TDBarely three days for All Progressive Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) to conduct Federal Constituency primary election, Stakeholders in Okpoko community in Ogbaru Federal Constituency, under the umbrella of Okpoko Concerned Stakeholders Forum (OCSF), have called on the leadership of APGA to consider zoning the ticket of the party for the Federal House election to Okpoko community inline with the APGA’s principle of zoning in Anambra State.
The Forum in a letter addressed to the National Chairman of APGA Barr Sly Ezeokenwa signed by Chief Don William Orienta as Chairman, Pastor Alex Elechi as Secretary and Comrade Onyeka Nwachukwu as PRO, stated that Okpoko which constitute over 70% of voting population of Ogbaru Federal Constituency is yet to produce a member of Federal House since return of democracy in Nigeria in 1999.
According to the Forum, Ogbaru Federal Constituency is made up of two State Constituencies which include Okpoko a densely populated urban community with higher voting strength as Constituency 1 and inland/indigenous communities in Ogbaru as Constituency 2 but only Constituency 2 has been producing members of the Federal House since 1999.
The Forum lamented that several attempts made to address this imbalance are resist by highly placed people of Constituency 2 with impression that Ndi Okpoko community are non Indigenes, petty traders, illitrates and poor people in Ogbaru, thus they cannot be allowed to occupy Ogbaru seat in the Federal House of Representatives.
The letter reads in part: “The situation is that Okpoko residents pay taxes to government without being represented in power.
“It’s not fair and it’s not democratic.
“To this end, we are asking you to consider this letter as worthy and approve the zoning of APGA ticket for Federal House election to Okpoko inline with the zoning formula that is currently thriving in Anambra State.
“We so Appeal, sir.
“We are hopeful that APGA stands the better chances of winning with a candidate from Okpoko.
“Yes assuming the former governor of Anambra State becomes the Presidential candidate of NDC, it becomes politically imperative and expedient that an Okpoko man becomes the candidate of APGA especially since all the major political parties including APC and NDC will be fielding candidates from State Constituency 2.”
