APC reveals that it is yet to decide on who is its Imo State governorship candidate

ALL Progressives Congress (APC) officials have revealed that they are yet to decide on who is their Imo State gubernatorial candidate between Governor Rochas Okorocha's son-in-law Uche Nwosu and Senator Hope Uzodinma.

Over the last month, the Imo State chapter of the APC has been torn apart as the two candidates battle to be the party's candidate in next February's governorship election. Initially, primaries were conducted but the APC's national working committee (NWC) cancelled them after the two candidates declared themselves the winner.

Senator Uzodinma had been declared the winner by the electoral committee send from Abuja but the local party in the state then announced Mr Nwosu as its candidate. In the face of this division, the APC NWC rescheduled the elections which Senator Uzodinma boycotted and after this round of poling, Mr Nwosu emerged the winner with 269,524 votes to the senator's 2,729 votes.

Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the APC's publicity secretary,  said: “The issue of submission of governorship candidates to Inec is due on November 2, so we haven’t reached the stage of where we will submit names or beat the deadline.  You are aware that there was a court action challenging the Imo governorship primary election.

"The position of the party is that whatever court judgement, good or bad, we must comply with it. We will only decide who will be APC’s governorship candidate for Imo State by November 2.”

Mallam, Issa-Onilu also decried the allegations against party chairman Adams Oshiomhole and the national leadership as a fallout of the failure of some of the governors and chieftains to project their interests in the party. Over the last few weeks, several governors have blamed Mr Oshiomhole for their candidates not getting selected and several of them have met to try and get him removed.

Over the last week, several governors have met in Abuja and agreed on getting Mr Oshiomhole removed and replaced with former Cross Rover State governor Chief Clement Ebri. During the last APC convention, Chief Ebri was a candidate but stood down at the last minute for Mr Oshiomhole.