Looming war in Imo APGA, Ihenacho returns, to lock horns with Okey Ezeh, Agbaso agai

By COLLINS Ughalaa Nigerians, nay, the people of Imo State, would be treated to a theatre of war as the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) spoils for war, and to batter once more the already battered party. The battle ground is the congresses, beginning from the Ward Congress which will hold on Saturday, 16 May, 2015, Local Government Congress 20 May, 2015, State Congress 23 May, 2015 and National Congress in June. And just like the battle of the general elections which was a fatal battle that has threatened the existence of the party, especially in Imo State, the congress battle is the battle for the soul of APGA. If the party gets it right this time, there would be hope that the party would survive the 2015 change tsunami; but if the party fails like it failed in the general elections, then we would be ready for a requiem service for the party. This is even as sources in the party said that Captain would return to the state yesterday (Tuesday) from his overseas trip ahead of the congresses. Recall that Captain travelled overseas after the governorship election where he scratched a miserly 28,000 votes. Other sources in the party who spoke to Nigeria Moment yesterday said that Captain's faction sensing that they would be defeated at the congresses by the people of the party who are tired of their leadership, have resorted to writing the results of the congresses to be forwarded to their ally at the national headquarters for approval. This was confirmed by other members of the party in other local governments in the state who called to express fear that the outcome of the congress might not be the true expression of the wishes of the members of the party who are yearning for a quick fix and a return of the party to its lost glory. They said some members of a faction of the party had compiled lists for the congresses and forwarded same to their leader in Owerri, expressing worry that such action was capable of sending the party into oblivion. Similarly, a leader of the party in Owerri, Mr. Ibegbulem, has called on the leaders of the party to ensure that it is not further weakened or placed in a more precarious position, saying that the best option for the party is to embrace all factions and work together in the spirit of the reconciliation that is sweeping across the party in recent time. He warned those writing lists of the congress secretly to desist from doing so and come together to work like a united one family, stressing that going ahead with their plans would force the aggrieved members to return to the trenches. He said that going back to the trenches should be the worst scenario the party should pray and guard against, adding that it is not good for the party. He said: “APGA had a problem due to factionalization, and we lost the election because of it. Now some people want to do the congress underground. We should have one APGA. Some people want to write the result underground. If this happens everybody would go back to the trenches. That was what they did last year that landed us into court and they should not do it again. “It is in the best interest of the party that they carry everybody along. Let them carry everybody, and the party would do well, so that we can have one APGA. The congress could harmonized and the position shared equitably among the factions so that we can have one house and live like one people”. The tone of the congress war was disclosed recently when during a meeting of the State Working Committee where Captain and his loyalists, many of whom were CICO members, made effort to remove the state chairman, Barr Peter Ezeobi, and to replace him with Barr Chudi Onuzo who was replaced by Ezeobi last year when Captain joined the party. The move to remove Ezeobi failed when some leaders of the party saw the handwriting on the wall and concluded that the best strategy to save Ezeobi from the shameful removal was to call off the meeting, particularly, when the meeting procedure was not being recorded. Thus the state chairman rose up and called off the meeting and he left immediately with the members of the SWC. Captain had accused Ezeobi of stabbing him in the back during the election by supporting the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha. But some leaders of the party had also accused Ihenacho of selling out in the middle of the election, saying that he never supported the party. But Ibegbulem called on the six principal leaders of the party: the state chairman, the secretary, the deputy chairman and the three zonal chairmen of the party to resign their positions, pointing out that they led the party to failure in the last general elections. According to him, and in what he termed his personal opinion, he said that the six principal leaders of the party who should resign have become the face of failure in the party, and should therefore give way for fresh blood to be injected into the party. He also said that for the first time in the history of the party, it scored zero, scoring below the number of voided votes in an election, whereas the party used to be hot contender in the elections in the state. He said: “The State Chairman, Deputy, Secretary and three zonal chairmen of the party should resign let's have a new face. They are the face of failure in the party. For the first time in the history of Imo we scored zero. In the governorship we scored less than the number of voided votes. So there should be no excuse for them. They should all resign because they led us to failure. In 2003 Agbaso won the election; in 2011 Okorocha won, and prior to that Ezekiel Izuogu battled very well for the seat with Udenwa. In UK the leaders of the three parties that failed in the elections resigned. I don't know why our own should be different. They should resign.” He pointed out that Captain has moved on after the governorship election, a comment that suggested he might not be interested in the coming congress. He said: “Even Captain said he has moved on and he even prayed for us, that God should help us to be in a position to run an elaborate governorship campaign without borrowing”, suggesting also he did not borrow money for the election. He called on Okey Ezeh, whom he said is showing interest in the congress, to ensure that he does not do the same things that led the party to failure. He stressed that Okey Ezeh should not indulge in any acts of impunity by falling to the temptation of writing the results of the election. - See more at: http://themoment.com.ng/national/item/3900-looming-war-in-imo-apga-ihenacho-returns-to-lock-horns-with-okey-ezeh-agbaso-again#sthash.9P1LDt9J.dpuf