From Paul Osuyi, Asaba

The leadership of the Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was recently enmeshed in another round of crisis caused by the collection and subsequent sharing of a grant of N600,000 by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state government led by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. This came up as the party was yet to come out of the factional crisis thrown up by the inauguration of a caretaker committee by the Elders and Leaders Forum of the party which the national leadership declared as null and void.
A founding member of the party in the state and former state chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Adolo Okotie-Eboh traced the origin of the various crises and proffered solutions.

As a chieftain of the APC in Delta State, what is your take on the present crisis rocking the party in the state?
You can’t talk precisely of the crisis in Delta APC without discussing the root causes. In my view, the main problem in APC Delta State is that of disobedience of law and order, a situation whereby a judgment of a competent court is being flagrantly disobeyed by some senior members of the party at both national and state levels, which led to the kind of crisis we are witnessing in Delta State. All other dimensions, the crisis has taken is an offshoot of the flagrant disobedience of the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.

You once dragged the party to an Asaba High Court, and the court granted your prayers by nullifying the 2014 congress that brought the Prophet Jones Erue-led State Executive Council, and ordered a fresh congress. We also know that that judgment was appealed. What is the latest development?
This actually is the court judgment I earlier talked about that was being flagrantly disobeyed by some very senior members of the party at both national and state levels. On the issue of the appeal you raised, yes, they appealed but it ends there as at today. It is on record that the Court of Appeal has not made any form of pronouncement or issued any order whatsoever against the judgment I secured at the Asaba High Court. In fact, this appeal commences on February 6, 2017 at Federal Court of Appeal, Benin. Therefore, in the face of the law, the judgment of State High Court Asaba stands until a contrary order or judgment is given by the Court of Appeal.

What was your grouse against the party that resulted in the litigation, in the first place?
Like I said before, it has to do with the root cause of the crisis which borders on disobedience of law and order. Apparently, myself and several other stake holders of Delta APC were dissatisfied with the sham, the State Executive Congress purportedly conducted in 2014, which went against the constitutional guideline of APC on electoral matter or any known law in Nigeria. So, as obedient citizens and loyal party members, we went to court to challenge the illegality and political rascality and the court agreed with all our prayers. Thus, the subsisting judgment as at today.

In days of the ACN when you were the state chairman, and the Chidi Okonji was the secretary, where was Prophet Erue?
Yes, like you rightly asked I was indeed the foundation chairman in Delta State together with other committed members; we built ACN and made it the leading opposition party in Delta State. Chidi Okonji  was actually the acting secretary of ACN in Delta State under my watch. Prophet Jones Erue was never known to me then, neither was he a member of ACN, but he was known to belong to one of the factions of DPP.

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What was your contribution as well as the contribution of others especially Erue in the formation of APC?
To be modest, like I said myself and a few committed members built ACN in Delta State which later became one of the three legacy parties that came together to form APC. Myself and others funded the party, Erue was not with us, therefore his contribution, if any may only be known to him.
Why were you sidelined during the inauguration of the caretaker committee by Chief Tom Ikimi at the

Grand Hotel, Asaba?
I was never sidelined. However, I spoke up very, strongly against the non-respect of due process, law and order in composition of the interim caretaker committee, which was manipulated by Chief Tom Ikimi. For instance, Chief Ikimi had total disrespect for the legacy parties in the scheme of things. He had preference for groups that later joined the party after the merger, such group as a faction of DPP and APGA were the likes of  those that Chief O’tega Emerhor‎ emerged from.

On the present crisis which was triggered as a result of collection of N600,000.00 grant, were you also accepting grants as ACN chairman from the PDP-led state government to run your party?
No, ACN Delta State under my watch never accepted such grant from the PDP-led state government at anytime to run the party. However, I must point out that they made such grant offer on one occasion to which I flatly rejected, a position that was unanimously endorsed by other state executive members with me. The fact, however must be made, that grants to opposition parties at state or national level is constitutional and not a bribe of any sort; it is tax payers’ money. I as chairman of the then ACN in Delta State simply felt there will be conflict of interest should we accept such grants as an opposition party from the PDP-led government.

Since the birth of APC in Delta State, it has been one crisis or the other such that the party has not been able to find its footing to make impact in electoral contests. What is the real problem and how can it be resolved, going forward?
I think I have talked so much about the problems of APC in Delta State thus far, but going forward there are moves by well meaning members of the party at both national and state levels geared toward possible total reconciliation. My followers and I welcome this development as long as it follows due process and every critical stake holder  relevant to this much desired reconciliation is carried along.

The Okowa-led administration is about 20 months old in office, how would you assess his performance so far?
I appreciate what he is doing on infrastructure and security, though I expect him to do more.