ANAMBRA 2017: Crack in UPP widens as Offodile dumps party over ‘corrupt manipulation’

Ahead of the November 8 Anambra State governorship election, there appears a crack in the United Progressives Party (UPP), as one of its former gubernatorial aspirant, Chudi Offodile, has dumped the party over allegations of corrupt manipulation of the recently concluded primary of the party.

Offodile is alleging that the party’s national chairman, Chekwas Okorie and his erstwhile co-aspirant and eventual candidate of the party, Osita Chidoka, were involved in corruption over the primary election of the party.

He told newsmen in Awka, “I have noted the willful and corrupt manipulation of the party’s delegates’ list by Chief Chekwas Okorie, but it is the display of insensitivity to the life of a party official that died in the primary election that made me to reconsider my membership.

“I hereby resign my membership of the party with effect from today the 21st day of August 2017. I urge all my supporters and all those who believe in the Biafran ideology of equality, freedom and justice to do the same and await further directives.”

Offodile denied ever nominating any agent for the primary election last Saturday, claiming that he had before the election backed out of the race having sensed that Okorie and Chidoka had already conspired to corruptly doctor the delegates’ list in order to disenfranchise many members of the party.

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He said, “I did not appoint any agent nor did I participate in the primary election. The list of delegates contained strange names, unlike the authentic delegate’s list that has the phone numbers of delegates displayed.

“Besides, how can a political party carry on with a primary election with one of its officers lying stone dead, a victim of corrupt manipulation of delegates’ list. I called on the party to call off the accreditation as a mark of respect for the dead officer who was killed performing his duty, but it went ahead with it.”

It will be recalled that a chieftain of the party and ward chairman, Uwakwe Maduabuchi, died during the party’s primary allegedly due to the fracas that ensued following a disagreement over the party’s delegates’ list.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

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