All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Abia State, Prince Paul Ikonne, has said that if all the stakeholders and the party could settle for a consensus candidate, his party’s victory would be made easy in the coming general election.
He, however, assured that if given the opportunity as the candidate of APC, he would make Abia conducive for business “knowing that the people of the state are business oriented and take the state to a high.”
Prince Ikonne was governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2011
Speaking with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja after he obtained his nomination form and expression of interest at the APC national secretariat to contest the party’s Abia governorship ticket, Prince Ikonne said the people of Abia know that he actually won election in 2011, assuring that his government “will put Abia where it belongs.”
When asked for his comment on whether the party should conduct the primary election using direct or indirect system, Ikonne said: “As long as our party comes up with a consensus candidate who we will eventually go for, we will come out strong.
“Those trying to destabilize the party one way or the other will cave in by God’s grace and key into this course for us to rescue and take Abia to a greater height”, he said.
On the adoption of indirect primaries, he said; “It depends on the peculiarities of states and the environment.
“The party’s national leadership is very wise, but there are peculiarities, like in Abia, indirect primaries and consensus will definitely give us what we want.
“Stakeholders are yet to meet, we are still going to meet, and by the time we meet, we will come out with a blue print of the way forward.”
On what he is bringing to the table if given the opportunity to fly the party’s ticket, Ikonne said he is coming in with a fresh idea, adding that he would add value to governance and ensure better life for the people of the state.
“By God’s grace, I’m the founding father of APC in Abia as the governorship candidate of the ACN then which was the major merging party of the APC. I have been in the party and I have worked for it and still working for it.
“During the 2015 general elections, I organised the presidential rally in Abia which was successful and adjudged the best rally and I am coming from Aba, the Eyimba city and by God’s grace, age is on my side, and I have served in government and I have good understanding of the way government functions and I have a blueprint on what to do to move Abia forward and above all, I have the grace of God more than any other aspirant”, he further said.
