Igwilo
In its preparation for the November 18 governorship poll in Anambra State and ahead of tomorrow’s primary election to pick a candidate for the contest, the United Progressives Party (UPP) may have been engulfed in a crisis that could derail its plan to rule the state.
Although the party’s leadership has vowed to ensure that nothing derails the process of picking a flag bearer among two of the aspirants that have been cleared to contest in the primary, allegations of diversion of party funds and manner in which the screening was handled against other contestants is currently breeding disharmony in the party.
Already, the state chairman, Chief Sylvester Igwilo has announced the suspension from the party, of the two aspirants cleared by the national leadership of the party, Osita Chidoka and Chudi Offodile, accusing them of anti-party activities aimed at undermining the authority of the state executive.
Chidoka, a former Minister of Aviation and Offodile, a former member of House of Representatives were screened and cleared last Friday to contest in the primary by the national headquarters.
However, less than four hours after he (Igwilo) announced their suspension, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party which met in Abuja, dissolved the Anambra State Executive Committee which he led and slammed an indefinite suspension on him for alleged rebellion against the party.
A statement by the National Secretary of the party, Sadeeq Masalla, said the dissolution became necessary following alleged “rebellion by some misguided members of the acting State Working Committee (SWC) of our party in Anambra State which was carried out through a press conference addressed by Dr. Sylvester Igwilo, the acting State Chairman of the Party.”
It also suspended a governorship aspirant who was not successful in the screening, Ifeanyi Okonkwo, for his alleged culpability in the alleged acts of rebellion against the leadership of the party.
The suspension and counter suspension have thrown the party into confusion about its preparation to contest although the National Chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, assured the public that the move to produce the candidate of the party was on course and was not threatened by the action of “elements hired to derail the party.”
Okorie told The Guardian in Enugu that Igwilo and Okonkwo “rebelled against the party by acting beyond their powers,” stressing that “those who are afraid of the UPP in the Anambra election have recruited them to undermine the party and its aspirations.”
He stated that the party would go into tomorrow’s governorship primary without a state chairman, pointing out that “we will appoint one in acting capacity after the process.”
Political analysts are however asking whether the UPP crisis would end the leadership Okorie after the ugly experience of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)? Where lies the root of the present squabble and what is the mission of the gladiators?
In 2004, exactly two years after he formed and led the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as National Chairman, a crisis of leadership that claimed his office started. Now, holding the same position in the UPP, Okorie’s leadership is faced with similar challenge.
In the APGA crisis, an alleged conspiracy that was led by then National Treasurer, Chief Victor Umeh, swept Okorie out of office with Umeh emerging the new National Chairman. Okorie fought this sour development in various courts until 2012 when he willingly returned the APGA registration certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after he realized the futility of using the judiciary to revalidate his position. Few months later, he moved on to register the UPP but like the APGA, the UPP may be engulfed in similar circumstance under his watch.
An interesting part of the unfolding debacle is that like in the APGA, where his main antagonists came from Anambra, his members from the state are also championing the current problem in the UPP.
The Guardian gathered that the crux of the matter in APGA was a N50 million which he allegedly received to undermine the victory of Peter Obi in the 2003 governorship election. In the present crisis, there is allegation of conversion of N40 million party funds into private pockets from proceeds from sales of expression of interest and nomination forms for the November 18, governorship election.
It was gathered that, while the state working committee and certain aspirants were working for a level playing ground, the party’s leadership, apparently determined to ensure the emergence of a particular aspirant from about eight others who indicated interest, jettisoned constitutional guidelines for the process.
Trouble started when the party released the guideline and timetable for purchase of expression of interest form and primary without a date and details of the bank account where the over N5 million fees pegged for the purchase would be lodged. Some of the aspirants suspected foul play when two of them were allegedly provided with the private account details where they lodged the money and got their forms.
The two aspirants, Chidoka and Offodile, were therefore screened and cleared to participate in tomorrow’s exercise while others did not get the opportunity.
Okonkwo, who felt unfairly treated and Igwillo, kicked against the process. On August 9, Okonkwo complained to the party through a petition in which he demanded that Okorie should step aside as National Chairman to allow investigation into allegations that he breached party rules based on Article 21 of the party’s constitution.
