Raymond Ozoji, Awka
Engr. Godwin Ezeno the President-General of Akpo Development Association and candidate of the Young Progressives Party for Aguata 1 State Constituency in the 2019 general elections says the All Progressives Grand Alliance is dead and has no hope nor rallying point for the Igbo nation.
He said the Young Progressives Party has come as a veritable and credible alternative to fill the gap created by APGA as well as provide viable platform for the Igbo man to pursue his political ambitions without deceit.
Ezeno stated that many people went to APGA with high hopes but unfortunately the organizers of the game did not give aspirants a level playing ground, stressing that that was how his ambition was dashed on the platform of the APGA.
The PG Akpo Development Association who granted an exclusive interview to our correspondent in his country home Akpo on his travails during APGA primary elections, disclosed further that in spite of his ordeals in APGA, he was being urged on by his people not to relent in pursuance of his political ambitions.
He explained that the choice of YPP was borne out of the fact that the political party believes in service to the nation and it was the most vocal political party across the country at the moment.
According to him, the overall intent was to develop APGA into a national party but unfortunately the reverse was the case pointing out that the party’s slogan “Be Your Brother’s Keeper” was an illusion because he didn’t see anything close to being one’s brother’s keeper in the party. He added that if the party was sincere enough, it wouldn’t have allowed people to spend the kind of money they spent chasing shawdows in the party.
He was of the view that they would have told many of them not to waste their money because they have anointed their preferred candidates. “If they informed me that they have anointed somebody, will I be wasting my money? Do you know how much we spent officially and then you talk about the unofficial expenses. It’s collosal!”
The YPP candidate for Aguata 1 constituency maintained that he had discovered the reason people often say politicians change their attitudes when they win elections because, according to him, when people collect so much money from you, you will begin to recoup your expenses even though he said he doesn’t have such mindset but his experience in APGA has shown him why people change their attitudes when they win elections.
Ezeno also alleged that APGA was a money-making machine for some people but today the party is dead! He said he didn’t show any interest in the sham they called reconciliatory meeting arguing further that they needed to reconduct the primary elections for people to know they were serious about the said reconciliation.
He therefore stated that in so far as they would leave the tickets in the hands of the highest bidders as well as those they planted, then there is no reconciliation. He alleged that some people were already feeding fat from the illegal collections even as he observed also that the reconciliatory move was a wasted exercise. Those who purportedly perpetrated what he saw as a sham in the guise of primary elections, he added, should get back to their senses, seek forgiveness and pay restitution for what he termed unfair and senseless extortion of funds from unsuspecting aspirants.