Uneasy calm is currently trailing the announcement of Chief Maxi Okwu, founder and National Chairman of the defunct Citizens Popular Party (CPP) as the new Acting National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.
A Newsdiaryonline report say the announcement made by Dr. Tim Menakaya, at the end of the party’s National Caucus was convened by Governor Peter Obi of Anambra state.
The development it was gathered witnessed the dislodging of the two former contenders of the seat: Chief Victor Umeh and Alhaji Sadeeq Masalla.
But the Masalla faction completely lost out as the secretary of the Umeh faction, Alhaji Sani Shinkafi, was adopted as the Acting National Secretary.
In the new realignment of forces which peaked over six months ago, the Masalla group which had been receiving Obi’s support had suspended Umeh and Shinkafi, on claims of non-compliance with certain sections of APGA constitution.
The meeting had in attendance, 43 members of the party. However, Umeh, Masalla and Shinkafi were conspicuously absent.
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state did not attend the meeting, but his Anambra counterpart said he was in support of the decision reached.
According to Obi, “It is true that Governor Okorocha is not here. He was duly briefed and invited to this meeting by me and I left Awka by 5.00 am to be with him at 7.00 until 9.00 am when I left Owerri for Abuja for the meeting. He told me he supports all the decisions we would reach at the meeting.”
Reacting to the development, Alhaji Masalla said the meeting was illegal as Governor Obi has no powers to convene any meeting of the national leadership of APGA. He also said there was nothing like national caucus of the party and so, “a non-existence body cannot meet to take a decision meant for the National Convention of a party”.
He stated that since his faction had effectively suspended Umeh and Shinkafi from the party, none of them could emerge as national leaders of the party, particularly for Shinkafi whom he described as having been the National Secretary since the emergence of the party. He wondered whether he has become the permanent National Secretary of APGA.
The Chief Judge of Enugu State, Chief Innocent Umezuruike had on February 8th, passed a judgment where he nullified the APGA National Working Committee (NWC) on the ground that its emergence was in breach of Article 18 of APGA constitution.
In order to fill the lacuna created by the sacked the NWC, since it was a declarative judgment, Governor Obi last Friday sent text messages to the people he considered as stakeholders, inviting them to the Abuja meeting where Barrister Okwu was endorsed as new Acting chairman.
Dr. Menakaya while briefing the press also stated that “all the other former NWC and National Executive Committee (NEC) members were unanimously elected to serve in the interim NWC and NEC of APGA”.
Apart from the above, Governor Obi was chosen as the new National Leader of the party to replace Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, while Dr. Menakaya himself was promoted to chair the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT).
The interim NWC, according to Dr. Menakaya, was mandated to conduct all Congresses and National Convention before 30th April, 2013.
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