By Beverly Ehia, Abakaliki
An All Progressive Congress APC campaign organization (Divine Mandate organization) weekend warned members of the group against sabotaging their effort.
This was as they urged members who may not want to work with them to indicate.
Afikpo North local government arm of the organization made the appeal during its inaugural meeting at the council headquarters.
Chairman of the Organization in Afikpo, Chief Christopher Omo-Isu, in his address, told the people that they had undertaken a serious business which they must deliver, saying anyone who may not be willing to work with them should indicate.
Omo-Isu a former House of Representatives member representing Afikpo North and South federal constituency, said that he was willing to give his best to see that the aim of the organization would be achieved.
He said, “If you have accepted this assignment and you believe you will do it, you must go extra mile to do it. How do we do it? You must go down to the grassroots, polling unit by polling unit, talk to people convincingly. If we don’t do our best to deliver our people, the shame will be on us individually. Next time, nobody will want to identify with you.
“Omo-Isu will always tell you, if you want to run an election and you are not prepared forget about it. In election, there is no such thing like second position. It is either you come first or come second and fail. Therefore, anybody that is going for election must come first and those people leading them must target first position.
“We are here to seek ways to deliver all our candidates in APC and that means we must go down to our villages, the grassroots, to do our work properly. Target those that have their PVC. They are the people that are most important in this race. Identify and work with them”.
Also Chairman of Afikpo North local government area, Hon. Uche Ibiam, who doubles as the Deputy Chairman of the campaign committee, charged members to be faithful in dealing with the people, especially with those in the grassroots.
“That you are not the chairman, DG or Secretary of the organization does not make you a lesser person. All of us are important. I’m from Unwana Ward A. On the election day, I cannot be in Amasiri ward B. I will be restricted at my polling unit. Each of us here have polling units and we are very important on our areas.
“The chairman of the committee said something. The embarrassment the candidates will face are small to what we the stakeholders will face if we don’t deliver. The question we will ask ourselves is what will make us not to deliver?
“A lot of us in 2018, 2019 were inaugurated by the campaign council but they were so fraudulent that they disappointed us. They will go to Abakaliki, bring money for campaigning but will not give it to the people. I challenged them, exposed them and I became their enemy, but I didn’t care. At the end of the day, we were vindicated.
“I’m bringing up this issue because I know that with the calibre of people here, such will not be experienced. We expect that things that will be given for the grassroots will be taken to them. If we don’t extend the hands of fellowship to those at the grassroots, we will fail.
“We have better chances now because those people have surrounded the candidate of PDP. So let’s put our people first in whatever we are doing. We will enjoy this administration after election. These women that were inaugurated today are our number one canvassers. We will go with them door to door to canvas to our people”.
In his speech, Director General of the Campaign organization in Afikpo North, Timothy Nwachi, called on the people to take the campaign serious.
“You know many persons are taking election as the time to build houses, buy cars or even to get married to your son or daughter. No, to my own understanding, election is time for service to your people, it is the time to bring out your sincerity, the loyal spirit in you to the party you have vowed to belong to and that is why I am coming from the angle of sabotage.
“The greatest challenge any group use to have is the enemy in the house that is why I want to appeal to all the committee members to see every other person as yourself.
“We are here seated as principal officers, it is for things to move accordingly, but we all have equal work to do like other speakers have said. We will never remain in our various polling units and that is why the leaders of the Divine Mandate of Continuity and Consolidation 2023 that our vote is going to be from bottom to top not from up to bottom.
“They laid so much emphasis on works at the polling units that is where we have the real work to do. When you get there, I want to advise do not look at your uncle to bring him in at the ward or the polling unit. Do not look at your wife or sister to bring her in at the ward or polling unit. Look at those that have always stood to make sure that you are not rigged out, you are not intimidated”.