Contrary to insinuations by Abia state top government officials that third term ambition drove him to the APC, Hon Sam Onuigbo maintains that 'continuous acts of injustice and impunity by PDP  party administrators' forced him out of the party.

Onuigbo, representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/South Federal Constituency who recently defected to the APC told newsmen that his defection has nothing to do with any third term agenda as he could not be discussing third term barely a year to his second term. 

He explained that before decamping from the PDP, he reached out to every major stakeholder of the PDP  for amicable settlement of the crisis in the Ikwuano LGA chapter of the party, but met a brickwall.

"I wrote a letter to PDP's National Chairman, Uche Secondus, and copied former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. I also copied my Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, former governor, Senator T A Orji.

"Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe and House of Representatives Minority Leader, Hon Ndudi Elumelu also got copies of my letter.

" I reached out to every major stakeholder in PDP for amicable settlement of the issues, but my efforts met a brickwall. In terms of genuine efforts, I made them", Onuigbo affirmed, adding that even before then he personally wrote to Secondus and met with Gov. Ikpeazu  who both  agreed that an injustice had been carried out, and promised to call for a peaceful resolution. 

“Was I also asking Secondus, Atiku, Elumelu, Abaribe, Chinda, and others for a third term? Isn’t that funny? Except if they are telling us their reason for the impunity they meted out, otherwise, I do not see where that blatant lie came from.” 

It will be recalled that the Ikwuano LGA chapter of the PDP became factionalised following the congresses held at the ward and LG levels of the party. Following disagreement over interpretation of the Abia PDP Caucus resolution governing the congresses, two factions of the party executives emerged from the ward to the LG levels led respectively by Onuigbo, and Col Akobundu (rtd), the National Organising Secretary of the party.

But instead of harmonizing the lists of executives produced by both stakeholders, the PDP upheld the list from Col. Akobundu alone without any slot given to Onuigbo, thus denying the highest elected office holder of the party from Ikwuano LG, Rep. Onuigbo, of his rights. 

This denial  of the rights of Rep. Onuigbo was further carried into the decision for State party Excos and the decision for the LGA elections where while his colleagues at the National Assembly were recognized in the party decision and approriately carried along in the scheme of affairs,  Onuigbo was once again sidelined. 

Onuigbo said he had to leave the PDP having received these clear signals from the party Exco and their puppeteers, and believes the APC offers a better alternative platform to  continue to effectively and responsively continue to represent his constituents.