC Anambra chapter of the President’s pleading with Anambra voters during the campaign to choose him as they did for Soludo, Tinubu stating that Charles Soludo, was not contesting with him or against me.

“Tinubu told them that Soludo was still his friend to whom he salutes his vision. He’s a brilliant man. He has the brain. He is a thinker. He knows the way. We will work together inclusively. When I become the president, Soludo will be one of those that will advise us; who will bring prosperity back to you. Tinubu said that as a City Boy that tamed the Atlantic, he would equally tame the gully erosion ravaging much of Anambra land space. He also promised to create jobs for the youths as well as expand the industrialisation for which the state was known for.

He reminded the people of how he appointed an Anambra son, Mr. Ben Akabueze, into Lagos State Executive Council, as well as into President Buhari’s government and enjoined them to reciprocate by voting for him to become President.

“As governor of Lagos State Anambra people lived well in prosperity and joy with him in Lagos; He started paying WAEC fees, he didn’t discriminate whether you are Igbo, Christian or anybody; he paid for everybody. In keeping with his campaign promise to work closely with Governor Soludo for the greater good of Nigerians, and in his personal believe in uplifting women, the President appointed former Minister Uju Ohaneye and today Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, just like he appointed Nyesom Wike of the PDP as minister.

“I urge the Anambra State APC to desist from accusing the president of anti party activities and rather focus on giving an accurate account of late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah and his then campaign council’s donation of N71 million in July 2024 to the APC in Anambra State, together with other donations aimed at bolstering the party’s presence and strength in the region. The Anambra APC should rather submit their financial audit of the money to the national body rather than chasing shadows, to avoid an EFCC investigation,” Onoh said.