The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Abia State Chapter, has given Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe representing Abia South, 24 hours to clear air over his alleged fraternity with the coalition African Democratic Congress, ADC, or face sanctions.

APGA in a statement after its caucus meeting in Umuahia on Tuesday night, told the former Senate Minority Leader that nobody would belong to two political parties at the same time, and demanded him to declare his stand.

APGA accused Senator Abaribe of abandoning the party and treating its leadership with disdain after using the party?s platform to secure a fifth term at the red chamber.

The statement signed by the party?s Publicity Secretary, Chukwuemeka Nwokoro, said that Senator Abaribe held meetings on August 18, and September 23 respectively at his event centre in Aba where he allegedly promoted ADC instead of APGA, and challenged him to personally confirm or deny his rumoured defection to ADC.

But in a swift reaction, Abaribe?s media aide, Uchenna Awom, said the party knew how to access the Senator as its leader in the state, and should stop dwelling on rumours.

He said it was unfair for the party to issue ultimatum to the Senator based on unverified rumour without hearing from him, and advised them to stop acting ?on subterfuge?.

Awom said: ?Senator Abaribe is alive. As APGA leader in Abia, the party has all the channels to access him. He doesn?t have any issues with them. They should write him and personally hear from him.?

Asked if Abaribe had truly defected to ADC, the aide said: ?As an experienced polititican, he knows how to go about it.?

He added: ?Has he communicated to them that he has left APGA? They don?t just sit down and do arm-twisting to get out words from his mouth.?

The statement read in part: ?The leadership of APGA in Abia State is not oblivious of the rumours making the rounds that Senator Enyinnaya Abiriba, representing Abia South on the platform of APGA has joined the African Democratic Party (ADC). This rumour followed the town hall meeting he called on 18/8/25 at the NOBIK event center, Aba where he addressed some members of his constituency about what he called ?a coalition? under the ADC.

?It is also on record that the meeting of 18/8/25 metamorphosed into another meeting held at the same event center on 22/8/25, anchored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe wherein he openly and overtly tilted towards promoting ADC at the detriment of APGA on whose mandate he is occupying the Senate position.

?In confirmation of the obvious body language of Senator Abaribe, which is anti APGA, the Abia State Secretary of the ADC, openly and boldly stated in a radio programme that Senator Abaribe is not only a card carrying member of ADC in Abia State but also doubled as the leader of ADC in Abia, a bold statement which Senator Abaribe has not denied till date.?

APGA said it had accorded Senator Abaribe enough respect by giving him the opportunity to interact with the party leadership on some vital issues affecting the party ?but he intentionally bluffed the invitation for a meeting extended to him, thereby demeaning the party?s leadership.?

The statement said that despite ?all these alleged unhealthy political movements by Senator Abaribe?, which the party leadership ?sees as compromising actions meant to vilify, ridicule and expose APGA to public odium,? the party had, however, tried to handle the matter with maturity to avoid rancour.

It further read: ?Extant laws governing political party membership in Nigeria forbid a person to belong to two different political parties at the same time, thus, Senator Abaribe cannot belong to APGA and ADC at the same time.

?The action of Senator Abaribe by openly and hobnobbing with another political party (ADC) while holding the mandate of APGA as a Senator amounts to gross violation of APGA Constitution.

?In view of these, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe is hereby given 24 hours from the date and time of releasing this press statement to personally and publicly refute and, or deny all the speculations making the rounds on his membership of the African Democratic Party (ADC).?

APGA demanded Senator Abaribe?s response in both print and electronic media platforms, failure of which the party threatened a prompt disciplinary actions against him in line with the party?s APGA constitution.

?This press statement shall serve as adequate notice to Senator Abaribe regarding the decision reached by the party?, it concluded.

Recall that Senator Abaribe went to the Senate in 2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, a platform he had used to win re-election in 2011, 2015, and 2019 respectively times but defected to APGA in 2023 to secure a fourth term. (Vanguard)

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