By Amauche Agbo, Abakaliki

The chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha has expressed the party’s readiness to conduct a peaceful Councilorship election in the State.

He made the statement while interacting with newsmen at Akanu Ibiam International Conference Centre, Abakaliki when the party stakeholders met for the onward movement to various wards for the conduct of the party’s primary election in the state.

According to him “As you can see now every machinery is in place for the peaceful conduct of this primary election. The Commissioner of Police was communicated and all the Security agencies including the Police, DSS, and Civil Defence, among others, are here,” he said.

He further stated: “There is no crack in APC. What is going on at the ward level, is that some minority clans said it’s their turn to produce ward councillors but in our constitution, there is no provision supporting their agitation.

“So, the election is purely democratic. It’s going to be a free, fair and credible one. If you ask the minority clans to allow the other, and they refused, you allow them to go to the field, because the party is looking for a popular candidate. We are approaching the general elections, and we are talking about who will win the upcoming general elections.”

On his part, the Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, described Ebonyi state as an epitome of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Nwifuru, the two-term Speaker noted that the APC members have nothing to worry about whether their party candidates would win in the forthcoming general elections for the positions of the local government chairmen and ward councillors.

He, however, called for the involvement of the APC stakeholders in their various wards and local government areas, to avoid anything that would interfere with the existing peace and unity among the party members in the state.

“You know Ebonyi is squarely APC State. The party at the ward level is in charge of today’s function. The party at the state and local government levels has done what they are supposed to do. It is because if this is not properly organized, it will degenerate into internal conflict.

“That’s why we hammered much on involving the party stakeholders to make sure everything that happens within the ward, goes on in a very peaceful manner,” Nwifuru said.

Our correspondent learnt that about 39 out of the 171 political wards in Ebonyi State were yet to have their consensus candidates as the APC commenced its primary elections today.

Speaking on the possibility of the APC producing consensus candidates in the various wards, the gubernatorial candidate recommended that the primary election should be conducted where the stakeholders refused to have a consensus candidate.

“But in a situation where the stakeholders do not resolve to have a consensus candidate, the election should hold in the ward. Even if it’s not the part of the 39 wards which are yet to have a consensus candidate, the election should hold on there. These 39 wards are where two or more aspirants bought forms for the councilorship position, and the disagreement of the stakeholders on having consensus candidates within APC in the 39 wards shows our party allows democracy.”