Can Obiano re-invent the soul of APGA?

Stakeholders and members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) recently gathered in Awka, the Anambra State capital, for the party’s National Convention to re-invent the soul of the party as well as elect its new leadership for the next four years. Emeka Osondu, who was at the venue reports that the occasion also offered members the opportunity to take stock and hazard the way forward for the party in the face of the new political re-alignments in the country.

WHEN the All ProgressiveS Grand Alliance (APGA) was formed and registered in 2001, it was generally believed that the party, which had grassroots appeal, especially in the south East, would make great impact in the political firmament of the nation. In fact, to a reasonable extent, this notion proved to be true as many Nigerian queued in on the APGA project and gave it their unflinching support. This positive attitude towards APGA as a political party, no doubt, was occasioned by the trust that the public had for its enduring leadership, especially as the team was led by no less a personality than the revered Igbo leader, the late Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

This popularity grew to a crescendo whereby its gubernatorial candidate in the 2003 general election, Peter Obi, later unseated the then People’s Democratic Party (PDP) serving governor in Anambra State, Chris Ngige, through the court of law in 2006.

From thence, the gate was thrown wide open to other states of the country to embrace APGA as a beacon of hope, especially in the South East geo-political zone. In the succeeding years, many APGA contestants to various elective positions, including the governorship were successful.

For instance,  in Imo State in the 2011 general election, Rochas Okorocha won the election, unseating Ikedi Ohakim of the PDP. In the same breathe, Theodore Orji of Abia State dumped the political platform of the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) on which he sought for election and won and joined APGA because of the attraction it projected.

But not quite long after these, the hydra-headed monster of discord  reared its head and struck at the heart of the successes recorded by the party over the time. Then, the tide of crises that bellowed thereafter actually tore the party and its member into shreds. People who had who literarily dined and wined together on the same platform suddenly turned and became strange bed fellows.

And after then, the decline ensued, prompting stakeholders to agitate on what could be done  to stem the tide. And years after the protracted sojourn in crises, stakeholders and members of APGA appear to have taken a decisive step by injecting some entirely “unaffected blood” into the party’s leadership profile at its recent National Convection held in Awka, Anmabra State on June 6, 2015.

According to the stakeholders, this move became imperative in order to restructure and reform the party in the wake of the new political re-alignments in the country. They argued that hence the Alliance for Progressive Change (APC) could successfully unseat the PDP, there is therefore genuine hope that APGA would soon re-enforce and make bold statement at the Federal Government level in the country against the current regional impact it has made so far.

Notable among those elected as APGA leaders for the next four years at the occasion were Victor Ike Oye, a former special adviser on Special Duties to the former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, as the national chairman; Labaran Maku, APGA gubernatorial candidate in the April 11, 2015 Nasarawa State and former minister for Information, as the national secretary. Both Oye and Maku are veteran journalists and seasoned administrators with impressive track record and integrity.

Highlight of the occasion was the formal ratification of the earlier endorsed Board of Trustees (BoT) of APGA led by Willie Obiano, Anambra State governor. Obiano is also designated as the national leader of APGA, a position that challenges him with enormous responsibilities.

Many political observers who spoke with BD SUNDAY noted that ever since APGA was formed, the role of the BoT chairman had been instrumental to the stability and success of the party.

According to them, while the national chairman and secretary of the party work as managers of the body, the BoT chairman controls the tripod and provides direction as the leader and “Master of the Board”, as in the game of Chess.

They were quick to point out the role played by the late Igbo leader, Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who was the BoT charman, in bringing stability to APGA from the day the party was formed until his demise. They also pointed out that the stability and successes recorded by the immediate-past governor of the state,  Peter Obi, could be linked to the presence and anointing of the late great leader who died at a prime age.

Emeka Ozumba, special assistant to Governor Obiano on Media and Publicity, who spoke to spoke with our correspondent after the convention was full of hope and assured that Governor Obiano would succeed in his enormous responsibility to instill discipline, stability and refocused the party just as Odumegwu-Ojuwku did during his tenure as the APGA BoT chairman.

Ozumba equally  assured that Obiano would fit in and step into the vacuum left by the late Ikemba of Nnewi. He pointed out that according to the tripod, Odumegwu-Ojukwu anointed Peter Obi, who subsequently brought a lot of development and stability to the party, just as Obi himself anointed Obiano, who is now wearing the big shoes of his fore-bearers.

However, in his speech at the occasion titled: ‘Rising to the Demand of Our Time’, Obiano noted that the country is on the threshold of a new beginning, and with that convention, members and stakeholders had a golden chance to lay a great foundation for  a viable opposition that will enrich a democracy in the country.

He insisted that “this is a rare moment. And we must seize it, define it and turn it into a milestone in the history of our nascent democracy”, adding  that “after years of playing at the margins of our country’s political history, the time has come to take a bold step out of the shadows and mount the centre-stage of Nigeria’s political theatre.”

He further noted that the recent general elections gave the party a chance to test its strength and gauge its overall appeal across the country, adding that “We came back from the polls with the realisation that this great party has not lost its basic appeal; that the alternative model of governance we offer is still the clear preference of the larger spectrum of Nigerians.”

According to him, “The ebb and tide of our nation’s history has swept aside the old political arrangement and opened a door for a new political order. If my reading of Nigeria’s political temperature is right, there is no better time for our party to attain its manifest destiny and fulfil its age-old promise than now. Our dear country needs the light of inspiring leadership and the rays of a wise opposition. This generation has a responsibility to provide both in equal measure.

“So, as we settle down to the business of the day, let us bear in mind that Nigeria expects great things from us. Let us remember that we are gathered here today for the greater good of Nigeria. Let us remember that our country comes first.

“Under my watch, we shall always strive to lay down the right fundamentals and ensure a strict adherence to the rules. We shall pull the levers of purposeful leadership with a view to ensuring the emergence of a robust internal democracy.”

In his acceptance speech, the new chairman, Victoe Ike Oye commended Umeh’s leadership for its steadfastness and pledged that his leadership would reconcile all genuine aggrieved members of the party so as to reposition it to play the role of the most formidable opposition party in the country.

Oye said the party in the next four years would take over the nation’s Presidential power and urged members of the party to give the new leadership all the necessary support to achieve the ambition, adding that in addition to entrenching internal democracy in the party, “every member would be availed equal opportunity to realise his or her political ambition.”

Earlier in his address, immediate past national chairman, Victor Umeh expressed satisfaction that his leadership of the party in the past eight years had helped in building the party as a formidable political party to reckon with in the nation’s politics though it was achieved through resilience and personal sacrifices.

Emeka Osondu