…As Labaran Maku, others rate Obiano high on development
From: Obinna Odogwu, Ekwulobia
The National Executive Council of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), on Thursday, said they would have nothing to do with Chief Martin Agbaso, whom a Federal High Court, sitting in Enugu, had declared as the National Chairman of the party.
The party NEC also said that Chief Victor Oye remains its National Chairman and would always submit to his directives. The position of the party was contained in a communiqué issued after the meeting between the party’s embattled National Chairman, Oye and its 36 state chairmen in Awka and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Sir Ifeatu Obi-Okoye.
The communiqué read in part: “The meeting reiterated its total loyalty to the leadership of Dr Victor Ike Oye as the National Chairman of the party. To this end, the meeting resolved to back and support him in taking appropriate disciplinary sanctions against erring officers and members of the party in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution.
“The meeting pledge total support to the re-election of Governor Willie Obiano for a second term in office come November 18, 2017, in view of his credibility and laudable performance as Governor in critical sectors of infrastructural and economic development of Anambra State.
“The meeting condemned the activities of some expelled members of the party who had clandestinely deceived the High Court in Enugu to make spurious rulings against the leadership of the party. Consequently, all the 36 states chairmen and the FCT gave full support to the National Chairman’s application to the Court to set aside its judgement obtained by deceit, misrepresentation of facts and fraudulent concealment” the communiqué added.
Meanwhile, some members of the NEC, while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after inspecting the projects executed by the Governor Willie Obiano-led administration in different locations of the state, swore never to have any dealing with the court-recognised Agbaso.
National Secretary of the party, H.E Labaran Maku, dismissed Agbaso as an imposter whose aim was to destabilize the party so as to thwart Governor Obiano’s re-election bid.
Maku, who is also the former Minister of Information, pointed out that “What is going on is not about the National Chairmanship of the party” but a ploy to wrestle power from Governor Willie Obiano in November 18, 2017 governorship election.
“Because his election is around the corner, they put up a team of strangers who went to court to declare themselves as National Chairman. You don’t become the National Chairman of APGA until you bring yourself nomination from your ward to the state level to national convention.
“All of us led by Ike Victor Oye were elected at a convention here in Awka. Did you see anyone called Agbaso there? How can he be operating from the Sambisa forest of the social media to become the National Chairman of APGA?
“We can’t sit here and watch a governor that is being celebrated all over the country for his performance to be destabilized by some riffraff who we do not know” he declared.
Also speaking, the party’s chairman in Imo State, Peter Ezeobi, a lawyer, disclosed that Agbaso left APGA in 2015 to PDP where he contested for a governorship position of the state.