By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Controversy has trailed the mild drama reportedly stirred by the Deputy Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming Anambra gubernatorial election, Senator Uche Ekwunife, during the signing of the Peace Accord between candidates of different political parties contesting in the November 8 poll.
The incident, which took place at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Awka, on Monday, became a major talking point after a video from the event went viral on social media. The footage, which captured Ekwunife publicly shunning and shoving off the hands of APC State Chairman, Hon. Basil Ejidike, as he tried to reason something with her, thereby stirring up speculations about what he might be telling her, to have warranted such public display.
Some who witnessed the scene or saw the clip speculated that Ekwunife might have been provoked by her principal, Prince Dr. Nicholas Ukachukwu, or the APC State Chairman, Hon. Ejidike; while some others said it was a wrong interpretation of facts, and that there was no provocation whatsoever.
Supporters of Governor Charles Soludo’s camp also hastily circulated the footage on social media with commentary suggesting visible discord between Senator Ekwunife and her principal, Prince Dr. Nicholas Ukachukwu, and alleging a public slight by party leaders at the event.
Maazi Opara, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on New Media, amplified this interpretation on his social handles, alleging that the footage shows Ekwunife, who reportedly came late at the event, grappling in the pool of self-inflicted disrespect.
Opara claimed that Ekwunife’s reaction was as a result of sitting arrangements, as, according to him, Ukachukwu allowed the APC State Chairman to sit right behind him, a position that should have been exclusively reserved for her as the Deputy Governorship candidate .
In the post, Opara, who is also the APGA National Publicity Secretary, questioned why Ukachukwu chose to allow someone else sit behind him rather than his running mate. He also accused the candidate’s handlers of sidelining the Deputy.
The post and the video, however, have triggered debate and sparked off a chain of reactions and counter-reactions from both Ukachukwu’s and Soludo’s supporters.
Reacting to the clip and the narrative being traded on social media, the media office of Senator Ekwunife dismissed such claims as false, unfounded, and politically motivated.
Clarifying what happened and telling their own side of the story, Ekwunife’s media office, in a statement signed by her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Tony Ezike, explained that Senator Ekwunife had been invited by the event organizers to represent Ukachukwu before his arrival. However, upon arriving the venue and realizing that her principal was already physically present at the hall by himself, she then decided to continue with her earlier scheduled engagements in various communities.
According to the statement, the misinterpreted clip and scene ensued when, as Ekwunife was about leaving the hall after having greeted her principal, the APC State Chairman, Hon. Ejidike, requested that she returned briefly to also exchange pleasantries with the Governor, but she politely declined, explaining that she was already behind schedule.
While noting that Ejidike understood and also escorted Ekwunife to her vehicle as she left the venue peacefully, the media team condemned what it described as the wrong interpretation given to the viral video, describing it as a deliberate attempt by Soludo’s media aides to misinform the public and sow discord within the APC.
The APC campaign organization further alleged that the misleading video and accompanying commentaries were part of APGA’s strategy to distract the electorate from the failures of the present administration. They maintained that the party remains united, focused, and fully committed to the success of its governorship candidate, Prince Dr. Nicholas Ukachukwu, and his running mate, Senator Uche Ekwunife, in the forthcoming election.
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