The All Progressives Congress, APC candidate for Anambra State, Dr. Tony Nwoye said, on Monday that he has decided to leave Senator Andy Uba to God following what he claimed was the refusal of the senator to accept his emergence as candidate.
Nwoye spoke following his appearance before the APC governorship appeals committee hearing a petition filed by Senator Uba against his emergence.
Nwoye, a medical doctor, member of the House of Representatives and former president of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, according to the petition was alleged to have mobilised students to disrupt the Anambra governorship primaries conducted by the Governor Kashim Shettima led panel.
He polled 2,145 votes to place first in the election and was trailed by Senator Uba who polled 931 votes.
Speaking to newsmen after his appearance before the committee on efforts he has been making to reach out to those he defeated in the primaries, Dr. Nwoye said: “I have reached out to all of them. The only person I have not reached out to is my boss, Sen. Uba; you know when he is your boss, he remains your boss.
“I have called him on phone severally. I served him loyally when I was chairman of PDP, he was our governorship candidate and I leave the rest to God. He is the only one who has refused to talk to me. I called him; have sent text messages to him. I have even gone to his house but he did not open his gate for me. All the other aspirants are with me. He is the only person who refused to see me up till this moment.”
On his encounter with the committee, he said: “The committee said they got a petition that I, as a former leader of the National Association of Nigerian Students NANS brought in students who chased away delegates, vandalized their cars and then they, students, now voted.
“This is not true because the over 4000 delegates that voted were purely executives of the APC and the statutory delegates who were entitled to vote. And this was a primary election that has been adjudged as the fairest in Nigeria. So I made it very clear to the panel that there was no room for manipulation; nobody was beaten or induced to vote.”
Nwoye also expressed confidence in the ability of the committee to uphold his election, saying the wishes of Anambra people must be respected. “I am not God but I know these are party people. I told them that Anambrarians have spoken as far as the party’s ticket is concerned. It is not about Tony Nwoye. So, I strongly believe that their sacred mandate would be upheld”.
Speaking to newsmen after the hearing, party spokesman, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said the party was yet to make a definite pronouncement on the appeal.
“Whatever is the report of the panel, we will consider it and then take a decision. We are confident that we will be able to resolve whatever the issues are and then go into the election. We are also confident that we are going to win the governorship election on November 18.”
By the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, all intra-party disputes were expected to be concluded by September 2, 2017.