Saturday 17 August 2013

APGA Threatened To Declare Okorocha's Seat Vacant

The All Progressives Grand Alliance has
threatened to ask a court to declare Imo State
Governor, Rochas Okorocha's post vacant over
his defection to the All Progressives Congress.
The National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor
Umeh, stated this in an interview with
Saturday PUNCH in Abuja on Friday.
Umeh said the party would be relying on the
Supreme Court judgment in Rotimi Amaechi vs
Celestine Omehia and the Peoples Democratic
Party, which decided that the electorate voted
for a political party and not individuals.
He said APGA would base its court action on
the fact that it was the party that gave
Okorocha the ticket to be governor.
He said, "Okorocha's case is entirely a
different thing and the party has suspended
him for his actions and despite the statements
by his aides and his deputy that they are in
the APC for good. We are waiting for him to
make a formal declaration on joining the APC.
"If he does that, APGA will take him to court
seeking a declaration that his seat becomes
vacant. In doing that, we shall be relying on
the Supreme Court authority in the case of
Rotimi Amaechi vs Celestine Omehia and the
PDP, where the Supreme Court emphatically
stated in the judgment that the electorate
voted for the party and not the candidate."
Asked whether the governor was risking
expulsion, the APGA chairman said, "The
choice is his," adding, "ordinarily, we won't
like to expel a governor that was elected
through our platform."
Several calls and a text message put to a
former Commissioner for Information in IMO
State, who has been acting as Okorocha's
spokesperson, Mr. Chinedu Offor, were not
replied.
But sources in the Imo State Government
House told our correspondent that the
governor travelled to the United States in
company with many of his friends and aides.
The governor recently dissolved his cabinet
and removed his aides.
However, Okorocha's immediate past Special
Assistant (Media), Mr. Ebere Uzoukwa,
dismissed the threat.
Uzoukwa, who is also reacting as Convener/
President of South-East Progressive Assembly,
said, "Though we do not intend to speak for
the governor nor the Imo State government
on this particular issue, but as progressives
deeply committed to promoting democracy at
the grass roots as well as raising political
awareness in the South-East, we frown at
Chief Umeh's destructive agenda, which, if
not checkmated, has the tendency of
polarising the zone ahead of 2015.  

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