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APGA apologises, begs Otti, Oduah, Uba other chieftains to return
BY EMMANUEL OGWU
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Abia State, has issued an apology to the former leader of the party in the state, Dr Alex Otti, appealing to him to return.
Otti, the gubernatorial candidate of APGA in the 2019 governorship election in Abia State, recently announced his departure from APGA, citing, among other issues, plan by the Anambra State Governor and National Leader of the party, Willie Obiano, to bring back former party chairman, Victor Oye, who was kicked out for alleged political racketeering and corruption.
At a press conference held today, Thursday, July 9 at the party’s secretariat in Umuahia, APGA state chairman in Abia, Hon Nkem Okoro, said the party would like to use the opportunity of the media briefing to apologise to all the party chieftains who were insulted and provoked to leave the party.
“We are specifically apologising to the former leader of our party in Abia, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, who has just indicated his intention to leave the party. We recognise his immense contributions in building a formidable APGA in Abia State and are appealing to him and others to return back to the party after we must have cleaned up the party and completely gotten rid of those who were using the party to indulge in fraudulent extortions,” Okoro announced in his address.
Okoro, who briefed the press in company of the party’s State Secretary, Ebere Uzoukwa, and other executives said it was sad that while efforts were being made to beg other party bigwigs like Chief Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, Senator Stella Oduah, Senator Patrick Ifeanyi Uba, Mr. Frank Nneji, Chief David Ogba Onuoha, Chief Chris Nkwonta and many other respected former APGA members who left the party “over the atrocities perpetrated by the former national leadership”, the same former leadership hurriedly deployed some disgruntled former Abia SWC members to go and insult these leaders in the name of press conference.
READ: As APGA trades away its soul for a mess of portage
He warned the former leadership of the party in Abia State, led by Mr Augustine Ehiemere, to stop impersonating the authentic APGA leadership and allowing itself to be used by Oye to cause confusion and create doubts in the minds of unsuspecting members of the public.
“We dare ask, where are Mr. Ehiemere and his team operating from? Where is their Secretariat? Why was their press conference held in a hotel? Everyone knows that the APGA secretariat is here in 72, School Rd. Umuahia and has been here since 2014.
“We have it on good authority that the former National Chairman, Chief Victor Oye was the sponsor of the impersonators. The same Victor Oye who has been desperately trying to hold on to the National Chairmanship of the party, against all odds, has succeeded in breaking the party into three factions, with a plethora of litigations, even when there is an imminent governorship election in Anambra State next year – a case of chasing rats when the house is on fire.
“We want to state that the real vision behind the formation of APGA was to use the party to render responsible leadership to our people, and not to defraud them like the former national leadership did in Imo, Abia and Anambra. Therefore, those who are positioning to use the party to defraud the people again should bury the idea forever, because they had been cursed shortly after the 2018 Ponzi scheme set up by Oye and his gang.
“Finally, we want to state that we are committed to aligning with the Acting National Chairman, Dr. Mic Adams and all other willing progressives to rebuild and reposition APGA for the challenges ahead. Therefore, we are urging APGA members to disregard the activities of the former executives who are only interested in selling party forms and extorting money from aspirants and candidates,” Okoro stated.