Tinubu had promised to restart the Eastern corridor locomotive railways and expand them to Calabar, Anambra, and other parts of the South East, as well as to make Igbo an industrial hub.
Former Senate President Ken Nnamani, Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama, former Enugu Governor Sullivan Chime, Director General, Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, Senator Ayogu Eze, Juliet Ibekaku, and Ben Nwoye, among others, boycotted the protest.
But Nnamani, Chime, Odo, and Ikechukwu Ugwuegede were waiting for Tinubu at Enugu's Akanu Ibiam International Airport. When asked why stakeholders avoided the rally, Nnamani stated that they were not aware of it and had nothing to do with those who organised it.
"We are unaware of any preparations for this rally. It was planned from outside of Enugu. That is why we did not want to go there and cause a commotion," Nnamani explained. He did, however, emphasise that Tinubu is the party's candidate and that every faithful party member would back his victory.
Chime, on the other hand, reported that they avoided the event after the airport reception due to issues in the party. He added that the situation had existed for a year and emerged as a result of the imposition of a non-member on the party's leadership.
The development comes after the election of a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Ugochukwu Agballah, as the state Chairman of the APC in an October 2021 parallel congress conducted at an events centre in Enugu.
Members had protested his election on the grounds that he was not a registered member of the party, and that he was imposed by one of the zone's governors against the will of party members.
Chief Adolphus Ude, who had also been elected Chairman at another congress held at the party's state headquarters, had gone to court to challenge Agballah's election.
Since then, the case has been in court. "Since October 2021, we've had a non-party member imposed on us as our chairman," Chime explained. Protests have brought leaders to Abuja. Unfortunately, no one has taken action."
(Source: guardian.ng)
