By Cajetan Mmuta
The intraparty crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra state has assumed a dangerous dimension with the sack of the National Chairman of the party, Chief Victor Oye by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

In place of Oye, members of the NWC had appointed Jude Okeke as the new National Chairman of APGA.

A source close to the party disclosed the NWC had also suspended one of the key actors behind the clearance of former Central Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Professor Chukwuma Soludo, to fly the party’s flag in the coming November 6 Anambra state governorship election.

Also axed is the member representing Anambra-East/Anambra-West federal constituency in the National Assembly, Hon. Chinedu Obidigwe and Chief Edozie Njoku.

It would be recalled that the latest development in APGA came barely 24 hours after the party’s Screening committee of the Governorship aspirants ahead of the party primary earlier scheduled for Wednesday to select a candidate for the party for the governorship contest in the state.

Members of the committee were said to have cleared only four out of about ten aspirants, including former CBN governor, Chukwuma Soludo; a member representing Orumba-Nouth/Orumba-South federal constituency, Hon. Okwudili Ezenwaka, Damian Okolo and Chief Rommy Okoli.

However, the committee disqualified a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo, the member representing Aguata federal constituency, Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji, the lawmaker representing Nnewi-North state constituency in Anambra House of Assembly, Hon Nonso Okafor, Ifeanyi Uzoka, and Carter Dike-Umeh.

Nwankpo was said to have been disqualified for not being a member of APGA for up to 18 months, and that he did not obtain a waiver from the party’s NWC, while that of Umeoji included that of inconsistency in the record of his age.

The reasons for disqualification of other affected aspirants ranged from lack of financial capacity to fund their governorship project, acts of insubordination, among others.

Umeoji and Nwankwo were said to have appealed against their disqualification to the party’s national body.

Meanwhile, Chief Oye in reaction insisted that he remains the National Chairman of the party describing those who orchestrated his sack as criminals.

Dare inaugurates NYSC board, says FG will not scrap the service

Oye said “It is what we see in every primary election, so no shaking. If this were in the civilized country, they will be arrested and jailed. There is a procedure and you have to give INEC a notice to be able to convene a National working committee. It is the chairman National Electoral Committee that convenes NWC.”

“I don’t know them. These people do not exist and I’m surprised that people are giving it publicity. What they did is media sack. Those people do not exist and they should be dealt with”, Oye stated further.

Consequently, the APGA NWC had announced the nullification of the result of the screening exercise and also extended the period for purchase of nomination forms for the governorship primary of the party.

No specific date has been fixed for the exercise.