The 17 chairmen of the Local Government chapters of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Abia State have deserted the governorship candidate of the party, Dr. Dame Blessing Nwagba, and advised her to step down for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

Addressing newsmen in Umuahia on Tuesday, leader and spokesman of the group, Chijioke Ozems, said they now preferred the PDP governorship candidate, Dr. Ikpeazu, who they argued, should be allowed to complete eight years in office like former governors from other zones.

“The 17 Local Government Chairmen of SDP and members of the state working committee here present are hereby adopting his Excellency, Dr Okezie Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, as our governorship candidate for the March 9, 2019 governorship election in the state.

“We are doing this for posterity sake, we are doing for the future and we are doing this for equity,” said Ozems who is the chairman of SDP in Isiala Ngwa North.

“You know that we have our own gubernatorial candidate, Dame Dr. Blessing Nwagba. We have gone into the nitty-gritty of this election; we have also seen that she is from Abia South where the governor comes from. And we who are in Abia State have seen this state, as led by the governor. We have also seen, as we have gone round the state, even after adopting our own gubernatorial candidate, what this young man, the governor, has done and we are here to today to appeal to our gubernatorial candidate to step down honourably for the governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu,” he added.

Ozems, however, said that SDP candidates vying for the Abia State House of Assembly have their 100 per cent support and that their members would vote for them, adding that the SDP body of chairmen were collaborating and partnering with Ikpeazu only.

He also clarified that they were not collapsing SDP into PDP but were supporting the candidacy of Ikpeazu, adding that he should be allowed to continue in office for peace to reign.

He equally stressed that their mission was for the interest of Abia and equity and not about any political party.

He dismissed the notion that what they were doing was anti-party, pointing out that the party in the state had at various times adopted candidates, including President Muhammadu Buhari as their candidate for the Presidential election, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu as their candidate for Abia Central Senatorial election, amongst others, insisting that they were out to ensure that equity reigned.

Ozems also denied that their action had any tinge of financial inducement.

In her reaction in a telephone interview, the SDP governorship candidate, Dame Nwagba, said she was hearing the stand of the local government area chairmen as a rumour, adding that the party would make its official position known in due course.

•Abia SDP chieftain Chijioke Ozems (C) addressing Tuesday’s press briefing in Umuahia