A faction of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, in Abia State has threatened the National Chairman of the party,
Chief John Odigie-Oyegun with contempt charges for defying a court order to
conduct the state congresses of the party.
The party said that Oyegun had
gone ahead to inaugurate Hon Donatus Nwankpa as state chairman instead of
obeying a court order.
Prior to the state congresses of
APC held across the country last month, an Abia State High Court had sacked the
Nwankpa-led executive committee and recognized Dr. Emmanuel Ndukwe as the
authentic chairman of the party in Abia.
Addressing reporters in Umuahia,
the state capital yesterday, the Publicity Secretary of the Ndukwe-led faction,
Hon. Mike Ozoemena said the faction decided to press contempt charges against
Oyegun so as to remind him that the rule of law remains the backbone of a
democratic society.
He recalled that a court order
issued by an Abia State High Court on March 8, 2018, “restrained Oyegun,
Nwankpa and his executives and their agents from organizing any ward, local
government or state congresses or primaries of the APC in Abia State.”
He, therefore, expressed
disappointment that Oyegun ignored the valid order properly served on him.
Justice Collins Okoroafor in the
order specifically restrained the Oyegun leadership, “from planning,
implementing, executing or even holding to discuss or strategize on such issues
and other issues concerning nomination or sponsorship of candidates for any
elective position in Abia state or Nigeria except with the Dr Emmanuel
Ndukwe-led state executive committee pending the hearing and determination of
the substantive suit.”
But Ozoemena cried out that
without vacating the court order, the APC national leadership still went ahead
to send state congress committee to Abia State headed by Senator Jonathan
Zwingina as chairman and Hajia Rabi Sulu Gamabari as secretary.
However, the committee on arrival
in Umuahia conducted a parallel congress supervised by Zwingina and another by
Hajia Rabi Sulu Gamabari.
While the Zwingina committee
elected the Nwankpa-led faction, the Hajia Gambari elected Dr. Emmanuel
Ndukwe-led faction, with Gambari saying that her group was in Abia “to ensure
that the rule of law is upheld in the country.”
While Nwankpa and Ndukwe emerged
chairmen from the parallel congresses, Oyegun later included the former when he
inaugurated state chairmen of APC at a ceremony in the party’s national
secretariat, Abuja.
Ozoemena said that Oyegun should
prove himself as a democrat by obeying the court order and urged him to emulate
President Muhammadu Buhari, who has demonstrated his love for democracy and
rule of law by recognizing the outcome of June 12 1993 presidential poll.
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