The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South, to clarify his alleged ties with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) or face sanctions.
The warning followed a caucus meeting of the party held in Umuahia on Tuesday night.
In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Chukwuemeka Nwokoro, APGA insisted that no individual could belong to two political parties at the same time and urged the senator to publicly declare his political allegiance.
The party accused the former Senate Minority Leader of abandoning APGA after securing a fifth term in the Senate on its platform, alleging that he had treated the leadership with disdain.
According to the statement, Abaribe reportedly held meetings at his event centre in Aba on August 18 and September 23, where he allegedly promoted ADC activities instead of APGA. The party therefore challenged him to personally confirm or deny rumours of his defection.
Reacting swiftly, Abaribe’s media aide, Uchenna Awom, dismissed the ultimatum, describing it as unnecessary and based on unverified rumours.
He maintained that the party had direct access to the senator and should have sought clarification through proper channels.
“Senator Abaribe is alive. As APGA leader in Abia, the party has all the channels to access him. He doesn’t have any issues with them. They should write to him and personally hear from him,” Awom said.
When asked if the senator had truly defected to ADC, the aide declined to give a definite answer but stressed that Abaribe, as an experienced politician, knew the proper steps to take if such a move were to be made.
“Has he communicated to them that he has left APGA? They don’t just sit down and do arm-twisting to get words out from his mouth,” Awom added.
The development has heightened political tension in Abia, with observers closely watching whether Abaribe will reaffirm his loyalty to APGA or chart a new course with the ADC.
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