From Chuks Moses, Awka
No fewer than six thousand (6,000)new members comprising decampees from the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA), the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) and those from the All Progressives Congress (APC) have joined the Labour Party in Anambra state in the last nine weeks.
The new members, including five notable retired top military personnel and some former members of the recently de-registered political parties who attended the inauguration of the new Caretaker executive for the Anambra chapter of LP would be provided with membership cards before the coming March 12, 2020 State congress in Awka, to enable them participate.
The stakeholders of the party led by its National Organizing Secretary -Chief Clement Ojukwu met yesterday in Awka where a 7-man Caretaker Committee headed by Chief Ugochukwu Emeh with Capt Casmir Nwafor (Retd), as his deputy was inaugurated. They used the opportunity to receive some of the new members into the party.
According to Ojukwu, the Caretaker committee was to oversee the affairs of the party till next month, when the party’s congresses would take place to elect the ward, council, and state executives.
He disclosed that though the election was coming a bit late, as the immediate past executive’s tenure lapsed since Nov 28, 2019 the party was now geared towards strengthening its membership base ahead the coming 2021 Anambra state governorship election.
He confirmed that thousands of membership cards were distributed at the gathering to enable the party accommodate new members that are daily trooping into the party from other parties and those whose former political parties were recently deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Describing the LP as the only good alternative to all other top parties in the country, Ojukwu said that the party’s National Chairman, Alh Abdulkadir Abdulsalam (Barden Paiko) would be on hand on March 12 to inaugurate the incoming new state executives.
Ojukwu said the party was very much prepared and committed to halt Gov Willie Obiano’s APGA stranglehold on the state; and the plans by the PDP and APC to take over the Anambra Government House come next year’s governorship election.
He said, “After all, APGA has not done well to themselves. They have repeatedly bitten the fingers that fed them. Godfatherism reigns so high in the party that frustrates. They are so divided today that all you hear are reports of members leaving to other parties.
On the issue of zoning the state’s gubernatorial ticket, the National Organizing Secretary stated that though LP has no such provision in its constitution, but it respects it.
“We take cognizance of the senatorial zone of each of our party executive and candidates for any elective post…”, he emphasized.
Emeh who is to pilot the affairs of the party till the coming March 12, 2020 state congress told journalists that he’s coming to inject new ideas and new strategies for contact and mobilization for new members so as to strengthen the party.
Evangelist Okey Ojibe, a member of the Caretaker team told journalists that the party was experiencing rejuvenation with the recent influx of new members adding that expectations were so high on the planned visit of the national chairman, Alh Abdulsalam next month.
This, he noted would immensely boost the frenzy already building up in the party ahead the 2021 Anambra governorship poll.
A stakeholder and retired air force officer, Capt Nnamdi Nnoruka, assured that they are expecting more membership cards supply from the party headquarters to enable the state chapter fortify its membership base.
He said he’s convinced that with the open public outcry over the unabated worsening social, economic and political life of the citizens, especially in Anambra state, the electorates were already very disenchanted with the APGA, the PDP and the APC that have had their turns in mismanaging the affairs of the citizens.
The people, he added, need a very good and reasonable alternative, which the LP was eager to provide.