IN a space on one week, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
endured no less than four judicial pronouncements, which aided the
existence of three factions.
The one ruling that sent tongues wagging was the matter between
Sopulu Ezeonwuka and APGA at the Federal High Court Awka, in which the
plaintiff/applicant prayed the court in Suit No. FHC/AWK/CS/35/2021, to,
among other reliefs, recognise Chief Edozie Njoku as the party’s
National Chairman.
The plaintiff also urged the Court presided over by Justice Nganjiwa
to grant an order of mandatory injunction in favour of Chief Njoku.
However, in his ruling, the Judge noted that since the reliefs sought
are same as contained in the main suit, it would amount prejudice if the
application were granted.
While the court dismissed Ezeonwuka’s application, the Anambra State
High Court presided over by Hon Justice C. C.Okaa, refused to extend the
application by counsel to Oye, Patrick Ikwueto SAN, to extend the
exparte order it earlier granted restraining Njoku faction from
conducting a governorship primary.
The State High Court ruling on June 29, paved the way for the Njoku
faction to conduct a governorship primary, which threw up the claimant
as winner.
In another court ruling, the APGA faction headed by Jude Okeke
vacated the injunction from Ororekpe barring it from conducting a
governorship primary or interfering in the running of APGA. From Okeke’s
faction, a member of House of Representatives, Hon. Chukwuma Michael
Umeoji, was returned as winner of the governorship primary.
As at the time filing this report, APGA is on record as having
produced three standard bearers for the November 6 poll. But while each
claims that INEC accepted its list of delegates and notice of primary,
the faction led by the embattled national chairman, Ozonkpu Victor Oye,
had earlier produced the former Governor of Central Bank (CBN), Prof.
Chukwuma Soludo as its candidate.
While Governor Willie Obiano backs the Oye faction, the Njoku faction
believes that when ultimately the Court grants it victory in the
leadership tussle, it would be easier to negotiate Soludo’s substitution
than if Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu were to win the primary.
Sources disclosed that Njoku resisted Ukachukwu’s ploy to surrogate
Sopulu Ezeonwuka, stressing that since he once contested election to
represent Onitsha North/South Federal Constituency, there is no
constitutional barrier against his running for governor of Anambra
State.
It was perhaps sensing the convoluted judgements and counter factions
in APGA that the former Special Assistant to former President Goodluck
Jonathan, Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo, withdrew his membership after a dubious
disqualification by the APGA governorship screening committee.
Barely five days after he announced his decision to abide by the
screening committee’s verdict, Nwankpo, moved over to the African
Democratic Congress (ADC) an offshoot of APGA. It would be recalled that
ADC came into being shortly after APGA founder, Chief Chekwas Okorie,
stopped Chief Ralphs Okey Nwosu, its founder from contesting the 2003
governorship election in the state.
Being a homeboy, Ikolo Awka, rallied round stakeholders and offered
Nwankpu the ADC platform to resuscitate the party as a living
alternative to APGA as it lays claim to Nkea Bu Nkeanyi (this is our
own) payoff.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on the ADC National Chairman,
Nwosu, Nwankpo expressed his belief that the “the will of God will
prevail in Anambra State,” saying that he was ready to join hands with
the party leadership to wrestle power from APGA.
“It is only God who makes kings. I pray that the wish of the people
will come to pass. Let the will of God prevail in Anambra state. An ADC
government will ensure that all Anambra families benefit from their
government. We will provide jobs and public services like healthcare.
Our great party ADC will have a New Deal with ndi Anambra. It is time to
give the voice back to the people,” he declared.
In his remarks, Chief Okey Ralph Nwosu, said it was hard to believe
the charades taking place in the governing party as well as the main
opposition parties in the state.
While decrying the murder of internal democracy in the so-called big
parties, the ADC national chairman disclosed that before the coming of
Nwankpo, whom he described as man of impeccable character, “many
aspirants had approached ADC seeking to buy our nomination forms.
“But, when we look at their public records, which is laden with
baggage, we simply ignored them. We have a party with clean bill of
health. ADC is not a town union party; it cuts across all ethnic
divides, with national outlook. ADC is an alternative that treats
everybody the same, not special favours.”
Nwankpo emerged as the party’s standard-bearer on June 30, and joined
Senator Ifeanyi Ubah of Young Progressives Party (YPP), the two
candidates of PDP, three from APGA and the presumptive APC candidate to
contest the governorship.
-odogwublog.com
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has promised to oust the ruling
All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA) and also shock the major
opposition parties the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming election.
