By Gabriel Atumeyi
365Daily – As the leadership crisis in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) rages, the faction of ousted Chairman, Chief Victor Oye, has rejected his sack from the party’s helm.
365Daily reported on Tuesday June 15, 2021, that the National Executive Committee of the party in announced the sack of Victor Oye as the National Chairman of the party in Abuja and appointed Chief Jude Okeke to act as his replacement.
The National Publicity of the party, Ikechukwu Chinyere, said six other members of the party were also sacked. They include Chinedu Obidigwe, Hamman Ghide, Sylvester Ezeokenwa, Adamu Musa, Chief Okogbuo and Ifeanyi Mbaeri.
He said they were suspended indefinitely from the party for anti-party activities, gross misconduct and conduct capable of bringing the party’s image to disrepute among others.
Chinyere added that the party’s NEC also resolved to nullify the disqualification by the Victor Oye-led faction of five aspirants for the Governorship Election in Anambra State.
The acting National Chairman, Jude Okeke, after been sworn in, announced the extension of the sale of the party’s Anambra State Governorship forms to the 25th of June, 2021.
He said the primary election for guber slot had been slated for July 1, 2021.
However, the Victor Oye faction, in a reaction, said the announcement was nothing but the orchestration of mischief makers to cause unnecessary tension in the party.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Barr. Tex Okechukwu, it said Victor Oye, who as National Chairman, had the constitutional right to convene the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party did no such thing, so Jude Okeke and others had no powers to speak for the party.
It added that the whole saga was a media charade and only a national convention is vested with the powers of removing the Chairman of the party.
It further said it was focused on the delivering just and acceptable governorship primary in Anambra State scheduled for June 23, 2021.
Below is the full statement:
Our attention has been drawn to an unfortunate incident that happened today on AIT live broadcast where a band of political buccaneers and misfits gathered under the guise of NEC of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to purportedly announce the suspension of our revered National Chairman, Ozonkpu Victor Ike Oye and some select national officers of the party.
We wish to state without any equivocation as follows:
1. That the so-called Jude Okeke and his cohorts are not officers or financial members of our great party and, therefore, did not have any powers to speak on behalf of the party.
2. That there was never a time our national chairman, Ozonkpu Victor Oye convened a NEC meeting of the party or any other meeting of the party for that matter.
3. That in accordance with Article 13 of the constitution of APGA 2019, only the national chairman of the party could convene meetings of NWC, NEC and National Convention. As we wrote, no such meeting had been convened.
4. That the Supreme Court had made it expressly clear that only the National Convention of a political party could remove the National Chairman of a registered political party.
5. That the so-called NEC meeting on AIT was a political hatchet job to create undue tension in the party and misdirect our teeming members. But it was dead on arrival.
6. That the leadership of the party under Ozonkou Victor Oye is intact and working assiduously to deliver on its governorship primary in Anambra State scheduled for June 23, 2021.
7. That we are determined to bring the full weight of the law to bear on mischiefmakers and their sponsors who are bent on causing disaffection among our members.
8. That law enforcement agents have been placed on full alert to deal ruthlessly with anybody fomenting trouble in the party as APGA remains a peaceful, law-abiding party where peace, justice and equity prevail.
9. We urge millions of our supporters to ignore the rantings of the rabblerousers and go about their businesses without fear of molestation.