Elder statesman Chike Obidigbo has blamed the crisis in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on the greed and intolerance of successive leaderships of the party.
He said the party had behaved like a spoiled child since it was founded by Chekwas Okolie in 2002.
In a signed statement, Obidigbo lamented that much of the party’s history has been mired in leadership crises and structural instability.
He noted that a recent Instagram post by Bianca Ojukwu, wife of former AGPA leader Odumegwu Ojukwu, was an attempt to convey concerns about what was happening within the party.
“If my instincts had guided me correctly, this elegant woman (Bianca Ojukwu) must have been appalled at what was happening in the All Progressives Grand Alliance, where her husband was being conferred the ultimate leadership. I don’t think so,” he said.
“Since APGA was founded in 2002 by Chief Chekwa Okolie and well-meaning people including top executives from industry, commerce, academics and politicians, the party has been behaving like a spoiled child.
“For much of APGA’s turbulent history, leadership crises and structural instability have been its main features, stemming primarily from the greed and intolerance of successive leaderships.
“Whether it is party leader Victor Umeh who rose through the ranks from his position as the party’s National Treasurer and mischievously assumed the chairmanship replacing founding chairman Okolie, or the conspiracy between the same Umeh and Maxi Okwu; APGA has always been in the news for its controversial leadership and brazen corruption.
“The story of this crisis did not end with Mr. Victor Ike Oye being conscripted into the national chairmanship, because after he was suspended, his successor, Chief Nwabueze Okafor, died suddenly. This is because he was unable to build a good relationship with Chief Secretary Willie Obiano until then.
“Mr. Oye continued in the chairmanship preferred by Mr. Obiano until the 2019 national championships, when expectations that the APGA chairman should come from outside Anambra State regained public acclaim.
“With that in mind, there was a sudden change of venue from Owerri to Awka, which led to the holding of another national conference in parallel, which resulted in two national chairpersons, Chief Edojie Njoku and Chief Ike Oye. It became.
“While Mr. Obiano brandished Mr. Oye with a government-backed shawl, the tournament process and APGA rules favored Mr. Njoku, and both men went to court to seek a judicial resolution and start a new circus. .
“By July this year, both the courts and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had agreed that Mr Edjie Njoku is and should be the national president of APGA.
“However, as the party currently appears to be jinxed by the senseless imposition of candidates, animosity, endless disagreements, political wickedness, greed and ingratitude, Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Professor Soludo seems to support the lineage of Ike Oye, which gave rise to Sly Ezeokenwa.
“This will energize a new leadership contest within the party.
“All of this must have weighed heavily on the mind of the Queen Mother (Bianca), who is often caught in the middle and confused about how to overcome reason in the latest chicken fight for supremacy within APGA basketball.
“In any case, the APGA gladiators should take into account the facts of history and the demands of posterity and allow sane governance within the party, which in folklore appears as a camel.”
