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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Prior to the 2015 general election, Prince Ukaegbu popularly, known as Onapuruagu (“man that collects something from the lion”), was the state chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Abia State chapter.
He was removed from office by then Chief Victor Umeh-led APGA National Working Committee (NWC) in a manner he felt was not proper. He approached the court and a High Court in Umuahia quashed his removal from office.
Not satisfied with the judgment of the lower court, the APGA leadership went on appeal and the Appeal Court, Owerri zone, reaffirmed the High Court’s judgment, declaring Ukaegbu as the authentic chairman of APGA in Abia.
In this interview, Ukaegbu said APGA in Abia presently has no validly nominated candidates for the 2023 general election as those whose names were submitted to INEC were done by impostors who are not recognized by law as officers of the party.
The Appeal Court, Owerri zone, recently reaffirmed the judgment of a High Court, which reinstated you as the Abia State chairman of APGA; how does it feel?
I feel no way. What the Appeal Court did was reinstating the obvious facts. Everybody knows who the state chairman of APGA is; it’s not in doubt. The processes did not originate at the Appeal Court, the judgment the Court of Appeal affirmed had already been given at the High Court. I wasn’t the appellant, I was dragged to the Court of Appeal, I wasn’t the appellant.
The anti-democratic forces in the party refused to accept the judgment of the lower court and appealed. The national leadership of the party appealed against the judgment of an Umuahia High Court, and the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and up till today, they are still wandering in the wilderness, unable to come to terms with what democracy actually meant.
So, I feel no way about the Court of Appeal judgment because we knew that the court cannot leave what is legal to pursue what is illegal. The court of Appeal only reinstated what the position of the law is. I knew there wouldn’t have been any other outcome other than what the Court of Appeal did.
Who presently is the state chairman of APGA?
I am the state chairman of APGA, of course; we are not two.
You were the state chairman of APGA until 2014 when something happened, could you let us into the whole scenario?
Yes, one of the greatest merchants in the history of our great party wanted to sell off the party and we all said no, you don’t do politics that way, APGA is not your personal property, neither is it your father’s estate. We have a constitution and whatever anybody does, must be in accordance with the dictates of our constitution. The man at the helm of the party then thought he had the power to do whatever he liked by illegally removing me from office. We challenged that illegality and got judgment in our favour at the Umuahia High Court. They appealed at the Court of Appeal, Owerri and their appeal was dismissed.
How would you describe the defection of people like Abaribe and others into APGA?
To start with, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe is not in APGA; he is merely a political refugee; he is not a member of APGA. He and others like him can never run election on the platform of APGA.
Why would they not?
That’s what the law says. APGA is a juristic person that acts through its officers. APGA is a legal entity; only recognized officers of APGA can take actions, receive and register people into the party, conduct primaries, nominate candidates on behalf of the party. APGA is not a no-man’s land, APGA is not an all-comers’ affair. Personally, Abaribe and some of those who said they have crossed over to our party, are my friends; officially, they are not members of APGA. I don’t know them from the level of membership of APGA and I’m telling you without any form of equivocation, without any fear of being contradicted, that they will not run election under APGA; they are not members of APGA.
Those who left other parties at the last minute and ran into APGA to obtain tickets into various elective positions are political refugees being pursued by their parties and they ran into the country called APGA and the first house they saw they ran into and the person they met proclaimed himself as the chief of the town and they started dealing with him, without knowing they were yet to meet the true chief of the town.
All those who are purported to have been given tickets in APGA in the state are likened to people who bought property from someone that is not a title holder to the property and at the end will not take hold of the said property. Today, I am the state chairman of APGA; the media can choose to call whoever they like the state chairman, it doesn’t perturb me.
The fact remains that anybody that does not go through the process of nomination for elective positions in Abia APGA under my watch as state chairman doesn’t stand the chance of contesting the coming election.
Legal arguments are canvassed in court, they are not canvassed at Aba Motor Park, neither at Ubani Ibeku Market. If you feel I’m not the APGA state chairman, kindly go back to court and tell them that the court erred. But as of today I remain the state chairman, and anybody who does not recognize me as so surely is not going to contest next year’s election under APGA.
From what you have said, it seems APGA will not be having candidates in 2023 elections?
APGA I must tell you presently have no validly nominated candidates in the entire state. Other than the ones I will forward to INEC, APGA today has no candidates, including for the governorship.
APGA would present candidates in Abia but through the recognized and legitimate officers of the party. Whatever that was done in this regard outside me as the party chairman, is a waste of time and exercise in futility.
Assuming that these people including Abaribe who have already bought the party’s forms come to you, are you going to accept them?
No, no, no, we don’t deal with hypothetical situations. There is no point hazarding guesses; you only cross the bridge when you get to it. So, I don’t want to bore myself down with hypothetical situations; what I can only tell you is the fact on ground.
What’s the position of APGA in Abia today?
The position of APGA in the state has continued to remain what it is, where you see passersby, marauders invading the party, do all sorts of things in the name of the party because election is close. After the election, you won’t see them anymore.
And what are we fighting for? To realize the vision of the founding fathers of the party and I’m happy I have continued to maintain the pledge I made to Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu. Come rain or sunshine, I will not depart from this party. Others who came to trade are running helter skelter. The other one has joined Labour Party to contest for a Senatorial seat; a former chairman of the party, that shows you the inner workings of his mind. For them, APGA was just a tool for buying and selling and they have finished doing that in the party.
With what is happening presently, how sure are you that APGA will win next year’s election in the state?
That’s why we are fighting to put our house in order before the election because if we don’t, we will always have nearly syndrome effect, that at the point of victory, we will beget defeat, that’s what we are fighting.
APGA is going to win and we have always won elections in the state and next year’s will not be different.
