Gov. Hope Uzodimma of Imo has said that the Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates of All the Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 21 Local Government Elections may emerge through consensus.
Uzodimma said this on Tuesday, while addressing aspirants and stakeholders at the partyโs Secretariat in Owerri.
He said that the decision to opt for consensus candidates was taken to promote unity and cohesion in the party as well as stability of politics in the state.
He said: โConsensus will be conducted for the 27 chairmanship positions and the 305 ward counsellors.
โThe decision became imperative following the high number of interested candidates in the polls.
โThe number of aspirants today for counsellorship is over 800, and over 200 for chairmanship.
โThere are three ways of producing a candidate in the Constitution of APC โ by direct primaries, indirect primaries and the third is by consensus.
โWe will look at the peculiarities of each LGA. Our first option will be consensus.
โWhere it is difficult to arrive at a consensus, we will go into a contest, using either direct or indirect method to elect candidates,โ 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.
โBefore now, it seems impossible because of the insecurity in various LGAs of the state,โ 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.
โWhat I will consider this time is that cost of things are high.
โI will plead with the party to go into the contest with one spirit.
โThose who win, we will encourage them to work with those who didnโt win.
โThose who didnโt win, because they are too many, and too much money is involved, we will do our best to refund your money,โ he assured the aspirants.
In a brief remark, the state Chairman of the party, Mr MacDonald Ebere, thanked the governor for his leadership role.
Credit: (NAN)