Barely 48 hours after the elders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Anambra State decided to support an existing zoning arrangement for the governorship in the state, which favours the next governor to emerge from Anambra South, the leadership of APC has denied such arrangement.
The state publicity secretary of APC, Dr. Valentine Iyke-Oliobi, while stating the position of the party, urged Anambra people to ignore the party’s Elders Forum, as such a thing never existed.
Oliobi said: “The Anambra State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) wants to categorically state that our party has no zoning arrangements whatsoever.
“Also, APC, as a party, was not involved in any agreement with any political party or parties as regards zoning as being falsely peddled by the group.
“The APC has always provided a level playing field for all governorship aspirants under the platform of the party to participate, irrespective of their senatorial zone. This practice has not changed.
“We therefore call on well-meaning members of our party to disregard the said publication, insinuating any existing zoning arrangement by the APC.
“The APC also wishes to use this medium to caution against any form of unnecessary rhetoric or utterances by party members or groups that are capable of heating up the polity ahead of the 2025 governorship election season.
“The APC is a united family, and as such, any crucial decision that will be taken by the party would be done collectively. The APC remains committed in its effort to give Anambra people a viable alternative to the failed party called the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which has grossly mismanaged the affairs of Ndi Anambra in the past 18 years.”.
While subscribing to the zoning arrangement, the APC elders argued that since Governor Chukwuma Soludo is from Anambra South, it would be ideal for APC to field its candidate for next year’s election from the same Anambra South.