The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has announced its intention to suspend Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo and his associates.
The party’s National Chairman, Chief Edozie Njoku, who addressed the press at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, said the governor has thwarted every move by the Supreme Court-recognized NWC to restore peace in the party and has continued with his anti-party activities.
Edozie said by Thursday, 26th September 2024, the NWC would announce the names of members of the party who has been suspended for anti-party activities, including the Governor of Anambra State, Soludo.
Ahead of the off-cycle governorship election in the state, the national chairman maintained that party has no sole candidate for the election. He doubted if Soludo could even emerge victorious from the party’s primaries.
He said that anyone interested in becoming the governor of Anambra State should come forward and go through the process which, according to him, would be seamless.
“If you remember, just about a week ago or two weeks ago, we just left the Court of Appeal where a stay was applied at the Court of Appeal to stay me being recognized by INEC despite the fact that the Supreme Court said in their own words that the removal of Chief Edozie Njoku as national chairman of APGA is not justiceable,” he said.
“They went to Awka and filed the suit, suddenly the the judge in Awka was very smart, and he pulled out of it. They came to the Federal High Court again. They filed another one behind our back, they were applying for an interim injunction behind the back of the national chairman of the party, behind the back of APGA, behind the back of the orders of the Court of Appeal, which asked that they should enforce the judgment as pay or affirm the enforcement of the judgment, as per the Buhari High Cour.
“They went forward behind the back of APGA and INEC were very smart, and INEC have written that everything they said is not true.
“The local government elections are going to take place in Anambra on the 28th but what we should understand about this is that Charles Soludo, the governor, I don’t know, he should know that it’s a political system he’s not an emperor.
“He has gone forward to get the house of Assembly to adopt, to make a law whereby the party cannot field their candidates.
“They went to the field and conducted something behind the back of the party, where they assembled certain people who are conducting anti party activities.
“If you notice, the whole NWC are here, and a group of people are being suspended from the party. As you know, I’ve been preaching peace, peace peace peace peace because it’s not in the interest of the party for us to start suspending elected officers, to start suspending a governor, to start suspending House of Assembly members, to start suspending the senator from Abia.
“They are pushing us far to the limit, and they are believing that the governor of Anambra State is bigger than the party. No one is bigger than the party, and so maybe they are playing on that I want peace, that I will not change, even the beauty.
“You will remember what the chairman of the bot said, that we the NWC, must take action so that we don’t look like toothless Bulldogs.
“This is a political party, and APGA is here to stay. We have 80% agreed on those people who are going to be suspended from the party. One of those people are the governor. And I’m saying, are we going to just suspend the only Governor we have? But if the only Governor we have is pretending or playing to the gallery, making these people who are honest people go in and commit anti party activities.
“We must nip this in the board. I don’t know what Soludo is playing at. I don’t know what his problem is, but he must conform himself under the party.”
