Okorocha and Umeh
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The
All Progressive Grand Alliance has suspended Governor Rochas Okorocha
of Imo State over alleged involvement in anti-party activities.
Rising from an emergency National
Executive Council held on Saturday in Abuja, the party also dissolved
its Imo State chapter and resolved to appoint a 21-man committee to
oversee its affairs until a congress was done.
But when contacted, the former Special Assistant (Media) to Governor Okorocha, Mr. Ebere Uzouka, told SUNDAY PUNCH
that he was “no longer competent to comment on the issue because the
governor has just dissolved his cabinet which affected all of us.”
The National Vice-Chairman of APGA
(South-West), Tayo Sowunmi, who read out the communiqué of the NEC
meeting, also said the party leaders discussed preparations for the
Anambra gubernatorial election and approved guidelines for the exercise.
He said, “The NEC unanimously resolved
to suspend, with immediate effect, the Governor of Imo state, Rochas
Okoroacha, from the party for gross anti-party activities, bordering on
his involvement with the All Progressives Congress contrary to the clear
provisions of the APGA constitution.
“The NEC also unanimously resolved to
dissolve the Imo state executive committee of APGA with immediate
effect. A 21-man caretaker committee shall be appointed to run the
affairs of the party in Imo pending the conduct of state congress.”
The party approved the party’s electoral
guidelines for the Anambra State governorship primary election for 2013
and afterwards adjoined its next sitting till August 31.
Meanwhile, a former Governor of Central
Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo and former Minister of State for
Transportation, Mr. Emeka Okechukwu, were among the 14 aspirants who
collected and submitted their forms for the governorship race in
Anambra.
The APGA National Chairman, Mr. Victor
Umeh, said barely three days after the party invited aspirants to
declare interest in the race scheduled for November 16, no fewer than 14
persons had already collected the expression of interest form.
He said, “We have opened the sale of the
expression of interest forms from the 29 of July to August 2 and by the
close of work on August 2, 14 people have taken the expression of
interest forms.
“The people who have taken the
expression of interest forms will be expected to pick the nomination
forms and will be screened to face the primary; the form for males is
N10m and to encourage women to actively participate, they will pay N5m.
“We call on all the parties that are
involved in the Anambra State race to stick to the code of conduct
signed with the Independent National Electoral Commission and shun all
acts capable of causing confusion during the elections.”
He also said the meeting was summoned to
prove that the party’s crisis had come to an end, adding that with the
return of peace among the key stakeholders, APGA would retain the
governorship seat come November 16 election.
SUNDAY PUNCH had in its April 28
edition exclusively reported that members of APGA were intensifying
moves to expel Okorocha for alleged anti-party activities and
involvement in the APC merger.
culled from Punch
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