- A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Professor Bernard Odoh, says APC lost in Ebonyi because of lack of cohesion
- Odoh regretted that the APC lost the presidential and National Assembly elections in Ebonyi state
- The chieftain expressed displeasure that APC in Ebonyi could not manage the challenges of the party very well
Professor Bernard Odoh, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, has said lack of cohesion, party wrangling and lack of team spirit, were responsible for the party's loss during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly election in Ebonyi.
Odoh spoke on Thursday, February 28, in Abakaliki, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Legit.ng notes that he, however, commended the party in the state for giving President Muhammadu Buhari the highest votes in the southeast zone.
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Buhari scored 90,726 votes, while Atiku Abubakar of the PDP scored 258,573 votes.
Odoh, former secretary to Ebonyi state government, also regretted that the APC in Ebonyi could not manage the challenges of the party very well.
He said: “Internal wrangling, poor internal cohesion, and lack of team spirit undermined the party’s ability to win positions in the just concluded elections in Ebonyi.
“Abia for instance, scored less votes for APC, but was able to win a senate and two House of Representatives seats; we didn’t manage our challenges well and this robbed us of the desired victory.
“Buhari’s stronghold states remained intact and more votes poured in from South-East, more national assembly seats were won by the party in the zone in the just concluded elections.
“We in the South-East have realised that APC is a formidable party and our inclusion in the Nigerian project have become more imperative than ever before.
“In my assessment, our party did better in this election than in 2015. We will have better stake going forward.
“Ebonyi incidentally gave Buhari the highest number of votes in the region and it’s a great feat.’’
Odoh commended the INEC for the transparent conduct of the election, but noted that there was room for improvement on its performance in the forthcoming governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.
He said: “INEC tried in leaving up to its word by conducting the elections after it failed to conduct the poll on Feb. 16, earlier slated for the first leg of the elections.
“But I am not impressed that results took over 48 hours to be collated and declared; I think INEC can do better than this.
“I am optimistic they will improve their efficiency of result collation and declaration in the remaining elections; this will help raise confidence and credibility of the entire process."
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, said he was not sure of who would coast home to victory in the Saturday, February 23 presidential election.
Oshiomhole said there was apprehension before the election over who was going to win.
The APC chairman who spoke to State House correspondents after congratulating Buhari, said: “I wasn’t sure of who was going to win, only God knows until the votes were counted. But whichever way, I was sure that once the election goes the way it has gone, Nigeria is the winner and Nigerians are winners.”
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Source: Legit.ng