In the petition which he addressed to Okorie and Masala and titled, “Petition for the suspension from office; Chief Dr Chekwas Okorie, National Chairman, UPP,” Okonkwo accused Okorie of issuing a public letter of no date and or pursuant to no conventional mandate titled “Time table, expression of interest, with which the sums of N500,000 expression of interest fees and N5,000,000 nomination form fees,” which were solicited from “uninformed aspirants, without naming mode of payment.”
He accused Okorie of “illegally compiling a purported party officers/delegates list in clear violation of the mandatory statutory provision in the section 87 (1), (2), (4) (b) of the Electoral Act,” as well as “illegally and unconstitutionally forging a new state congress in the purported (new) UPP constitution.”
Okonkwo also accused Okorie of “diversion of United Progressive Party funds of over forty million naira and converting same into your private use from your personal bank account held and maintained with Diamond bank; Acct No. 0060848267.”
He continued: “That you Chief Dr Chekwas Okorie without any lawful authority, permitted Dr Sylvester Igwilo to deposit various large sums of money, such as depositing the sum of two million naira into UPP’s United Bank for Africa account number 1017343984, while illegally registering members in group/tranches.
“Illegally collecting payments from uninformed and desperate political aspirants without involving the Anambra State branch of the United Progressive Party, the host state and administering the UPP as a private and family estate, without any iota of authority.”
Okonkwo urged Okorie to step aside “within seven days of the receipt of this letter and handover to the Deputy National Chairman from your zone (Southeast); as you ought to be suspended indefinitely, pending the determination of these allegations against you by the National Executive Committee, relevant disciplinary committee of our great United Progressive Party.”
He added: “Further, take notice that if you fail to act in accordance with the UPP’s constitution by stepping aside as the National Chairman and proceed on an indefinite suspension within seven days, I shall have no reason to revert to the UPP on this case.”
Meanwhile, Igwilo, while buttressing the reasons for the suspension of Chidoka and Offodile, said they breached “Article seven paragraph (b) of the registered constitution of UPP; non-production and submission of any documentary evidence of their resignation from their former political parties.
“Introducing money politics of inducing members with cash donation which tends to bring the image of the party into disrepute and ridicule.
“Going to Abuja to deposit an illegal sum of N5, 000,000.00 without the constant and approval of the State Executive Committee and anti-party activities to undermine the state executive on party congress, Illegally opening of personal campaign offices outside the party local branches, thereby running a parallel party organization.
“Appearing for a purported screening without the approval and authority of the state executive outside the provision in the party constitution (Article 16 d).They paid their nomination fees into a personal account provided by the National Chairman, which resulted in their indefinite suspension. “Consequently all party faithful, government agencies and banks have been advised to ignore requests emanating from Okorie henceforth. We will not allow him to repeat what he did in APGA at UPP. The law is no respecter of persons or positions.”
Okorie, who denied providing his personal account for the lodgment of the said nomination fees, said the aspirants made out bank drafts in the name of the party, stressing that the drafts were lodged into the party’s account. This much was also confirmed by the National Treasurer of the party, Chief Flint Obiekwe, who told The Guardian that the “drafts were made payable to UPP and we have photocopies for anyone to see. It is not possible that the money was lodged into a personal account.”
While stressing that the money realized from the sale of forms was being expended in the primary, Okorie said it was not the duty of the State Working Committee to screen candidates for the governorship election or conduct the primary. He said that a committee appointed by the national leadership was bestowed with the responsibility.
“As I speak with you, members of that committee are already in Awka to prepare the ground for the primary. The coup plotters have failed in their mission and rebellion against the party and they have resorted to making bogus and unfounded claims. The claim of diversion of funds is libelous for which we have briefed our lawyers. So they will come and prove their case. Ifeanyi Okonkwo did not come to run election and even if he did, he couldn’t have scaled the screening. UPP has integrity and character. He is only trying to run people down and that won’t take him anywhere,” he said.
As the party goes into its governorship primary tomorrow, there is anxiety that it does not tread the path for which the APGA is known.
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