By Eric Ugbor

OHAFIA—THE All Progressives Congress, APC, senatorial candidate for the Abia North senatorial zone of Abia State, Mrs Nnenna Okoro has debunked rumours making the rounds that she has withdrawn from the March 5, INEC rescheduled re-run election in the zone.

Mrs Okoro who spoke with journalists yesterday in Ohafia blamed her political detractors, mischief makers and opponents who were intimidated by her credibility and wide acceptance by the people of the zone as peddlers behind the unfounded rumour.

She said: “Why would I step down from the race, step down for who? It is inconceivable and non-debatable. I am in the race to win and we are campaigning vigorously and by the grace of God with the volume of acceptance of our people, victory is assured.”

Mrs Okoro explained that she was in England when the Court of Appeal in Owerri nullified the election of Abia North senatorial zone and called for a repeat of the entire exercise and that shortly after she arrived the country, she started hearing the rumour that she has been paid money to step down for a particular candidate.

She said: “When I heard it, I thought that it was the handiwork of mischief makers but when somebody from the high quarters asked me about it, I felt it was time and proper to put the records straight.”

“They said one of the candidates  paid me money to step down and I became embarrassed because when you know my pedigree and daughter of whom I am you know that non of the candidates dares it  nor has the capacity to buy me over” she said.

She stated that “people came to me to say that the former Governor of the state Orji Uzor Kalu asked me to collapse my structure to support him for the race and I told them to go and tell him that he should be the one that should instead collapse his structure to support me because I am more credible and academically and better in all ramifications to represent the people of the zone in the senate.

She said “who among my political opponents would I step down for. All of them with all their verifiable qualifications put together cannot match me academically”

The Arochukwu born politician with degrees in English and Philosophy, Engineering and law said  “what I have  non of my opponents  has. I have compassion but they don’t have because if they had it Abia north senatorial zone wouldn’t have remained underdeveloped the way it is today after their many years of governance both in the state and the country, there is nothing to show for our people”

“Some of them come out without knowing what the senate entails, just because they have made money. We need human development who and where have they developed after many of their years in government, they only move around with stolen money to give the people peanuts” she said .

Mrs Okoro called on the people of the zone to vote for her as APC candidate who is capable of attracting federal presence that would impact positively on the lives of the people assuring them of all round effective representation in the senate.