The Chairman of the party in the state, Mr Gilbert Obi stated this when some members of the State House of Assembly paid him a visit in his office.
Obi expressed regrets that the lawmakers distanced themselves from the party shortly after they were elected in 2015 only to come back now that nominations were about to start.
He said the party would provide a level playing ground to aspirants in its primaries, urging the lawmakers to go to their constituencies and work hard to gain the confidence of the people
Obi said”Any incumbent aspirant who is jittery over his re-election should know that he is not doing well; there are no shylocks in the party who will twist the people’s arm to give nomination to an aspirant against their wish.
“There won’t be any preferential treatment or automatic tickets to anybody. Our party is known for fairness, equity and justice; that we shall do in the forthcoming general elections.
The Speaker of the House, Mrs Rita Maduagwu, had led 22 other members of the Assembly to the State Executive Committee of the party asking for a preferential consideration in the 2019 poll.
It was gathered that the lawmakers visited the EXCO with a cow and N4m to pave their way.
When contacted on the telephone, Maduagwu agreed that she led a delegation of lawmakers to APGA state leadership.
While denying that no bribe was offered to the party on the occasion, Maduagwu said, “We didn’t visit the party hierarchy for us to be given automatic tickets. We just visited our party to express our intentions to run in the 2019 poll.”
But it was gathered that the lawmakers told the EXCO that 23 of them who were either seeking nomination to go to the House of Representatives or to return to the State’s Assembly had brought a cow and N4m to the party as “kola”.
A source who was in the meeting but begged not to be named said Maduagwu on the occasion canvassed that the party should give them preferential consideration in the nomination of candidates.
“They said they need to return to the house because of their legislative experience and the need to ensure that APGA forms a majority in the house in the next legislative dispensation to save Obiano from what they called avoidable distraction”, the source stated.
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