THISDAY

Imo APGA Suspends State Chairman over Alleged Financial Rascality

- Amby Uneze in Owerri

The crisis rocking the Imo State Chapter of the All Progressiv­es Grand Alliance (APGA) over the shoddy manner State Chairman and National Working Committee (NWC) of the party handled the primary election to various positions for the 2019 general elections, some members of the state executive committee have unilateral­ly passed a vote of no confidence on the State chairman, Peter Ezeobi and thereby suspended him indefinite­ly.

In his place, the State deputy Chairman, Chima Nwosu takes over the affairs of the party in order to forestall sanity and to make sure that their members do not decamp to other parties in the face of the crisis confrontin­g the party at the moment.

However, the aggrieved aspirants and other members of the party have dismissed the national reconcilia­tion committee headed by the party’s Vice Presidenti­al candidate, Jerry Chukwueke as they described the committee as “an effort on illegality since those who set it up were the ones that created the problem ab intio.

In his swift reaction on the suspension, Ezeobi told THISDAY on phone that those who claimed they were state executive members of the party do not have such powers to suspend him and described it “as unserious move”.

In a three-page document read out to the press by the State Deputy Publicity Secretary of the party, Kenneth Onyenagoro­m and signed by over ten members of the exco and local government chairmen accused Ezeobi of running the party aground which had made the party to lose focus and key members due to maladminis­tration and financial rascality.

They recalled that the party in 2015 general election recorded very poor result without winning any single elective position in the state and credited it to the mismanagem­ent and highhanded­ness of the state chairman.

According to the statement, needless to say that Ezeobi’s primary goal is the money he makes from the party and not to win elections for the party, hence you have consistent­ly harassed everyone who expressed a different opinion from yours.

“Recall that you started your regime with the suspension of several local government chairmen of the party for flimsy excuses just to weaken the party. Such local government chairmen include Mrs. Franca Okolie of Ideato South, Thomas Nnanna of Mbaitoli, Elly Eke of Ngor Okpala, Rogers Owulezi of Ahiazu Mbaise and Ben Ude of Owerri West.

“Your refusal to allow the state financial secretary of the party, Jude Ekejiuba to record the financial transactio­ns of the party makes you the receiver, dispenser and record keeper for all financial transactio­ns of the party. You have refused to account for the hundreds of millions of Naira raised by the party through mandatory payment for party cards.

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