We Have Chased Away Impostors Bent On Destorying Our Party, Says APGA National Chairman , Umeh

                                            

Odogwuemekaodogwu.com reports that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh yesterday congratulated the Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano over his victory at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Awka.

Umeh who spoke in Awka said he hopes that the victory would reduce tension in the party, adding that the victory was a defeat for all impostors in the party who wanted to come in through the back door.

He said that Obiano’s victory was also APGA’s victory as the judgment of the Justice Ishaq Bello-led Tribunal has vindicated the position of APGA that the election it won was free and fair.

Umeh said, “The unanimous judgment of the three-man panel has vindicated our position that APGA won the governorship election of Anambra State conducted on 16^th, 17^th and 30^th November 2013 decisively. It has been our position that the election was free and fair, devoid of any irregularities and malpractices as claimed by our opponent in that election.

Odogwuemekaodogwu.com quotes Umeh as saying ,“It has been a very well considered judgment by the tribunal, I hereby on behalf of APGA send congratulatory message to His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano and all APGA members, both in Anambra State and across the globe. This victory will no doubt afford the Governor opportunity of concentrating on the task of providing quality governance to the people of Anambra State which he has ably started, with his strides in crime control and provision of security for the people of Anambra State.”

“We wish to call on him not to be distracted by the statement credited to those who lost at the tribunal that they are heading to Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment of the tribunal. Let him not be ruffled as the judgment was comprehensive, pensive and thoroughly considered judgment based on law.”

Umeh further said that the judgment of the tribunal was very welcomed to the party as “it particularly put a halt to the parallel claim by Dr. Chike Obidigbo, through Maxi Okwu to the office of the governor of Anambra State, having claimed that he was nominated by the party, a bizarre development and the party never sponsored him for the election as was rightly decided by the tribunal.

Odogwuemekaodogwu.com stated that Umeh continued ,“This judgment will also help in reducing the internal tension within the party, as all our party members in Anambra State who stood behind Obiano throughout the campaigns and worked for the victory of the party at the polls, will now be happy that an impostor will not from the backdoor snatch the victory we secured at the governorship election in 2013.

“We want to say that this judgment has affirmed that there are still upright judges in the Nigerian judiciary who will do everything to deliver good judgment based on law, unlike some bad eggs in the judiciary who have continued to do everything to drag the image of the judiciary to the mud.”

While commending the judiciary for the achievement, he urged all APGA members to remain focused and continue to support the party “as all these attempts to destabilize the party will surely fail. We particularly noted that it was ridiculous that elements that are known to be rigging elections in Anambra State in the past years turned around and accused APGA of rigging the governorship election of November 2013, a habit APGA has never been known for, something that has never been in our culture.

“If there is any contribution APGA has made in Nigeria, it is our determined effort to uphold the sanctity of the ballot box, where the people are freely allowed to elect their leaders with their votes. That is what we have been championing in the past 12 years of the existence of the party in Nigeria, through various landmark judicial struggles we have waged against election rigging and banditry.

“So we thank the people of Anambra State, we congratulate them that their mandate has been affirmed by the judgment of the tribunal and they are now guaranteed continued quality governance being provided by Governor Willie Obiano.”