The crisis rocking the All Progressives Grand Alliance is not over as the factional national chairman of the party, Chief Maxi Okwu says he would field a candidate for the November 16 governorship election in Anmabra State.
Okwu has equally vowed to fight on until he had fully recovered the party’s leadership from illegal occupants.
He spoke, weekend at his country home of Nkpokolo Achi in Oji-River Local Government Area of Enugu State, at a ceremony to mark his late father’s 90th birthday.
The APGA chairman’s late father, Senator B.C Okwu, a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1979 –1983 died on October 21, 2009.
In an interview with journalists at the event, Okwu, who said his father’s shoes were too big for him, expressed optimism that going back the performance of Anambra Governor Peter Obi in office, APGA would win the election convincingly.
He said: “I feel very gratified, like I said, it is not easy, the shoe he left is so big, I have been battling to see whether I can fill it, I have not done that, so until I transit, if I don’t fill those shoes, I have failed.
“I have been trying to meet the high bar he set and that’s the thing some of us who come from a pedigree have, you have to maintain the authenticity, otherwise, you disgrace your forebear. So, I thank God for my people, I thank God for my political family, you can see APGA is here, APGA Oji-River is here, the APGA executive is here, the chairman board of trustees, Chief Dr. Menakaya is here, so we will recover APGA, the small set back we have will soon be a thing of the past”.
On the Anambra guber he said, “I pray fervently that APGA wins on the 16th of November, which is Zik’s birthday, because if we don’t win Anambra, we are in danger here in Enugu, I need Anambra to win Enugu, so I am prepared to do everything possible for us to win but the way they are going about it, there is danger.
“We are going to field our own candidate, so whoever wins in the court will decide the authentic candidate, it is the party that people vote for, remember Omehia versus Amaechi, it is APGA; let them pick their own, we are picking our own, whoever wins eventually, if I win, my candidate becomes the APGA winner, if Umeh wins, Umeh’s candidate becomes the APGA winner. But I will win.
“Peter Obi has done well in Anambra State, Peter Obi has restored sanity in Anambra State, whether you like him or not, that is the fact, he has created standars, which is attributable to our APGA, SOludo or no Soludo, APGA will win Anambra election”.
He added that his decision to approach a Federal Court over the APGA matter was to ensure that selfish people were not allowed to destroy the party.
“I my a lawyer of 36 years standing, the case is strong and it is not a matter of I believe I don’t believe, it is documentary evidence, I threw seven questions to Jega, the INEC chairman, he didn’t answer, lawyers will not make him to answer it in court.
“One of the questions I asked Jega which he refused to answer is that Shinkafi who has been parading himself as the secretary of APGA was elected at a convention where I was chairman convention planning committee at parade ground Abuja, 10th January 2003, please where are we now, this is August 2013, and this Shinkafi is still parading himself as the secretary of APGA, and article 18 is clear on this, four year term, and four-year renewable term, that’s 8 years, let Jega answer, it is a very simple matter.
“Then on the 10th of Febraury 2011 at Awka, everybody was there, that convention extended the life of thee NWC, NWC is not an organ of the party, so Umeh has not been re-elected since his tenure expired on December 2010.
“They went to that place and endorsed the expansion of the life span of the NWC, NWC doesn’t exist as an organ, it is merely one of the four committees approved in the constitution by the executive. Jega should answer that, so let us see how it goes, the case is solid, very solid, but like I said, if APGA family will down, sit down, stakeholders, they are all here, we talk as family, we may find a root out, but when some people think they can just do a family affair and ignore us, they do so at their own peril, not us, politically you can see we are alive”.
Also speaking, the BoT chairman of APGA, Dr. Tim Menakaya said “I am here to give honour to whom honour is due, to celebrate the life of Senator D.C Ugwu, a great man, a great son of Igbo land, a great Nigerian, a man who has done so much for his people.
He said he had continued to seek for a total reconciliation of the warring factions in APGA, stressing “that is why I am here, I have talked to those on the other side, I am also here today for the same purpose.
“I am the father in APGA, we have all reconciled, there are no two sides any more. There might be some little differences, but even in any family there could be some little differences, but APGA is one. What we do in a good society is to have dialogue at any time, that is why I am moving around and I know we shall have total peace”.
culled: Daily post
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