The yet unabated lingering crisis tearing apart the soul of the Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), resulting from the party congresses, has taken a more dangerous dimension as the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole inaugurated a factional chairman, Jones Erue of the Ogboru/Omo-Agege led faction in Abuja.
A Delta State High Court sitting in the Kwale Judicial Division had few weeks ago restrained the National Chairman of the party, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, its National Working Committee, (NWC), and the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising or dealing with any other executives of the party in the state apart from the Cyril Ogodo led executive.
The presiding judge of the court, Justice V.I Ofesi in the case with suit no. HCK/56/2018, also granted an interim injunction restraining the party or its agents from swearing-in any other ward and local government areas executives of the APC in the state order than the Cyril Ogodo-led leadership sworn-in by the then John Odigie-Oyegun led NWC, and since assumed office before the emergence of the current NWC.
HardReporters reliably gathered that about four other court cases have already been filed by the Ogodo led executive when the party’s national chairman went ahead to swear in the factional chairman.
Mr. Oshiomhole had two days after his assumption of office as the party’s national chairman assisted the Ogboru/Omo-Agege faction to procure a consent judgment against the duly elected and inaugurated Ogodo led executives.
Meanwhile, some APC faithful in the state have described Mr. Oshiomole’s action as reign of impunity aimed at dismantling what he perceived as Oyegun loyalist structure in a vindictive move, handed the party to the Ogboru led group, a serial governorship aspirant in Delta state who conducted a parallel congress.
The action of the party national chairman, has continued to generate mixed reactions and tension in the party in the state with many stakeholders saying that the action is capable of dwindling the party’s chances of winning Delta state with the shutting out of other key stakeholders who has sustained the party before the entrant of Ogboru’s group.
Reacting to the development, the party’s state publicity secretary, Mr. Moses Kamanya called on the party faithful to remain calm, stressing that the national chairman cannot be above the law, as there is no place for the reign of impunity in APC.
“If what we read in the media is true, it therefore confirm our fear that the National Chairman in his bid to remove those he feels didn’t support his aspiration, may have decided to throw away the baby and the bath water.
“One would have expected Oshiomhole to reach out to both parties in Delta and look for a way to reconcile them, not taking side even where there is an order of a court forbidding him from acting to the contrary, this total disregard to the rule of law will not do the party any good.
“By his action, he telling all of us who have kept the APC together since 2013 that we can go to hell, that he does not care, but we have good news for him, we are not bound by any act of illegality as the present action of the national chairman represent.
“If Oshiomhole believes that Ogboru and Omo-Agege alone will win the 2019 election for APC in Delta, he must be joking, because if Ogboru has such capacity he would have won in AD, DPP and Labour Party.
“So, if the NWC of our party wants to win, they have to retrace their step on the Delta APC crisis and allow the rule law to take place, because Oshiomhole’s actions so far have compounded it,” adding that they will resist any acts of impunity no matter where it’s coming from.” Kamanya stated.
