CHIEF UMEH REMAINS THE AUTHENTIC CHAIRMAN OF APGA AS CHEKWAS OKORIE LOSES AGAIN

[Chief] Barrister Emeka Ukpabi

Chief Victor Umeh’s leadership of APGA is nothing short of a miracle, having made the Igbo man proud while piloting the affairs of his party despite Chekwas Okorie and Andy Ubah’s partnership in plotting the destruction of APGA. ‘Chekwas Okorie now confirmed as APGA chairman’ screamed various headlines last week following Chief Okorie’s lies to the press on the Supreme Court’s ruling, directing the lower court to hear his suit on his removal as APGA chairman, but a man of straw who battled to save APGA from being sold off by a political buccaneer is what comes to one’s mind when one thinks of ‘Ohamadike Ndi Igbo’, Chief Victor Victor Umeh.

A salute to the courage of Chief Victor Umeh is rather apt at this point while Chief Chekwas Okorie and his partner in crime against the Igbos, Professor Maurice Ewu (sorry, Iwu) go on a self gratifying rampage to continue the extermination of the Igbos from where their mentor General Olusegun Obasanjo was forced by the constitution to stop in May 2007. Chief Okorie has been brandishing a letter from his friend Iwu, citing a non existent court order as his basis in hanging on to a party that expelled him years ago. Professor Iwu is now using Chekwas Okories to destabilise the Igbo race as is the wish of their godfather in Ota.

The emergence of Chief Victor Umeh as first, the APGA Acting National Chairman and later confirmed by the National Convention of the party at Nike Lake Resort in Enugu, has served as a major check on the activities of these traitors. Chief Nnamdi ‘Andy’ Ubah would have been Anambra State Governor today as Chekwas had already traded Peter Obi’s mandate for a filthy lucre in 2004. Given that scenario, Ngige would have completed a false tenure but denied a re-election ticket by a PDP hell bent on shoving Andy Uba down the collective throats of Ndi Anambra and by extension, Ndigbo. What a Judas, Chekwas Okorie has proven to be. He must not be let near any decent congregation of Ndigbo, let alone leading them under any guise.

The effect of the judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered on the 14^th day of December 2006 and the judgement of the Federal High Court delivered in Suit No FHC/ABJ/66/2006 by Justice Abimbola Osarugue Ogie on 27^th March 2007 is that Chief Victor Umeh remains the National Chairman of APGA until the various suits on the leadership dispute are determined. Chief Umeh remains the authentic chairman of the party until proven otherwise. No amount of Chief Okorie’s lies and spin can restore him to an office that is not his and will never again be his.

Chief Umeh is the authentic Chairman of APGA and the party fielded candidates for the April 2007 general elections throughout the federation and all the candidates contested elections conducted by INEC under the leadership of Iwu, so why is INEC attempting to make a u-turn with directives that Chekwas Okorie should be regarded as the chairman of APGA based on an non -existing court order. Iwu’s INEC attended the national convention of APGA and its officials supervised it on December 2 2006, where APGA formally confirmed Chief Umeh as national chairman.

Chief Okorie is nothing but a political charlatan who has been flying this kite of self recognition for some time now and as much as one is tempted to totally ignore the silly politics he is used to, I felt that will be making this jobless man politically important by joining issues with him but it looks as if the scavenger is enjoying this dangerous business. If you tell a lie a thousand times people may think you are telling the truth. The time has come for someone to put to rest his insinuations in order to put the record straight and let the world in general and Ndigbo in particular know that Chief Okorie is only embarking on a journey of self gratification.

Let the truth be told Chief Victor Umeh, a hero of APGA and a vigorous advocate of the peoples’ cause has not in any way been relieved of the leadership of the party by any court of law in Nigeria. He had laboured to salvage APGA with other committed leaders when Chekwas Okorie sold APGA to the highest bidder. Sir Victor Umeh is not and has never been a bread and butter politician who is in politics to feather his nest. He has been consistent and his dignified stand in matters of Ndigbo and Nigerian politics is well known to all and sundry. He ralied the party to victory when Peter Obi took over from Dr Chris Ngige. When the PDP house impeached Governor Obi, he ralied the people behind Dame Etiaba to hold forth. As Governor Obi returned from the purpoted impeachment, Chief Umeh’s presence has been guaranteed in ensuring that the APGA government survives and succeeds in Awka.

Prof. Maurice Iwu, has directed the Political Parties Monitoring Committee (PPMC) of the Commission, to note that the authentic National Chairman of the Party was Chief Chekwas Okorie and not Chief Victor Umeh. This new strategy is laughable. INEC as required by law, issued prior to the election, a list of the various candidates contesting the election to the various offices in various states of the Federation. Names of all APGA candidates in the country were also submitted to the Commission by the Chief Victor Umeh led executive Council (EXCO). Up until the run up to and during the election, INEC had always dealt with Chief Victor Umeh as the National Chairman of the Party.

This latest scam like the ones before it will fail, as I venture to ask what is Prof. Maurice Iwu's next laughable joker? Chief Umeh has fought many battles with INEC, PDP and the Abuja establishment in matters of democracy, rule of law and true federalism in Nigeria and he is not a man known for petty politics. Given his powerful credentials as a democratic activist, humanist and a committed leader of leaders, it is unthinkable for anybody to suggest that he will throw away his hard-earned effort in sanitizing APGA from the clutches of a known devourer like Chief Okorie.

Despite pressures from these gang of Igbo saboteurs, Chief Umeh should remain focused, steadfast in will, strong in purpose, courageous in deed in the service of what matters to the APGA and the Igbo nation, just as I commend our leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odumehgwu Ojukwu for refraining from any utterance at this stage in the face of this latest extreme provocation against Ndigbo. Chief Umeh’s strong backing of the leadership partnership between Mr Peter Obi and his deputy Dame Virgy Etiaba has been one of the reasons the devourers have been unable to destroy Anambra state despite their continued efforts at doing so. Chief Victor Umeh remains a source of pride to the Igbo race.

[Chief] Barrister Emeka Ukpabi an APGA die hard, writes from Port Harcourt