A coalition of 10 registered political parties in Ebonyi has endorsed Prof. Bernard Odoh, former Secretary to State Government (SSG) to contest for 2019 governorship election in the state.

The coalition disclosed this in a 10-point communique read by its state Coordinator, Mr Cletus Ukpabi in Abakaliki on Monday.



Odoh is among the major contenders for the gubernatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) for the 2019 governorship election in the state.

The News men recall that the former SSG, who was appointed by Gov. Dave Umahi on May 29, 2015, resigned his appointment on April 2.

The group said that its support for Odoh’s emergence as the flag bearer of the APC in the Ebonyi governorship election was predicated on its conviction that he was most qualified among the other aspirants.



The group said that Odoh‘s political support base spread across a broad spectrum of the electorate, including the academia , youths, artisans, civil servants, pensioners and market women.

The coalition urged APC to consider the former Nnamdi Azikiwe University lecturer, whom it said possessed the needed intellectual, political and adminon the APC governorship ticket.

The group said that the political parties in the coalition were aligning with APC to produce the next governor of the state stressing that it had endorsed Odoh as its sole candidate in the election.



It said the decision to endorse Odoh was reached after the executives and members of the political parties in the alliance voted unanimously to back him for the governorship race as their preferred candidate.

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The group said: “That party executives and members of the coalition, after an exhaustive meeting, resolved to endorse Odoh as our sole candidate and recommend him for APC to consider as its gubernatorial candidate.

“That a discreet opinion poll conducted on all other aspirants from the various political parties revealed that Odoh has more support base and general acceptability.

“That based on the general acceptability of Odoh’s candidature by a broad spectrum of the electorate, we have resolved to endorse him as our choice candidate and urge his party to equally endorse him as a preferred choice

“That coalition of political parties in Ebonyi will have political miscarriage if APC denies Odoh the governorship ticket as their sole candidate for 2019 election.



“That it is crystal clear from our observation that Odoh remains the most generally acceptable, credible, result-oriented and most qualified aspirant.

“That we have accessed him as the only credible aspirant in APC that has the capacity to defeat the incumbent Gov. Umahi, in a free and fair election.”

The group urged eligible voters who were yet to collect their voter cards to go and get them to qualify to vote in the 2019 general elections.

The News men report that Odoh is from Ebonyi Central Senatorial District where the immediate past Gov. Martin Elechi hails from.

Odoh will battle Dr Paul Okorie, a two-time commissioner in the state, Sen. Soni Ogbuoji, Dr Edward Nkwegu, and Austine Edeeze among others for the APC governorship ticket for the 2019 election.

Political parties in the coalition are: African People’s Alliance (APA), Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), National Conscience Party (NCP), Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), and Fresh Democratic Party (FDP).

Other is; Democratic People’s Party (DPP), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and the United Democratic Party (UPP).
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