We appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to withdraw Governor Peter Obi from APGA so that he can occupy his rightful place in the PDP.
The role of the Presidency and INEC in the APGA leadership crisis will remain a moral burden to them. Nothing has put to test the INEC and the Presidency mantra of free and fair election based on the rule of law and due process more than their handling of the APGA leadership question.
We are totally committed to the struggle to recover the soul of APGA. It does not matter how long it takes. We shall remain unbowed until victory is achieved.
We shall never surrender the soul of APGA to political buccaneers, profiteers, mercenaries, opportunists and brigands.
Founder and embattled national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, in this interview with EMMANUEL ENYINNAYA APPOLOS, accused President Jonathan and INEC of encouraging the disterbilisation of APGA. He also said that the adoption of Jonathan by Governor Peter Obi led APGA is fraudulent
What is your reaction to the adoption of President Goodluck Jonathan by the All Progressive Grand Alliance, as its presidential candidate in 2011?
That is not true. APGA has not adopted Jonathan as its presidential candidate for the 2011 presidential election. In fact, the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party, APGA met during the week and deliberated on recent development in the party and took far-reaching decisions and resolutions.
We vehemently dissociate our party from the fraudulent adoption of Dr Goodluck Jonathan as the presidential candidate of our party for the 2011 presidential election. There has never been any engagement with the Peoples Democratic Party in any form or manner that could have resulted in our taking such monumental and critical decision regarding the party’s interest in the 2011 presidential election.
But this was done at a national convention of the party.
The purported national convention of the party that they took this bizarre and unprecedented decision to mortgage the party’s interest in the 2011 presidential election to an individual is an illegal gathering in the sense that APGA had held a valid convention on September 2, 2009, in which Governor Peter Obi, Chief Victor Umeh and Alhaji Sani Shinkafi where duly expelled.
How?
The interlocutory order by court in Suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/452/2009, which restrained INEC from giving full effect to the resolutions reached at the convention, was duly discharged by the final judgment in the same suit delivered on November 23, 2010, by Hon. Justice H.T. Soba. There has not been any appeal on this subsisting judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. These expelled former members of APGA cannot lawfully convene a national convention of the party let alone committing the party to what is clearly a monumental fraud.
And that is one of the reasons we are highly disappointed that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan will lay credence to this fraud and tacitly encourage and sustain the willful and wicked destabilization of a promising political party like APGA registered under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, complete with its party constitution.
The shameful celebration of Governor Peter Obi at the PDP presidential campaign rally at Enugu on Friday, February 11, 2011, by the PDP chieftains who dressed up Mr. Obi in the same uniform adorned by the PDP Governors of the South East zone left a sour taste in the mouth of all Nigerians with sense of decency. Governor Peter Obi in brazen display of insensitivity, shamelessness and unscrupulous demeanor proceeded to give vote of thanks to signal the end of PDP presidential rally in Enugu. The question the public may wish to ask Mr. President is, why is he doing this to APGA? What have we done wrong to President Jonathan to warrant his weighty support to the destabilization of our party?
Umeh can now see that he has been used and dumped. After he was made national chairman at the illegal Awka gathering, the next day, Peter joined PDP members to rally for Jonathan. One would have expected their national chairman to tell the world their decision at the PDP rally, and may be Peter can also speak in his capacity as governor. But what did you see? Was Umeh anywhere around the rally? An agent provocateur who does not know that is what he is, was used and dumped. Before the illegal convention, Umeh was heading for another party, when Obi threatened him that if he dares him, they will bring Chekwas, the provocateur lied low and he was used and dumped. Umeh would have been relished to appear at the PDP gathering and address them as APGA chairman; unfortunately he has been used and dumped. Anyway that is who they are.
Umeh instituted Suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/452/2009, to challenge the recognition given to me by INEC in consonance with the provisions of the party constitution registered with the Commission. INEC felt so strongly about its principled stand on the APGA leadership matter that it hired the services of Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice to defend its position. INEC was the first defendant in that suit while I was joined as second defendant. The judgment referred to above was in favour of the defendants. Hon Justice H.T. Soba after a review of the submissions of the parties in 39 pages of his judgment ordered as follows: “Accordingly the suit is incompetent and is thereby struck out from the cause list for it lacks merit”.
What do you think has made INEC refuse to enforce its judgment?
It should amaze all Nigerians why a Commission that committed tax payers money in hiring the services of a high profile legal Counsel will appear reluctant to implement its own victory won in a court of competent jurisdiction. Is INEC acting on its own or is it the same destabilizing influence from above at play in the APGA imbroglio? The public should help us to seek answer to this simple but critical question.
INEC in a mischievous and deliberate lie, wrote a letter to Chief Victor Umeh dated 31st August 2010, claiming that the courts established Victor Umeh and Alhaji Sani Shinkafi as National Chairman and National Secretary of APGA respectively. Armed with this fraudulent letter, Chief Umeh proceeded immediately to advertise the letter side by side with nomination fees for aspirants wishing to contest various elective positions in the 2011 general election on the platform of APGA in several Nigerian newspapers. The conspiracy worked. Aspirants purchased their nomination forms from the Umeh illegal faction of the party. We promptly challenged INEC to publish any pronouncement of court that declared Umeh and Shinkafi National Chairman and National Secretary of the party respectively. Six months after the publication of this mass deceit, INEC has not justified the bogus lie contained in the letter used to give Umeh an undue advantage.
In spite of the conspiracy in high places to destroy APGA and impose PDP agents as our party candidates for the 2011 general election, we have resolved that the party will embark on vigorous campaign for its candidates to win the forthcoming general elections. This is predicated on our believe that in Nigeria’s party democracy, it is the party that wins elections and not individuals. APGA fulfilled its statutory obligation as contained in the Electoral Act by giving acknowledged notice to INEC for the party’s congress/primary elections. We shall do everything within the laws of Nigeria to ensure that only the authentic candidates of the party benefit from the victories the party will record after the elections. We are encouraged by legal precedents that already exist.
What is your position now on the adoption of Jonathan?
The National Working Committee has approved the interim report on alliances as contain in the draft Memorandum of Understanding between our party and two other political parties of like-mind with whom we are determined to work in concert to rescue the country from the stranglehold of the PDP monster. In no distant future the alliance partners will jointly address the public and unfold the Memorandum of Understanding and proceed thereafter to campaign jointly and severally until the objective of electing a president from the family of progressive political parties is achieved.
Don’t you think this will be the end of APGA?
APGA remains a progressive political party designed to be a platform for national unity, integration, reconciliation, dialogue, equality and the welfare of the Nigerian people. APGA is not purchasable. APGA is a spirit and therefore indestructible. APGA was dedicated to God upon its registration and will therefore prevail over its present traducers no matter their station in life.
We appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to withdraw Governor Peter Obi from APGA so that he can occupy his rightful place in the PDP. The role of the Presidency and INEC in the APGA leadership crisis will remain a moral burden to them. Nothing has put to test the INEC and the Presidency mantra of free and fair election based on the rule of law and due process more than their handling of the APGA leadership question.
We are totally committed to the struggle to recover the soul of APGA. It does not matter how long it takes. We shall remain unbowed until victory is achieved.
We shall never surrender the soul of APGA to political buccaneers, profiteers, mercenaries, opportunists and brigands.
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