APGA Founder Urges Governor Soludo to Leave Party Amid Allegations of Sabotage

The founder and pioneer National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chekwas Okorie, has urged Governor Chukwuma Soludo to quietly leave the party if he wishes to do so.

Okorie accused the Anambra State Governor of attempting to destroy the party, which he was elected into office on.

Okorie alleged that Governor Soludo had sworn never to accept or work with Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.

Addressing the press in Abuja on Tuesday, Okorie accused Soludo of sponsoring factions within the party, particularly the one led by Victor Oye, despite a Supreme Court ruling that declared Njoku as the authentic Chairman, a decision that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognized.

INEC complied with the Supreme Court judgment delivered on March 24, 2023, enforced by the FCT High Court on June 6, 2023, and further reinforced by the Court of Appeal on June 28, 2024, recognizing Njoku as the Chairman of the party.

However, Okorie believes that this victory has been undermined by Soludo, adding that the Governor recently claimed at a public event in Anambra State that he had arranged for the Supreme Court to reverse its judgment and for INEC to withdraw Njoku’s recognition.

“Professor Chukwuma Soludo has peddled the information among his close allies and the rebellious APGA faction working with him that he has secured the assurance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who he claimed pledged to influence the Supreme Court to review and reverse the judgment delivered on March 24, 2023, in favor of Chief Edozie Njoku,” Okorie said.

“He further assured his faction of APGA that INEC would without delay withdraw the recognition given to Chief Njoku and his National Working Committee.

“Professor Soludo had boasted to me directly that he would use everything within his powers as the governor of Anambra State, to ensure that Chief Edozie Njoku would never be the National Chairman of APGA.

He vowed that if for any reason he failed to stop Njoku from becoming National Chairman, he would resign from APGA within 24 hours and that APGA would cease to exist as a political party.

“At that point, I took strong exception to his boast. I told him that since he was not God who made APGA possible 22 years ago when it was registered by INEC as a political party, he lacked the power to determine the survival of APGA.

“Having secured an all-round victory for APGA in three different courts, Njoku has demonstrated maturity and magnanimity in victory.

He has seized every opportunity, both in private and public domains, to stretch his hand of fellowship to Prof. Soludo and all members of APGA, irrespective of factional inclination, that the time to unite and rebuild the party has come.

“I know as well as so many well-meaning Nigerians that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a thoroughbred democrat and a progressive politician who after winning his presidential election of 2023, patiently and diligently successfully defended the outcome of the election both at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and at the Supreme Court.

“They will not be the first to take that option and they will not be the last to do so. But to design a plot to collapse APGA into another party just to promote his personal political scheming and ambition is not only sacrilegious but an abomination that cries to high heaven.

“We call on all well-meaning Nigerians, especially President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the father of the nation, to prevail on Soludo to rein in whatever that is propelling him to target APGA for destruction.

“I wish to repeat that Professor Chukwuma Soludo joined APGA voluntarily and is at liberty to exit the same way without attempting to destroy a house he did not build.”