The leadership crisis in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is still lingering with two individuals claiming leadership of the party, a situation that has resulted in several court orders.
One of the factional leaders, Mr Victor Umeh, described the crisis as an inevitable situation in political organisations.
He said that political parties had all kinds of members, people who play by the rules and people who do not play by the rules.
“APGA is not alone in political squabbles. Virtually all political parties have had crisis in Nigeria,” he said, citing the crisis the ruling People Democratic Party had in the last year that led to the defection of some governors to the All progressives Congress.
Mr Umeh said that APGA’s crisis has been perennial because some persons took it upon themselves to wilfully disobey court decisions.
“They think that everything is politics and that as far as you can spring up factions you will start making money,” he said.
Umeh’s tenure is supposed to end in 2015, after a period of two terms of four years each, but the tussle in the party had led to a court in Enugu dissolving the leadership of the party.
He dismissed claims that he had overstayed as the chairman of the party, describing it as propaganda.
Mr Umeh had filed a petition for a stay of execution of the judgement, which the Court of Appeal granted and ruled that the status quo should be maintained.
Illegal Journey To Leadership
Mr Umeh said that the other factional leader, Mr Maxi Okwu, ‘gate crashed’ into APGA, claiming that a national caucus of the party had made him the national chairman.
“His Journey into APGA is illegal,” Umeh said.
Reacting to the claims of Umeh on Politics Today, a Channels Television’s programme, Mr Maxi Okwu said that a court judgement had upheld the decisions of the national convention held in Awka, the Anambra State capital that brought him into office, declaring that it was valid.
He said that he would stand on the court’s decision which he said also dismissed a petition against the judgement of the court.
A final court decision is awaited on who the real chairman of the party is.
The current tussle in the party is lingering and the year for a General election is approaching.
Watch the two factional leaders present their claims to the Chairmanship of the APGA on politics today.
