From Paul Osuyi, Asaba

Related News

THERE appears to be no letup in the lingering factional crisis rocking the Delta State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) following the constitution of a new caretaker committee by the faction led by Senator Spanner Okpozo.
The party has not known peace since April 2014 when the state working committee led by the chairman, Prophet Jones Erue was elected at a disputed congress in Asaba.
But the Erue-led executive committee was dissolved in 2015 by a High Court sitting in Asaba, on the ground that the congress was not conducted in consonance with the guidelines for party congresses and the party’s constitution.
Although Erue claimed the judgment has been appealed, the Senator Okpozo-led faction at a meeting in his residence in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area appointed Mr. Nathaniel Omo-Onyeke and Dennis Nwanokwai  to act as caretaker chairman and secretary, respectively.
Speaking at the meeting attended by Dr. Alex Ideh, Dr. Veronica Ogbuagu, Hyacinth Enuha and Sunny Mene (ex-Organising Secretary of the party) among other leaders, Okpozo, second republic senator, said the decision was to move the party forward so as to wrest power from the ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) in the state in 2019.
“We resolve that the state APC is not moving ahead as usual, we have to make a change and that led us to take a resolution.  The party is not moving well and there is a court judgment that sacked Prophet Jones Erhue-led executive and we waited to hear from them concerning the judgment of the High Court but they have not showed up.
“If you look at the party as a whole, nothing is happening. No message from the executives, no appointment and the party secretariat has been taken over by weeds. So we said it was high time we took action, Delta is your state, my state and is in your hand, we are taking this decision to favour you all,” Okpozo said.
But Erhue said the Okpozo-led faction lacked the legal right to set up a committee, insisting that he remained the chairman of the party in the state.
Erhue noted that aside Okpozo, others who attended the meeting were those alleged to have been indicted by a national fact-finding committee for anti-party activities. “This is laughable because they lack the legal right to sack a committee that was duly elected from congress. Their action is illegal. If I may ask, is Senator Okpozo’s house the party office in Delta State? The judgment they are referring to is being challenged at the Appeal Court, and not until the court rules, their action remains illegal,” Erue maintained.
However, former Organising Secretary of the party in the state, Mr. Sunny Mene noted that the meeting was held to resolve issue affecting the party as the party gears up towards the 2019 governorship election in the state.
Mene added that the committee needed to be set up to make the party more vibrant and prepared to takeover power from the ruling PDP in the state.