|
APGA suspends six principal
officers
By Chuks Ehirim, Abuja
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has suspended six of
its national officers over the reported move by them to sack the party’s
National Chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie.
The six
officers who were suspended after the party’s National Working Committee
(NWC) meeting at its National Secretariat, Gwarimpa Housing Estate, Abuja,
Thursday, are the National Secretary, Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi; the National
Treasurer, Victor Umeh; and its National Organising Secretary, Innocent Ekwu.
Others are Chris Ndigwe, Ella Ezenwa and the party’s Deputy National
Publicity Secretary, Sadeeq Masalla.
In a press release by Okorie Onwuchekwa Orji, APGA Director
of Publicity, the officials were accused of contravening Article 21, Section 2,
sub-Section (d) of the party’s constitution.
That Section of APGA constitution, states “any officer
of the party at all levels whose verifiable public and private conduct tends to
bring the image of the party into public disrepute and or ridicule shall be
suspended indefinitely pending the determination of his/her case by the
relevant disciplinary committee of the party.”
It said that the NWC of the party reviewed “the sad
news on Wednesday 15 December, 2004 in which a few members of the National
Working Committee addressed a press conference at the NUJ Motel, Abuja, where
very wild allegations were levelled against the National Chairman of the
party.”
At the said press conference which was addressed by
Shinkafi, the group said its decision to remove the APGA chairman was taken at
the party’s NWC meeting of 15 December.
Orji however said that there was no such meeting. “The dissident group purported
that they arrived at their decision after holding a National Working Committee
meeting of the party”, said Orji.
He added that “there was no NWC meeting of APGA held on December
15, 2004.”
The party also alleged that there is a grand design to
destabilise the party adding that
the plan to destroy the party got heightened after APGA reaffirmed its
decision to zone its presidential ticket for the 2007 presidential election to
the south-east geo-political zone. It accused President Olusegun Obasanjo of
plotting to destroy regional parties, with special emphasis on APGA, AD and
ANPP.
|
