APGA: Long road to peace

A fresh move to heal the multiple crises in the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, has gained pace with the inauguration of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Committee headed by Chief Reagan Ufomba, the party’s erstwhile gubernatorial candidate in Abia State. But given the vested interests, finding truth and applying justice would be an arduous task.

It was one political party that came out boldly to promote the place of Ndigbo in the polity. At the height of its glory just two years ago, the party was in firm control of two States in the southeast with enthusiasts bubbling to expand the frontiers even beyond the zone.

However, today, the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, is enmeshed in intractable crisis that enthusiasts are afraid that the two states under the control of the party would sooner than later slip from the control of the party. Already, Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha who came to power through the party has all but left the party for the emerging All Progressive Congress, APC.

Governor Peter Obi who was the first governor to emerge on the platform of the party, according to political speculators is on the way to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP at the end of his tenure.

At the centre of the crisis now ravaging the party is the dispute over the national chairmanship of the party with Chief Victor Umeh and Chief Maxi Okwu as contenders.

Obi: I didn’t create the crisis; Umeh: I will do my party job

Okwu who was one of the founders of the party exited the party during the first major crisis that faced the party when Umeh and some others with the assistance of Governor Obi, shoved the major founder of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie out of office as national chairman. The Umeh led rebellion was remarkable in that he succeeded in pushing Okorie out despite the fact that Okorie’s name was engrained in the constitution of the party as the eternal national chairman!

The coup against Umeh was, however, not less significant, given the general impression of his assertiveness.

The dispute nonetheless, the warring parties who are still in court continue to canvass peace with one another. Few weeks ago, the Umeh faction inaugurated a peace committee with the task of reconciling the warring factions.

Okwu has also established his own peace committee. Last Friday, Okwu’s peace emmisaries arrived Lagos after what was said as successful outings in Anambra where they met Umeh and Governor Obi.

The committee styled as Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Committee is led by the impressionable former governorship candidate of the party in Abia State, Chief Reagan Ufomba as chairman with 13 other members including national vice-chairmen from the various sections of the country and major party stakeholders.

The committee secretary, Barrister Obi Okafor, national vice-chairman (NW), Alhaji Tijani Idris, national vice-chairman, (NE), Alhaji Abubakar Adamu, Deputy National Auditor, Chief Peter Orji, party chieftain Hajia Zainab Nnenna Abdullahi among other members of the committee were present at the Lagos peace parley.

Following a meeting with  stakeholders from the Southwest, the committee led by Ufomba drew questions from newsmen on their mission.

In responding to questions from the newsmen, Ufomba and his committee members tried to walk the delicate path of peace makers by restraining themselves on some issues concerning Umeh, but they could not be totally restrained.

On their quest  
We have been going round the country and we started with Southeast where we met with Chief Victor Umeh, the very first day after our inauguration. We also met with the deputy national leader of our great party, Sir Peter Obi, we met with another leader and statesman, Chief Nwogbu Alor.

Our train moved to Imo State where we met with one of our Igbo leaders, Chief Ralph Uwazerike, the MASSOB leader. We have also been talking on phone to many stakeholders including the wife of our late leader, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu.

As it is always said, a problem known is half solved. We have in our data base, a collection of issues, that are treatable, that are solvable, that we are solving and that we are going to solve so that we will have a one family APGA in the nearest future. That is why we are in Lagos today to talk with our stakeholders who include Barrister Obinna Obiegwe, Martins Agbaso one of our leaders from Imo.

On meeting with Umeh
We met Sir Victor Umeh, the following day after our inauguration and that alone is a remarkable success. I want to also inform that we are very hopeful that everybody is willing to make concessions in the interest of our party, in the interest of democracy in Nigeria and in the interest of Igboland where APGA is very, very dominant. People see APGA as their religion in that part of the country and we are drumming this to their very consciousness and it is making sense to all the people we have spoken to.

How Umeh received the team
We were well received. We were inaugurated on Monday (penultimate week) and on Tuesday we were in his house at about 12 noon. He waited for us, he met with us and everybody saw the need for unity in the party and everybody saw the need to make concessions because as far as this committee is concerned, there is no way we can bring about peace and unity unless people are willing to concede one thing or another and that is what we have been telling them and I think they are going to abide by that.

But Umeh is standing his ground
We were not expecting an automatic answer or concession from him. This committee will also bring other stakeholders who have interest in Igbo land, in democracy and democracy in Nigeria to prevail on them and already we have picked some people that will help us broker peace. But to the best of our knowledge, I think peace is near.

Is Okorocha out of the peace train?
We will see the governor as soon as we successfully book appointment with him. You know he is a very busy governor and the moment we track him down, we will talk with him. For now, we have not been able to track him down.

This committee is about truth and injustice. So, what truth has emerged and what injustice has been complained about?

The truth as so far catalogued are being put together. We will not reveal everything all at the same time. But the truth is that there is need for us to recognise that there is a leader in the party and that there is party leadership.

Political office holders
So, if we are able to note and reckon with the fact that parties do not exist in a vacuum, that parties exist for purposes of electing political office holders whom we must respect, that peace is near.

So, who is that leader?
Our leader as agreed in the party is Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu. He remains our leader, it is agreed it is written and Governor Peter Obi remains our deputy national leader. We owe him allegiance whether as party chairmen or as political leaders in the party.

We found also from Umeh that he assumed his position as the chairman by virtue of affirmation and that there was no ward congress, no local government congress, no state congress that elected the national delegates and he admitted that it was mere affirmation.

But I put it to you that some of your members are already holding talks with other parties?

But so are other parties holding talks with us. As we talk to you, we have recorded 70% success in this assignment. I am talking to you factually. APGA has no problem with its members except the national chairman.

On the allegiance of state chapters?
Let me tell you, in most of the meetings I have attended, I saw them with Maxis Okwu and for your information, if you check out the members of the NWC that were with Umeh, Umeh has only three of them. Let me tell you that besides this committee, there is another reconciliation committee (constituted by Umeh) and the chairman of that committee is allegedly a member of APGA. He is from the same state with him (Imo Chairman) and he knows that he is not a member of APGA.

So, when you set up a structure outside the party because you have lost so much ground where you cannot agree with the BoT, you do not agree with the wife of our leader, you do not agree with the governor produced by the party, you do not agree with your deputy north, your deputy south, your national youth leader, your national women leader, and all these zonal vice chairmen and what you do is that you are alone and you are bringing people to answer APGA…

I was the candidate in Abia State, I know where I stand even as the chairman of this reconciliation committee and most of the stakeholders are here. So you can see where one man is almost becoming the forest and we are saying no to that. While we must tell the world the truth, we are still amenable to reconciliation, to peace anchored on this truth as revealed to you.