By Anayo Okoli
It was like it will never happen. That Governor Theodore Orji of  Abia State will never ever part ways with his party, the Progressive Peoples Alliance [PPA], and by extension his political mentor and the founder and BOT chairman of the party, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu. They were seen as being too close, having worked closely for long and shared a lot of confidence.

The young party won two states of Abia and Imo states at the 2007 elections. But sometime last year, the Imo State governor,  Chief Ikedi Ohakim left  the party and joined PDP, an action which pitched him against the BOT chairman, leading to long exchange of allegations and counter allegations. But the party has lost Imo state.  With lost of Imo, Abia basically remained the only state controlled by the party.

But the rumbles in the party have prompted Abia governor to quit the party, an action which may leave the party’s  faith hanging in the balance as funding will definitely be a herculean task. In fact his resignation has brought serious confusion in the party.

The relationship between the governor, his party and the party’s BOT chairman, Kalu had been very cordial till sometime last year when some political groups emerged within the party, clamouring for the governor’s second term bid. This did not go down well with the party and the BOT chairman. In fact, this led to the unceremonious removal of the former chairman of the party, Chief Kalu Eke Kalu and its replacement with the current chairman, Ezeogo Emeka Onuoha.

The groups were seen then as trying to shore the governor’s popularity and giving leverage to be independent. The matter was however resolved and the relationship continued but on shaky ground. However, both parties had consistently denied that any rift exists, especially between the governor and his political mentor, Chief  Kalu.

But the public started noticing some clear rift following some level of mistrust between the governor and his deputy, Comrade Chris Akomas believed to be very close to the BOT chairman. First was when the deputy Chief of Staff, Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, a kinsman of the governor who works with the deputy governor, was said to have reduced the security personnel attached to the deputy governor, an action said to be beyond his power. Reason was that it was speculated that Akomas was nursing the ambition to contest the 2011. This was said to have been resolved but it was never as sweet as before.

However, Akomas in an interview never said he was running or not. He said that the structure that brought them to power, that is the PPA would say who would contest. This interview generated a lot of tension among the governor’s supporters and aides who  interpreted it to mean that the deputy governor was preparing to contest perhaps against his boss.

And the current crisis between the governor and the party and the BOT chairman is basically traceable to the 2011 race. While the governor had been denying ever having any problem with the former governor, it was glaringly clear that he was not in control. For example, of the 16 council chairmen that were elected in  January 2008, the governor did not have any of them as his candidate.

And it was alleged that these council chairmen accumulated a debt profile of about N2 billion being arrears of salary owed council workers, which the government had cleared, leaving an outstanding of about N400 million. There  were other allegations of interference in the day to day running of the government. However, Kalu, the former governor had consistently denied any interference, saying that since he left office in 2007 he had never stepped into the Government House, Umuahia.

But the last straw that broke the camel’s back was last two week’s query issued to the governor which was quickly followed by an ultimatum to the governor to clear workers’ salary, release allocations to deputy governor, and fight the  insecurity in the state, among others. He was summoned by the National Working Committee [ NWC] of the party to appear before it. Orji did not however go because of ill-health and he asked that another opportunity be given him.

But the strange thing about the summon to the governor was that it was shrouded in secrecy. Sources close to the governor said that when he visited Abuja  the National Chairman of the party, Larry Esin, paid him a visit, but never mentioned this query to the governor. But  30 minutes after he left the governor, he was said to have  sent him a text messaget asking if he had received a letter from the party letter to which the governor replied in the negative, not knowing that they had kept the parcel at the gate. The governor was said to have sent for the parcel but did not open it immediately.

Later that evening the governor visited the BOT chairman in his Abuja residence. The BOT chairman was said to have charged at the governor raging that a petition had been written against him and submitted to the party. He was said to have lashed at the governor telling him  that it was his actions in the state that caused it. The governor was said to have informed the BOT chairman that he had an envelope in his house, saying perhaps it could be the same thing. When he got back, he opened the envelope and discovered that it contain grevious allegations, 10 in all.

He was said to have called the BOT chairman and informed him that he had a more serious allegations. As they were talking he asked the governor to drop the phone that he would call him later. But till date he never return the call. This perhaps convinced the governor that there was complicity between the party chairman and the BOT chairman and he knew that the battle line has been drawn.

On return from Abuja and after analyzing the happenings, the governor and his supporters came to the inevitable conclusion that PPA was no longer a conducive home for them. He quickly dissolved the cabinet which was believed to have been populated by the candidates of the former governor and his mother. He also dissolved all the market unions. Followed quickly were rallies by his supporters who urged him to leave the PPA and joined another party.

In response to the pressure Orji resigned from PPA and officially declared for All Progressive Grand Alliance [APGA] and will be formally welcomed to the party  today when Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Chief Victor Umeh, the National chairman of the party and Governor Peter Obi, as well as top officers of the party will storm Umuahia.

However, the governor’s exit from the party may have divided the party as the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ben Onyechere who even announced the summon and charges against the governor has made a bolt face, and criticized the action of the party, saying that it was a decision of only the national chairman.

In a statement in Owerri, Onyechere said: “In the first place if you read the summons addressed to the governor, it was an entirely personal letter from the chairman to the governor which he had sent out before consulting the members of NWC.

“We are not in support of his attitude and that is not the concept on which PPA was built.It is a bad way of managing crisis in a terrain surrounded by political opponents. I can assure you that nobody for now knows the chairman’s mission in attacking the respected party chieftains.

The Abia governor is somebody that deserves everybody’s respect and support particularly with what he is going through in a state stifled by the PDP controlled federal government”.

How far the unfolding events will go is what days and weeks ahead will tell. Bit for now tension is building in the state for the imminent clash of the governor and his now estranged political mentor.