By NewsCritic Reporters
Frontline opposition governorship candidates in the coming 11 March, 2023 Abia governorship poll are now soliciting for the support and cooperation of Mayor Lucky Igbokwe, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain and one of the gubernatorial aspirants of the party.
Mayor Lucky Igbokwe popularly known as Don Lulu participated in the first PDP primaries that produced the late Prof Uche Ikonne and came second.
However, following the death of Ikonne a fresh primary election was conducted in which Chief Okey Ahaiwe, the former Chief of Staff to governor Okezie Ikpeazu, PhD, emerged ahead of the deputy governor, Rt Hon Ude Oko Chukwu and Mayor Lucky Igbokwe.
Political commentators had prior to the fresh primaries of the PDP argued that the first runner up at the initial primaries should fly the party’s ticket, and many Abians had wished that Don Lulu should ordinarily be favoured to emerge as the flagbearer of the party as reward for his long standing loyalty and commitment to the party. But this was not so, as the party side stepped him (Don Lulu) to tap on Chief Okey Ahaiwe who later won the primaries.
At any rate Mayor Lucky Igbokwe, who was appointed the youth Ambassador for the defunct ‘Uche Ndi Abia Campaign Organisation’ has not suggested either through his body language or otherwise of any plan to dump the PDP in spite of the unfair treatment meted to him in the party.
In the past few days, two frontline opposition governorship contenders have visited his Umuawa Alaocha country home to seek for his support towards the actualisation of their political aspirations.
The first to call in was Dr Alex Otti, the Labour Party, LP, standard bearer, who was closely followed by Engr Enyinnaya Nwafor (Nana) the governorship candidate of the Young Progressive Party, YPP.
Dr Otti during his visit saluted the courage and enterprising spirit of Mayor Igbokwe to join the Abia governorship race, despite his relatively younger age, adding that both shared similar vision of a better Abia.
“We want to use this medium therefore to call on you to join the train of the Labour Party and together we will build an Abia our people will be proud of”, he tells Igbokwe.
He said that “the problem the state has is the PDP, and the house called PDP is about to collapse, you better get out of there before it does”, Otti remarked.
Responding Mayor Igbokwe thanked Otti and his campaign team for the visit, promising to return after due consultations with his campaign organization.
The Labour Party gubernatorial candidate was joined in the visit by the director general of his campaign council, Rt. Hon. Acho Obioma; director of protocol High Chief Victor Ikeji, director of media and publicity Chief Ota Kalu, deputy director of welfare Lady Meg Oranusi, and the spokesperson of the campaign organization, Comr. Ferdinand Ekeoma among others.
For the YPP candidate Enyinnaya Nwafor, he pointed out that both him and Igbokwe are youths who share similar vision for a better Abia. He commended Igbokwe’s philanthropy, job creation initiatives, infrastructural development and empowerment programmes in the state.
He implored him to join him in the YPP to give Abia people the better life they desire.
In his reply, Mayor Igbokwe said he is a card-carrying member of PDP, but added that he is open to anything that would help move Abia forward.
