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My accusers, Obasanjo�s agents � Chekwas
Okorie
felix� ofou, sunny� igboanugo & chuks ehirim
Embattled National
Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie,
yesterday dismissed as untrue claims that he embezzled over N60 million of
the party�s funds, describing his accusers as mischief-makers and agents of
President Olusegun Obasanjo.
His denial came on the heels of a
vote of confidence passed on his leadership as well as the suspension of six
national officers reportedly behind the accusation and attempt to remove the
national chairman.
�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; National Organising Secretary, Innocent
Ekwu.
Others are Chris Ndigwe, Ella
Ezenwa (the only female among them) and the party�s Deputy National Publicity
Secretary, Sadeeq Masalla.
Okorie exclusively told Saturday
Independent that there could be no truth in the assertion of his accusers, explaining
that APGA did not have up to N60 million in its coffers. He wondered how they
came up with a contrivance that was totally lacking in a semblance of truth.
�If we had that kind of money (N60
million), we would have been on top of other parties. APGA members register
with only N20, so where would we get such money from? Out of those who
contested on the platform of APGA, it was only the Ikemba� Nnewi, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, who paid his
nomination fees in full. So, where could we have got such money?� he asked.
The national chairman revealed
that of the money generated, N15 million was spent to conduct APGA�s
convention last year.
To further prove his innocence,
Okorie disclosed that the audited accounts of the party were already with the
Independent National Electoral Commision (INEC).
APGA�s Director of� Publicity , Okorie Onwuchekwa, in a press
release Orji, however said the six party officials were accused of
contravening Article 21, Section 2, sub-Section (d) of the party�s
constitution.
At the said press conference,
which was addressed by Shinkafi, the group had explained that its decision to
remove the APGA chairman was taken at the party�s NWC meeting of 15 December.
But the publicity director� however countered that there was no such
meeting.�
The statement further alleged that
there was a grand design to destabilise the party.� It said 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.
�It is based on this deceitful
concept that certain agents working on the destruction of the so called regional
parties decided to explore the weakest link in APGA and recruited the most
vulnerable of them all to mount this very embarrassing but unsuccessful
civilian coup de� tat.�
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