Newly-formed mega party, the All Progressive Congress, APC, will any moment from now announce the composition of its national executive members, Dailypost has learnt.

The four political parties that make up the new alliance are: Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change, All Nigeria Peoples Party and All Progressive Grand Alliance.

It was gathered that the stakeholders of the new party met at a closed door meeting Thursday night, February 7, 2013 to discuss the issue.

Also on the agenda was sharing of principal offices between the four political parties. The four principal offices discussed were said to be: the office of the President, Vice President, Chairman of the new party and the Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

On the issue of Governorship elections, it was resolved to be handled State by State. The gubernatorial candidate will emerge from the party that is the most popular among the four units that formulate the new party.

For instance, where the ACN party is considered more dominant amongst the other parties in the State – the gubernatorial candidate will emerge from the ACN – and then the deputy governor would emerge from the other three less popular parties.
The stakeholders are expected to make a public announcement on which unit will produce the presidential candidate ahead of the 2015 general elections.

 



As controversy continues to trail the birth of the All Progressive Congress (APC), the deputy Chairman of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Uche Ejike Friday affirmed that the ‘new bride’ would collapse in less than six months.

The party chieftain while addressing newsmen Friday said: ”Let me clear one issue here, you see that mega party, I wish those behind it luck. But I tell you that the mega party is made up of strange bed fellows.”

“Yes, there are strong personalities there but I give the party six months . It will fall apart soon, it can only be together between now and the next six months.

On why APGA is not in support of the alliance, Ejika said: “I have to say unequivocally as the deputy national chairman of the party that APGA is not part of the so called merger.

“I need to let all Nigerians know , I need to let our followers, all the people who are interested in our party to know that APGA is not part of the group called mega party.

“There was no point in time when the National Working Committee (NWC) deliberated on it as to drag APGA into it.

“There is no meeting whatsoever of that . And I know that the only competent body, virtue of the constitution of APGA, that can decide where the party will go if not the NWC,” he added

 

Victor Umeh, who was removed Friday as the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, has reacted to the judgement, saying he saw it coming.
Umeh was sacked alongside other members of the National Executive Council, NEC, of the party by an Enugu High Court presided over by Justice Innocent Umezulike, Chief Judge of Enugu State.
The court voided the congress which produced Umeh and other national officers of the party in 2011.
Reacting to the judgment, Umeh declared his intention to appeal the verdict, which he said did not come to him as a surprise.
“This conclusion he reached is one he actually reached before he commenced trial in this matter. Going by the orders he made it is very clear that he is confused in his judgment. He voided the convention of APGA that held on February 10, 2011 and sacked the entire executive elected with me because the election was declared a nullity.
“And he turned around to make an order that the NEC of APGA is bound to meet to elect national officers of the party; it shows that he did not read the constitution of APGA. First of all of you remove the entire NEC; he has practically left the party without any leadership; so who is going to convene the meeting that will elect officers of the party.
“There was a prayer in the originating summons which he avoided and went into rhetoric’s; the plaintiff asked for an order that congresses shall commence from the wards, local governments, state and to national convention to elect officers of the party; he did not make any pronouncements on that prayer knowing that there is no way he can validly make such order.
“Also, the national convention which he voided elected 29 national committee members of APGA; the plaintiff sued only me, who was elected national chairman; if he was challenging my election through that convention he was bound to join all those elected by the convention but he didn’t do so; that is why we have said that the suit before him was incompetent; necessary parties were not joined.
“So the orders he made cannot be sustained on appeal; it clearly shows that he is desperately on a manhunt for the national chairman of APGA without thinking of the damage his pronouncements against me will do to the party. We have no confidence in the judgment and we are not moved; we knew that was what he was going to say; in-fact for two weeks now, exactly all he read out were the orders the people at Government House Awka were telling people he was going to make”, he noted.
Continuing, Umeh who had on the course of this matter petitioned the National Judicial Commission, accusing the judge of bias said: “we are very happy to be out of his court; he has finished his business on this matter and the consolation is that there are two higher courts, the Appeal and the Supreme Court; until these courts adjudicate on this matter there is nobody who will step in as chairman of APGA. So nothing has been lost.
“At a point when he started mishandling this matter I petitioned to the National Judicial Council (NJC) who in turn queried him; he replied to the query on November 7, 2012; the CJN sent to me his reply and asked me to make further reaction; and I will tell you that we have comprehensively reviewed his reply; he completely evaded all the allegations against him.
“Remember that we even asked him to re-assign the case and also filed a motion for him to disqualify himself from the matter based on bias; he refused to say things about his actions in the judgment today; why he did not disqualify himself or re-assign the matter. So I don’t see how the matter has closed; the important thing to me is that we are out of Umezuluike’s court.
“So I will go on appeal; put a stay on the execution of this judgment until the court of appeal reviews it; I also have right of further appeal to the Supreme Court. So the sponsors of this have nothing to celebrate. I urge my members to remain calm.”
“By sacking the National Working Committee of APGA that was elected at the National Convention of 10th February 2011 which the court declared null and void, Justice Umezulike has completely decapitated APGA and left it without a leadership. This is like removing the head of a trailer and the body of the trailer can no longer move.
“By this his judgement, there is no organ of the party left to execute the orders he made, therefore the orders are in vain. Nobody including Governor Peter Obi, the sponsor of this suit can derive any benefit from the judgment until the matter is determined at the two levels of appeal available (Court of Appeal and Supreme Court).
“Umezulike’s mishandling of this case is still being handled by the National Judicial Council which forwarded to me Umezulike’s reply to my petition last month for my further reaction, which I submitted to the Chairman of NJC on February 5, 2011″.