You can’t suspend me, Okonkwo tells Ngige

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

Ahead of tomorrow’s local council election, disagreements between leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State have got messier with a camp suspending leaders of another camp. The disagreements arose over whether or not the party should take part in the local council election.

While a camp led by its governorship candidate in last November election, Senator Chris Ngige does not want APC to take part in the polls, the other camp led by Deputy National Chairman, South, Senator Annie Okonkwo and State Chairman, Mr. Chuks Chinwuba, said APC would participate in the election.
Consequently, the Ngige camp reportedly suspended Okonkwo and Chinwuba for anti-party activities.

Speaking on the issue, Okonkwo described his reported suspension by Ngige as laughable, saying that Senator Chris Ngige and his followers were misleading the people of the state and the country in general.

In a resolution passed by the Interim Executive Committee of APC in Anambra, which was inaugurated on Monday and led by the chairman, Amaechi Obidike, the Ngige camp said: “The Anambra State Interim Committee has examined the roles played by our party members in the said election, particularly Senator Annie Okonkwo, the Deputy National Chairman, South, and one Mr. C.J Chinwuba who parades himself as the “State Chairman” of the party and have found their conducts to be reprehensible and embarrassing which have put the party in contempt, public ridicule and disrepute.

Chris Ngige

These anti-party activities have continued with their unguarded and unauthorized utterances about the proposed Anambra State local government Council election, and sowing seeds of discord and hatred among party members.
“In view of the above, therefore, the Anambra State Interim Committee of APC hereby suspends the duo of Senator Annie Okonkwo and Mr. C.J Chinwuba forthwith. Accordingly, the State Interim Committee within 7 days from today, January 07, 2014.”

Claiming that Ngige ought to be the one to be suspended, Okonkwo said: “Between Ngige and I who has been involved in anti-party activities? Ngige and his loyalists organized a meeting in Awka on Monday without the consent of the national interim officers of the party and at the end they said they have suspended me and the state party chairman. Who is supposed to suspend who between me and Ngige? I was elected at the national level with other officers. Ngige is only misleading the people.”

The Senator alleged that Ngige was the cause of APC’s failure in Anambra governorship election. “APC was a party to beat before the primary election. And before the election, we had over 280,000 registered members, but when Ngige emerged the flag bearer of the party he started acting funny,” he said.