'I NEVER PARTICIPATED IN APC PRIMARY, I WITHDREW' - CUBANA CHIEFPRIEST

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Celebrity businessman Pascal Okechukwu, also called Cubana Chief Priest, has said he did not take part in the All Progressives Congress primary election for the Orsu/Orlu/Oru East Federal Constituency seat in Imo State.

He explained that he left the race on his own after Governor Hope Uzodimma gave him the party‘s zoning plan.

This comes after Okechukwu posted several Instagram stories on Sunday saying he didn’t run in the election.
This goes against a previous video he shared, where he mentioned his only regret was trusting the community elders and that just 14 people voted for him in the primary.

Okechukwu was trying to get the APC nomination for the Orsu/Orlu/Oru East seat in preparation for the 2027 general elections, but he lost to the current lawmaker, Canice Nwachukwu.

Describing himself as “a loyal party man and committed progressive,” he said his consultations with Uzodimma led him to understand and respect the party’s zoning arrangement, which held that Orlu LGA should complete at least two terms before the seat rotated to another local government area.

“He made the argument that it was not the turn of my Local Government Area to occupy the seat at this time, especially considering that my elder brother, Asiwaju Jerry Alagboso, had previously served three terms in the House,” Okechukwu wrote.

He said he nonetheless made clear to the governor that his aspiration was driven by genuine concern about the performance of the current occupant of the seat.

“My decision and resolve to aspire for the office was born out of my conviction that the current holder of the office was not living up to the expectations and aspirations of our people,” he said.

When the party subsequently adopted its zoning arrangement and directed preferred aspirants to proceed to the field, he said he stood down entirely.

“In respect for the party and its leadership, I chose not to proceed to the field, and indeed, I never did. Nobody will say they saw me anywhere around the primaries venue. In fact I did not participate. As I headed straight back to Lagos,” he wrote.

Okechukwu said the party’s decision reached him in the early hours of Saturday, before the primary was held, and that he honoured the internal understanding by staying away completely.

He said, “Immediately the party’s decision was communicated to me in the early hours of Saturday before the primaries, I stayed away completely in respect of the leadership and the internal understanding reached.”

He dismissed the social media commentary around the episode as coordinated mischief, saying it was “laughable that some misguided elements are attempting to use my name for unnecessary trending and online propaganda.”

On claims that he was financially indebted to supporters over the failed bid, he was emphatic.