APGA Primary threatened, as sacked exco drags party to court

The primary election of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, in the Imo State is hanging in the balance at the moment as sacked executives of party in Ngor Okpala have dragged the party to an Owerri High Court to seek redress.
Those sacked which  includes the Local Government Executive Officers and the entire ward executives in the eleven wards of the council are praying the court to declare their sacking unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and order a return to status quo as established by the party congress of May 2015.
The leader of the aggrieved party executives and congress elected chairman of APGA in the area, Chief Elly Eke who spoke to journalists shortly afterJustice Ngozi Opara adjourned the matter on Monday said they came to court to challenge the state chairman, Barr Peter Ezeobi’s impunity.
Chief Ekeh disclosed that Barr Ezeobi sometime in August 2017 unilaterally and illegally sacked the party executives and replaced them with them the campaign structure of one Mr JohnJude Okere who he alleged is a personal friend of the state chairman.
According to him Barr Ezeobi had upon his removal appointed Dr Chima Diala, who was a member of the Young Democratic Party, YDP as LGA chairman prompting the sacked exco to petition the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party.
He said the party’s NWC in May this year ordered that all sacked and suspended executives at all levels return to their offices adding however, that the party boss flagrantly disobeyed the directive of the NWC even when the recent ruling of the Supreme Court on the matter between Chief Martin Agbaso and Dr Victor Oye has vindicated them.
Chief Eke stated that as law abiding members of the party who believe in the supremacy of the rule of law, they decided to approach a court of competent jurisdiction to reverse the illegality perpetrated by Barr Ezeobi and the said Mr Okere.\He recalled that similar scenario occured in 2014 when the chairman single handedly handed Mr Okere certificate of return as APGA flagbearer for House of Reps, a decision the party rebelled against and elected Mr Blyden Amajirionwu instead.
He noted that Mr Okere who deserted the party and joined Labour Party after losing the Rep ticket in 2014 has not rejoined APGA in the council but leveraged the personal relationship existing between him and the chairman to illegally hijack the structures of the party last year.
An aspirant of the party angling to fly the party flag in the House of Assembly election who reacted on the crisis yesterday on condition of anonymity said he was worried it may negatively impact the party in both primary and general election if not handled well.
He expressed the hope that the party leadership would see the danger ahead and move swiftly address it.
Barr Ezeobi, the party chairman however, could not be reached for comments as calls and texts sent to him were not answered as at the time of this report.