Outrage as Gbajabiamila picks APGA member as aide

There is outrage in the Southeast All Progressives Congress (APC) over the appointment of Anayo Nnebe of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as Special Assistant on Political Matters to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

The APC in Anambra State, the Conference of Southeast APC Publicity Secretaries, and the Southeast APC Young Progressives Forum, condemned the action, and called for Nnebe’s withdrawal.

Gbajabiamila on Tuesday announced Nnebe as one of his aides from the Southeast.

But in their separate reactions yesterday, the party and other bodies described it as a big slap on APC, saying Nnebe fought APC and called their members all sorts of names during the elections.

Those who signed the statement from the Southeast Forum of Publicity Secretaries of APC included Kate Offor (Enugu), Nwoba Chika Nwoba (Ebonyi) and Benedict Godwin (Abia).

Pascal Chizoba Otimkpu spoke for Southeast APC Young Progressives Forum; Anamrba APC Secretary Chukwuma Agufugo spoke for his party, while Madukaife Okelo spoke for Conference of Southeast Publicity secretaries.

Pascal said the outrage was not about appointment but agenda. “You cannot drive an agenda with people who do not believe in it. Nnebe and his cohorts had, and will never believe in our party’s agenda,” he said.

Agufugo, who said the party had competent, well qualified and mature persons to handle any position, lamented that the choice of APGA member was wrong and should be withdrawn.

“We reject the appointment of Anayo Nnebe as Special Assistant (Southeast) to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila. Nnebe is a die hard opposition to APC in Anambra, the Southeast and Nigeria in general.

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“He is instrumental to the Awka Federal Constituency seat eluding APC, though he also lost. Political positions in the ruling party should not serve to rehabilitate oppositions who cause damage to our party’s fortunes.

“The Senate President made a similar error and promptly corrected it when issues were raised, and there ought to be enough deterrent flowing from there. We have nothing against Nnebe, but our zonal caucus has to grow, and it is not by appointing PDP men in APGA clothing, to the detriment of the long-suffering members of APC.

“We have, in the past, witnessed all manner of flirtation between our structures outside the Southeast and the very persons who constitute opposition to us. We dissociate ourselves from this appointment and urge Southeast APC to rise in justifiable protest against this unjustifiable action. We will not relent in fighting this injustice.”