Bishop Sunday Onuoha and three other candidates for governor were suspended by the African Democratic Congress Abia State on Tuesday night.
This came as the party declared its preparedness to support a governorship candidate from a different state-based political party.
Speaking to reporters following a meeting of the State Working Committee, the chairman of the Abia ADC, Norman Obinna, disclosed that additional candidates included Mr. Osita Offor, Iyke Nwoke, and Abraham Godson, who is running for the Umuahia Central State Constituency and the Abia Central Senatorial District.
Sunday Onuoha, a Methodist cleric, was put on administrative leave, according to Obinna, for violating Article 22 of the party constitution by engaging in “acts and conducts that have brought the party into hatred, disrepute, and public ridicule, as well as engaging in an unauthorized publicity of party dispute (using his radio station), the fractionalization, and the creation of parallel party organs.”
He added that the party further decided it would no longer put up with Onuoha’s excesses.
The party leader claimed that while Godson was suspended for openly endorsing Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, and disparaging the ADC party’s presidential candidate on a state radio station, Nwoke misled the party by failing to disclose that he had previously obtained a nomination form under the Peoples Democratic Party and had previously competed in the PDP primaries, where he had been unsuccessful.
Nwoke was accused of acting in a way that alienated party members when he forcibly ousted the ward chairman of local governments in his constituency.
The other individual, a wrestler named Osita Offor, was similarly demoted for posing as the party’s nominee for the Abia North senate seat rather than Sir Martins Emetu, whose name had been made public by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The Abia ADC chairman went on to explain that while he had intended to bring good administration to Abia, the decision to nominate Onuoha for governor put an end to the plan because Onuoha had different goals when he joined the party.
Onuoha’s suspension from the ADC, according to him, was necessary to educate Abians of his activities and to let them know that he was not running for office under the ADC but rather “standing as a single entity due to his constant disruptions to the party.”
“Onuoha completely destroyed the ADC’s buildings in Abia State. He is not running for office and was set up as a mole to divert our attention.
He didn’t establish a campaign committee or rent a campaign office, and there was no Onuoha billboard to be seen everywhere. We also didn’t know when he selected his deputy.
“He hasn’t given anything to the party; instead, he forces all the House of Assembly candidates to finance his campaign, and he entered the party using so many lies that he planned to utilize his Vision Africa Radio to raise money for his governorship campaign.
“Every day, we continue to hear cock and bull stories. The decision to suspend him was made because he doesn’t exhibit seriousness and the party cannot remain silent.
Obinna asserted that Onuoha should not be taken seriously by Abians because the party had broken ties with him. He further stated that the party would soon adopt and support a governorship candidate from another political party who was more trustworthy, qualified, and able to govern Abia, emphasizing that “anyone who lies with little things should not be trusted with leadership positions.”
Mr. Onwuasoanya Emole, the state coordinator for electoral matters and INEC liaison, said it was time to notify the people of Abia of Onuoha’s anti-party activities because the party’s members and executive could no longer rely on him to run as a candidate.
He claimed that since Onuoha and the other three candidates had all violated Article 22 of the party constitution, the suspension of them was appropriate and in accordance with procedure.
Onuoha, meanwhile, has denied the reported suspension, claiming that the party has previously suspended the individuals who were supposed to suspend him.
