By Damian Duruiheoma, Owerri
Governor Rochas Okorocha
of Imo state says he is still the senatorial candidate of the All
Progressive Congress (APC) despite the suspension by the party last
week.In the list of senatorial candidates published by the INEC,
the governor’s name is among the candidates of the APC in Imo state
that will contest the February 16 2019 National Assembly election.Okorocha,
who is the chairman of Progressive Governors Forum, an assemblage of
APC governors in Nigeria, was Thursday night suspended for anti-party
activities by the state chapter of the APC.The chairman of the
state chapter of the party, Prince Marcellinus Nlemigbo, in a release,
said the action was taken, after a report from the disciplinary
committee set up to investigate allegations of anti-party activities
against the governor.The disciplinary committee, headed by
former member of House of Representatives, Matthew Omegara, had earlier
last week, summoned the governor and six others to appear before the
committee for anti-party activities and for allegedly bringing the party
to disrepute and ridicule.The party, at the national level,
following the activities of the governor and state executives, dissolved
the state executives, noting that they could not be trusted to work for
the good of the party. It thereafter, set up a caretaker committee,
headed by Nlemigbo.Nlemigbo listed the action of the governor
that constituted anti-party activities to include; sponsorship of a
rival political party, Action Alliance (AA), in Imo state and its
governorship candidate, Uche Nwosu, as well as open denunciation of APC
and its governorship candidate, Hope Uzodimma, in the state.The caretaker committee said its action is in line with Article 21 (B) I-VI of the APC constitution as amended in 2014.
Reacting
to the news of his suspension, Governor Okorocha through his chief
press secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, said APC cannot suspend him because the
party has no reason to do so. He said never at any time was he
suspended or expelled from the party as the APC never contemplated doing
that and would not have any reason to think about that.Okorocha,
who obviously does not recognise Nlemigbo’s caretaker committee
leadership of the party in the state, insisted that there was no faction
in Imo APC as only one APC exists and led by Hon. Daniel Nwafor as
chairman and himself as leader of the party.“Any other group
claiming to be a faction of Imo APC must obviously be a gang of 419ers
or league of fraudsters who are experts in issuance of dud cheques and
collecting billions for jobs not done.“The only contentious
issue in Imo APC is that the national chairman of the party, Mr. Adams
Oshiomhole imposed a known PDP member and a known character in the state
on the party as its governorship candidate, and by so doing, pushing
the party and its members to a very tight corner especially when it
comes to the issue of marketing a candidate.“If Mr. Oshiomhole
didn’t want the preferred candidate of members of the party in the
state, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu, for any reason, and if he actually meant well
for Imo APC, he would have taken one of the guber aspirants that formed
the coalition who are known members of the party, and who are also from
Owerri zone since that was the reason some of them in the coalition
claimed that made them to leave the government”, the statement reads in
part.The governor accused the APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomole of imposing a candidate on the party.
“Aside
this problem, Oshiomhole also told his audience that he has dissolved
the EXCOs of the party from the state to the wards in total disregard of
a ruling by Hon. Justice O.A. Musa of the High Court of the Federal
Capital Territory Bwari Abuja, delivered on August 14, 2018 in Suit No:
FCT/HC/BW/CV/103/2018.“In the ruling, Justice Musa stated; ‘An
order of perpetual injunction is hereby made restraining the 1st and 2nd
Defendants either by themselves, the National Working Committee, or
National Executive Committee from either removing, substituting,
replacing, suspending or interfering with the tenure of the 3rd
Defendant/Claimant, his executive and all elected officers of the 1st
Defendant contained in exhibits A, B, C and D from their elected
offices’.“And to the best of our knowledge, Justice Musa’s
ruling has neither been appealed against nor quashed. In other words,
Mr. Oshiomhole decided to urinate on the High Court ruling when he said
he has dissolved the Daniel Nwafor EXCO and has set up the M.O. Nlemigbo
Caretaker Committee. One therefore does not need to be a SAN to know
that the national chairman’s action was null, void and of no effect. It
was effort in futility and that is why a contempt charge has been filed
against him”.
Source:- Orientaldailies
Share your thoughts