As the saga continues with the Imo state governor with his current
suspension by the party last week. Governor Rochas Okorocha still maintain his stand, that he is still the senatorial candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
INEC list of senatorial candidates published 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.
According to the chairman of the state chapter of the party, Prince Marcellinus Nlemigbo, he 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,was headed by
Matthew Omegara former member of House of Representatives, the committee 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.
While 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.
The governor action was seen as 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.
In his reaction to the said 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 further 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.
Fact also indicate that Okorocha does not recognize 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.
“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.
He Okoracha has stated in several occasion of the National Chairman of APC Adams Oshiomole of imposing a candidate on the party.
“Aside from 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 an effort in futility and that is why a contempt charge has been filed against him”.
