On Wednesday 4th May 2014, the Anambra State governorship election petition tribunal delivered its judgment on the petitions brought before it over the emergence of Chief Willie Obiano as governor in the November 16th, 2013 election in the state.
The tribunal in its judgement stated that the petitions lacked merit, as the petitioners could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the election was rigged to favour the governor.
Consequently, it dismissed the petitions of Dr Chris Ngige of APC, Dr Chike Obidigbo of an APGA faction and that of PDP and its candidate in that election, Comrade Tony Nwoye.
With this, APGA should ordinarily celebrate victory and also go home to rest, but that is not the case as the leadership of the party remains in contest, with Chief Victor Umeh and Chief Maxi Okwu contesting the position of the national chairman of the party.
Chief Okwu came into the picture in early 2013 as a result of a protracted fight between the then governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi and Sir Victor Umeh over an undisclosed matter.
Seeking to consign Umeh to political oblivion, Obi sponsored a national congress of the party, after which Okwu was announced the winner.
Speaking to journalists after the judgment was delivered, Chief Victor Umeh told journalists that the mere fact that the tribunal had affirmed his candidate as the rightful winner of the election should also lay to rest the squabbles in the party regarding the leadership tussle between him and Okwu.
Umeh said, “This judgment will also help in reducing the internal tension within the party, as all our party members in Anambra State who stood behind Obiano throughout the campaign will now be happy that an impostor will not from the back door snatch the victory we secured at the governorship election in 2013”.
Umeh stated that the judgment will also lay to rest every claim by Okwu that he is the chairman of the party, as the dismissal of his (Okwu’s) candidate by the tribunal means that he is not the recognized chairman of the party.
Meanwhile, the Maxi Okwu faction of the APGA is not relenting in its claim of the authentic leadership of APGA.
In a meeting held Wednesday in Awka by the state chapter of the party that is loyal to Okwu, the party dismissed Chief Victor Umeh as an impostor whose tenure expired in 2010 after he concluded a second term as the chairman of the party as stipulated in the party’s constitution.
A communiqué drawn by the faction of the party and distributed to journalists after the meeting, which was signed by Kelvin Ekweozor, the party stated that there was no faction in the party, and that the party remained one under the leadership of Barr Maxi Okwu.
The communiqué dismissed Chief Victor Umeh as an impostor, who had refused to vacate office after his tenure as the national chairman expired in 2010.
Part of the communiqué reads: “That we pledge our total support to his(Okwu) leadership and promise to stand by him in order to make him succeed as the national chairman of the party.
“We aver that Barr Maxi Okwu, a visionary leader, was duly elected as the chairman of the APGA in a credible convention after Chief Umeh’s tenure expired and his emergence reaffirmed by a competent court of jurisdiction.
“That Chief Victor Umeh’s disastrous tenure as party chairman expired 2010, but a greedy man that he is, he has decided to hang onto power despite the calls from various quarters that he should quit the stage for the party to grow in strength.
“We state here that Chief Victor Umeh has nothing more to offer APGA as a party and therefore, his exit as the national chairman is a welcome development”.
The group urged Chief Umeh to stop all forms of litigation which they said had led to the reckless spending of Anambra’s resources with impunity.
They accused Umeh of spending monies meant for the development of Anambra State and repositioning of APGA as a party.
They thanked the efforts of the former governor, Mr Peter Obi for his efforts in the state, while calling on him to shun Umeh and his activities in the party.
As the drama continues, Umeh has not given up, he told journalists in a recent interview that his sack from office by Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Abuja Federal High Court is a miscarriage of justice and a display of judicial impunity.
Umeh threatened to petition the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the manner Justice Kafarati allegedly mishandled his case.
Umeh, who is confident that the tribunal judgment in the matter between Obiano and Obidigbo which favoured Obiano could be relied on to state emphatically that he Umeh was still in charge of the party, described Okwu and his followers as impostors who wanted to steal the victory of his party through the back door, while stating that the party is ready to accept dissident members who have shown genuine repentance.
The Victory of Obiano in the tribunal, he said, had laid to rest claims of factions in the party, saying that it is a sign that the party would perform wonderfully well in the forthcoming election.
As all these continue in the party, which the late Ezeigbogburugburu, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu bequeathed to Ndigbo as a platform to capture leadership in Nigeria, observers are of the view that the squabble may cost the party the grounds it has covered to far.
Speaking with a political Analyst, Mr Chidozie Agam, he said that with the squabble, the tendency of a faction of the party playing the spoiler game in the circumstance where it fears to loose out is imminent.
Some party members also believe that Chief Umeh is working hard to use the party as a platform to get to the Senate, and that his clinging onto the national chairman is only to help him issue himself the party ticket before leaving as he is not sure of getting it under the leadership of Okwu.
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