By Henry umoru

Abuja — A group made up of career professionals, the Abia Professionals Forum, APF, has warned that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, risks losing Abia to the opposition in 2015 except concrete steps are taken by the leadership of the party at the state and national levels to pacify aspirants who are disgruntled with the recent governorship primary of the party.

The group made up of people who are also leading members of the Abia State chapter of PDP, said this in reaction to recent appeal by President Goodluck Jonathan and chairman of PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, to aspirants who are dissatisfied with the result of the recent primaries of PDP not to defect to opposition parties.

While noting that many PDP members had indeed defected to other parties while others are on the verge of doing so, the group, in a statement signed by Mr Sam Onukwe, its President, advised leaders of PDP to go beyond “mere appeal” if the party is not to suffer for the mismanagement of its primaries in the February 2015 general elections.

Citing the example of Abia State, the group noted that some of the aspirants who are now being paraded as candidates of the party are not only unpopular among the electorate, while there also seem to be total loss of confidence in the leadership of the ruling party.

According to them, “we particularly note the situation in Abia State where there seem to be total loss of confidence in the leadership of the ruling party and particularly, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, the controversial governorship candidate of PDP who was reportedly stoned at Aba Township Stadium and had to be quickly smuggled out of the sports facility to avert the danger to his life by the police.

“We wonder how a candidate who is so unpopular will go round the state to canvass for votes. It is our fear that unless urgent action is taken by the leadership of PDP at the state and the national levels, the electorate may be forced to speak with their voters’ card during the election, a situation which may turn out to be very unpalatable for the PDP.”