The immediate past Vice Chancellor of the Abia State University, Prof Uche Eleazar Ikonne, has emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) Governorship Candidate for the 2023 Abia Guber Election, with a vow to defeat candidates from other political parties to emerge as the next Governor of the State.
Prof Ikonne who stated this at the Umuahia Township Stadium, shortly after being declared as the winner of the People’s Democratic Party Governorship Primary Election in Abia, said he has what it takes to defeat other parties come 2023.
The former VC who polled a total of 468 votes, defeating his closest rival, Mayor Lucky Igbokwe who got 45 votes, said he would place Abia on the pedestal of development by providing job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths, as well as increasing the infrastructural base of the state, promising to beat the expectations of Abians.
Speaking further, Ikonne informed the party that he understood the burden wheeled on his shoulders, assuring them of victory at the 2023 Guber polls.
Prof Ikonne, however, appreciated the Governor of the State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu for yielding to the will of God and thanked other delegates for finding him fit to fly the flag of the party.
Earlier, the chairman of the PDP in Abia State, Rt Hon Alwell Asiforo Okere, had assured all aspirants of a level playing ground, saying that fairness and equity would be allowed to play out.
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The PDP chairman also informed the Electoral Committee that the party in Abia was intact and urged delegates to vote freely with confidence that their votes would count.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Committee Chairman and former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, had promised to work strictly with the guidelines of the party and urged the aspirants not to entertain any fear.
Recall that Prof Uche Ikonne had earlier gone into the contest for the PDP ticket with 12 other aspirants but 10 withdrew from the contest on reasons bothering on an alleged illegalities on the selection of the 3 man Ad-hoc delegates list.
Among the 13 PDP aspirants who purchased the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for Governorship, 10 candidates including, the Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Sen Enyinnaya Abaribe, the Deputy Governor of Abia State, Rt Hon Ude Oko Chukwu, Prof Greg Ibe, Sen Emma Nwaka, Engr Chima Nwafor, Chief Ncheta Omerekpe, Dr Chima Anyaso, Dr Sampson Orji, among others, withdrew from the contest citing various reasons, while Mayor Lucky Igbokwe, Prof Eleazer Ikonne and Mrs Ezinwanyi Jonah, opted to slug it out at the primaries.
After a keenly contest, Mayor Lucky Igbokwe polled a total of 45 votes, Mrs Ezinwanyi Jonah got 5 votes and Prof Ikonne 468 votes, leaving him as the winner of the PDP Governorship Primary Election.
Surprisingly, votes were allocated to some of the aspirants who had earlier announced their discontinuation from the race with Sen Enyinnaya Abaribe polling 5 votes, Enyinnaya Nwafor and Sen Emma Nwaka polling a total of 4 votes each.
Others are Rt Hon Ude Oko Chukwu who polled 6 votes, Prof Greg Ibe 2 votes, Chief Ncheta Omerekpe 3 votes, while Sampson Orji polled 4 votes and a total of 8 votes were recorded as void
With the emergence of Prof Eleazar Ikonne as the PDP flagbearer,he would be facing other candidates who emerged from other political parties in the 2023 Gubernatorial election.
