APGA denies sack of Abia executives

The leadership of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has denied allegations that the Abia State High Court ever ordered the removal of the state executive of the party, stressing that the rumours are being orchaestrated by agents of the government in power in the state.

Describing the reports as false, malicious and without foundation, Abia State chairman of APGA, Reverend Augustine Ehiemere, said the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state was disturbed by the newfound cohesion within the party. Ehiemere said he was not party to any suit, stressing that not even joined any suit there was no way a court of competent jurisdiction could order for his removal, stressing that the state government started making efforts to cause confusion within the party after the warring parties reconciled by the national chairman, Sir Victor Oye, in Abuja.

In a statement, Rev. Ehiemere said APGA was finalizing plans to organize primary elections for aspirants in the state adding that Chief Nnanna Ukaegbu, who filed a frivolous suit in 2014 ceased to be the chairman of APGA Abia state since 2015 following the expiration of his tenure.Part of the statement read: “The attention of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Abia state chapter has been drawn to rumors making the rounds and orchestrated by the agents of the government in power to the effect that an Abia State High court has ordered the removal of the executive leadership of the party at all levels, and announced one Chief Nnanna Ukaegbu as the state chairman of the party.

“There is no truth in the rumors and should be ignored. APGA as a responsible political party will abide by all court orders judicially and judiciously delivered, but will fight to the end any attempt to use the judiciary to destabilize our party.“It is a known fact that a court cannot grant what was not before it. The motion by Ukaegbu deals with 2015 matters, which have gone. We have gone through the court papers with our lawyers and we are convinced that removal of the state chairman was not one of the reliefs before the court.

“The state chairman, Ehiemere was not a party to the suit. So cannot be removed through interlocutory order. Having said that, it will be important to educate the public with information at our disposal.”The party disclosed that sometime in July this year, it received information from a source close to the government of Abia State, that a meeting was held with some judicial officers and a high ranking commissioner in the state to procure an injunction against APGA so as to truncate the party’s primaries and cause confusion in the party.

Ehiemere recalled that in 2014, the former state chairman, Chief Nnanna Ukaegbu filed suit No. HOB/47/2014 at the High Court of Abia State sitting at Obingwa seeking to set aside his suspension as the state chairman of APGA and as a member of our party. “This case went up to the court of Appeal and was referred back to Abia Judiciary, but not without the court of Appeal finding that the parties were not served,” it added, stressing that in August 2018, when the case was transferred before the vacation judge and a well-known PDP lawyer filed for change of counsel.

The party noted that before Ukaegbu’s tenure expired, he was suspended in 2014 for anti-party activities that were aimed at ensuring that APGA didn’t participate in the 2015 election, saying that rather than explore internal mechanism of the party to challenge his suspension, Chief Ukaegbu resorted to openly endorsing and campaigning for the PDP governorship candidate in the 2015 election, Okezie Ikpeazu.