ENUGU — ACTING National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, said yesterday that the “unholy” alliance between the former Chairman of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie and Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State led to his (Okorie’s) suspension. He also alleged that the alliance which was based on the former chairman’s selfish interest, was aimed at scuttling the struggle for regaining “stolen mandate” of the APGA governorship candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, as well as bringing the party to public ridicule.
Umeh who addressed a press conference in Enugu, further accused Okorie of sponsoring assassins against him, saying he narrowly escaped being killed by a group of assassins during a recent meeting of the party at Awka.
But Chief Okorie, in a telephone interview, denied the allegations, stating that he never entered into any alliance with Dr. Ngige over the APGA’s claim to victory in the 2003 elections, adding that Umeh’s assassination claim was a farce designed to deceive people.
“I have never been associated with violence. I sent a visitation panel to Anambra State and stepped back as chairman to receive their report. I have no territorial interest in Anambra State to go and begin to send people to go and kill Victor Umeh. It is a none issue,” Okorie said.
Umeh said that Chief Okorie had connived with the Anambra State Governor, Dr. Chris Ngige to deny APGA’s candidate, Mr. Obi “the divine and sacred mandate” given to him by Anambra people, disclosing that plans had been concluded for Ngige to cross over to APGA and continue his reign under the party thereby burying Obi’s mandate.
As part of the plot, he said, “the Election Petition Tribunal premises in Awka was set ablaze; the plan was to destroy the tribunal’s records and therefore frustrate Mr. Peter Obi’s petition.”
According to him, the mastermind of the manipulation of the 2003 election in favour of Ngige, had in September this year in New Jersey, United States during the World Igbo Congress, admitted that Obi swept the polls and that the result was rigged in favour of Ngige, adding that this was also confirmed by President Olusegun Obasanjo in the letter he wrote the National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Audu Ogbeh.
“The evidence coming from the number one citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is so weighty to be overlooked,” he said, adding that the “desperation of Dr. Chris Ngige to cling to office at all cost is responsible for the destruction of Anambra State.”
