APGA: Hope rises for reconciliation of factions

Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, has indicated his readiness to reposition the All Progressives Grand Alliance and reconcile all the factions, in the face of growing alienation of the Igbo in the present scheme of things. MAURICE OKAFOR in Enugu reports

There are indications that the age long leadership crisis that torn the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, apart will soon be settled and all the factions reconciled to make the party better positioned as the Igbo political platform. APGA slipped into avoidable leadership crisis barely two years after it was formally registered in 2003 and gained acceptability as a national political party with strong Igbo sentiments. And since then the party has continued to swim in crisis, a development that affected its capacity to take control of the South East politics.

Though the leadership crisis within the party has forced many founding members and pioneer stakeholders of APGA to join or form a new party, for instance, the case of Chief Chekwas Okorie, the pioneer National Chairman of APGA, who is now the founding chairman of United Progressives Party, UPP. Hallmark checks revealed that the current political gladiators from both factions of APGA have expressed delight in sheathing their sword so as to rediscover APGA, as a formidable party that will champion the political cause of the Igbo nation, in the present times.

The current Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, who presently is the only governor throughout the federation elected on the banner of the party and by implication the leader of the party, over the weekend expressed the willingness of his leadership to end factionalisation of APGA. He also extended an olive branch to his predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi, who is said to have left the party, to return.

Governor Obiano made the clarion call for the rediscovery of APGA at Aguluizigbo community in Anaocha local government area of Anambra State, during a thanksgiving ceremony to mark the end of tenure of Chief Victor Umeh as APGA national chairman and his 53^rd Birthday Anniversary and 25 years of marriage.

He stated, “our government came into being through the combination of Mr. Peter Obi and Victor Umeh on one side, and the people on the other side but unfortunately Peter Obi left us. But Umeh and the rest of us have resolved to stay back and build a stronger, greater and better party. So we are willing to welcome anybody who wishes to return including Peter Obi.

Chief Umeh who spoke in the same vein thereafter while briefing news men lamented that he fought for APGA leadership in court from 2005 to 2012 on series of litigations from one court to another across the federation, but stated that he has forgiven all his political adversaries in the APGA leadership tussle.

He wished that the leadership of the party after him will witness fewer rancors for the party to be diligently focused on making meaningful contribution in the sustenance of the nation’s nascent democratic process and projecting the Igbo interest in our national development.

Reacting to the peace and reconciliation moves being initiated by Obiano to news men after hosting a faction of APGA Anambra state chapter, on Monday, July 20 at his palace in Achi, Oji River local government area of Enugu state, Chief Maxi Okwu, the current factional chairman of APGA said he has always believed in the philosophical concept of three R’s [Reconciliation, Restructuring and Reintegration] as the most efficient and possible ideologies for rediscovering APGA.

He said it will be a welcome development if Obiano champions the cause of rediscovering APGA by settling the various scores within the party, but expressed fears that he is starting the process very late.

Okwu disclosed that his suit at the Supreme Court seeking the validity of his personality as the authentic national chairman of APGA, based on the national convention of the party held on April 8, 2013 will come up on September 28.  Therefore, even if Chief Victor Umeh claimed he recently completed his tenure as national chairman of APGA, he is still a respondent in the suit.”

Okwu said that if he eventually wins the APGA leadership suit pending at the Supreme Court, it is to affect the tide and direction of political office holders and positions within the party, adding that if his faction loses they will consider other available options. However, they are watching on how serious, Obiano will be with his envisaged reconciliation mission.

The Hallmark checks on the age long APGA crisis observed that it has taken serious adverse effect on the fortunes of the party, and hindered it from making laudable marks in the nation’s political terrain within the present political dispensation.

The party was rumoured to have won three out of the five states within the South East political zone in the 2003 general elections, using the influence and charisma of the late Igbo leader, Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, who flew the presidential flag of the party in 2003, but was rigged out by the then ruling party, PDP. However, Mr. Obi was able to recover his own mandate in Anambra State, after a prolonged judicial battle.

Barely two years after the crisis of leadership of the party erupted between Chief Okorie, the pioneer national chairman and Chief Umeh, the founding national treasurer. Okorie was allegedly removed over anti-party activities but he went to court to challenge the legality of a sitting treasurer [Victor Umeh] usurping the position on an elected national chairman.

The crisis which lingered from 2005 to 2012 caused a lot of the party faithful, especially within the South East zone to lose interest in APGA perceived as the Igbo party and joined PDP. But it is worthy to note that still under the influence and political leadership of Ojukwu, Chief Rochas Okorocha was able to realize his long standing dream of becoming the governor of Imo State on the platform of APGA in 2011.

The Hallmark recalled that even with his failing ill health, Ojukwu led the vigorous governorship campaign team of Okorocha in the 2011 governorship elections in Imo State to a resounding success. But shortly thereafter the revered Igbo leader, Chief Ojukwu died; and Okorocha on his part joined the merger that produced APC.

The Hallmark gathered authoritatively that the leadership crisis that bedeviled APGA at the moment informed the decision of Okorocha to quit the party. Okorocha had a premonition that the leadership tussle within APGA will not enable it to capture the entire South East States, and used it as a bet to bargain and negotiate for power at the centre. Okorocha was quoted to have said at the time he left APGA that if Ojukwu were to be alive; he would have also seen the reason to quit APGA.

It should be noted that following the prolonged APGA leadership crisis, Okorie eventually dropped out of the leadership contest with Umeh in 2012. This followed the judgment of the Supreme Court that was not in his favour, The Okwu’s faction came about as a result of the believe that Umeh had overstayed the constitutional two term tenure  of eight years as APGA chairman. They obtained the verdict of the lower court on the strength of which they organized a national conference of the party at Awka, the Anambra State capital on April 8, 2013 with the support of then governor Obi.

But the Umeh’s faction insisted on their leadership of the party after upturning the verdict of the lower court at a federal high court sitting in Awka. Further appeals on the courtesy of Okwu’s faction pushed the APGA leadership tussle to the Supreme Court.

The crucial twist at the moment in the APGA leadership tussle is the fact that Umeh has accepted that his two term has elapsed based upon which his faction has elected a new national executive under the leadership of Chief Victor Oye. However, Okwu is poised in continuing with the suit pending at the Supreme Court on September 28, 2015.

But as the APGA elected Governor, Obiano has expressed his willingness to resolving the entire crisis that led to the factionalisation of the party, and some prominent Igbo political leaders abandoning the party. In the mean, his mission seems to be realisable, given that concerned Igbo leaders and many political stalwarts appear to be regrouping to strengthen the Igbo cause and give it a push following the abysmal failure of PDP to retain power at the centre and fears of marginalization of the Igbo by the current APC controlled Federal government ominous.

However, only time will tell if Obiano’s current vision and mission of rediscovering APGA will become a reality or another political mirage.