Senators distance themselves from Abia ADC communique, allege desperate political manipulation
Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) and Austin Akobundu (Abia Central) have strongly denied any involvement in a coalition meeting or endorsement activities linked to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Abia State.
Their media aides, Uchenna Awom and Jude Ndukwe, said their principals neither attended the coalition meeting held last Saturday in Umuahia nor authorized any communique endorsing Deacon Iyke Nwoke as interim chairman of ADC in the state.
Responding to an inquiry from DAILY POST Uchenna Awom, spokesperson to Senator Abaribe, simply said, “It is not true,” distancing the Senator from the communique.
Jude Ndukwe, spokesperson for Senator Akobundu, went further, describing the reports as “manipulative machinations of desperate elements to hoodwink and mislead unsuspecting members of the public.”
“There is no way Senator Austin Akobundu, a PDP Senator, would have involved himself in the activities of another party to the extent of endorsing a chairman for it,” Ndukwe stressed.
Despite their denials, a communique reportedly circulated by the Iyke Nwoke-led faction of the ADC listed both Senators among prominent Abia politicians who allegedly endorsed the formation of the ADC coalition and its leadership. Others named include Bishop Sunday Onuoha, Okey Ezeala, Nnenna Ukeje, P.C. Udenwa, Rev Marty Orji, and Chimezie Ubadire.
The communique further warned politicians against parading themselves as members of the ADC coalition while still retaining membership in their former political parties.
In a further twist, a parallel ADC faction led by Don Norman Obinna held a separate meeting and press conference in Umuahia on the same day, where it announced the names of local government chairpersons for the party in the state — deepening the leadership crisis within the Abia ADC.
The conflicting claims and denials now cast a shadow over the unity and credibility of the ADC coalition efforts in Abia State, with indications of internal fragmentation and external political interference.
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