Why APGA Leadership Abandoned Dr Godson Okwudili Emebo when support is needed most

www.odogwublog.com reports that this interview was conducted in 10/08/12 by Francis Ekpone and when he died APGA abandoned him to the extent that national leadership of APGA allegedly did not look his way when he died fighting for APGA against PDP and APC ……………..what a life
Dr Godson Okwudili Emebo was one of the founding members of APGA in Awka North and a former House of Representative aspirant, Awka North and South Federal Constituency 2003 under the platform of APGA.
 Emebo set up the initial APGA structure in Awka North. In 2007, he served as council transition Chairman in Awka North. In 2010, he served as coordinator of Peter Obi Campaign Organization in Awka North.
He was the State Chairman of the National Stakeholders Forum, Anambra State Chapter, A PHD holder in Animal Science, in New Mexico State University, Texas USA.
As a stakeholder in APGA, what do you think about the faceoff between Gov. Peter Obi and Victor Umeh?
I don’t think there is any face-off between Peter Obi and Victor Umeh but there is face off between Victor Umeh and we the stakeholders of APGA. We are saying something that is very strength. The National Chairman should not run the party single handedly. He should run it in accordance with the party’s constitution.

Do you think there is anything the National Chairman has done which is not in accordance with the party constitution?
Yes there is
Like what?
Non conduct of congress and convention, this is what the journalists and concerned citizens should go to the various wards in Anambra State to find out if APGA have had any congress in Anambra State. Not purported congresses. I am talking of seeing INEC people as observers or representative of people asking the people to queue up for congress. It has never been done. All other agitations in the party is rooted on this.
    So other accusations he is leveling against anybody is a way of defending himself on the things he did wrong. Even in his ward in Aguluzigbo and his local government, Aniocha, he did not conduct congress. How did he come up with the convention which he said he held at Ekwueme Park. How did he come up with that?

Were you not at the convention of APGA held at Women Development Centre where all of you said yes to him and other leaders to hold office till 2015?
I was there for a particular purpose. We were told that we were coming there to adopt the candidature of the president. That we will adopt PDP candidate as our candidate that APGA will not have candidate and that we will all adopt President Jonathan as APGA candidate. As at that point, no congress was conducted at the ward, at the state or local government level. We thought then that these things will be resolved amicably. We want to know who gave the officers mandate at ward level, local government level. So what we are saying is that convention we did not want to cause problem there, we thought that it is what we can resolve but he refused the resolution. He is so adamant to hold congresses and I will tell you something, if you go to the wards today, the problem APGA has is at the ward level. We did not have problem at the National level because at that level, we did not cast any vote there and we did not cast any vote at local government and state offices of APGA but at the ward level, the same people that were handpicked in 2002 are still there as ward officers. Are you saying that there is nobody that is qualified to do that job since 2002.
That is to prove to you that no congress was done at ward level, local government and state level. We thought that we could do these things as brothers and accept the resolution only to say why did you do this. We told him do this thing so that we can continue wining election but he refused and that is why we said that the rift is not between him and the governor but between him and ourselves. And he is now telling people that it is because His Excellency didn’t conduct local government election and that is why he is disagreeing with him. That is not true and it is fallacious.
    The truth is that he wants to stampede the people and stay in office and he is ganging up with all the officers down to the ward. We can’t accept that and that is what we are saying.

But why have the stakeholders not raised the alarm since until now that he is pressuring the governor to conduct local government election?
Just like father and son you don’t resort to such approach until you are satisfied that you have done everything and the person is adamant then you will say I have kept quiet enough. That is why we kept quiet all along. We can’t keep on keeping that quiet because we want to be winning elections. If we continue that way, winning election will be difficult for us. Let me give you an instance a woman leader at the ward level who have no aspiration to carry these women at the ward level and get little remuneration. The remuneration is that she is the women leader. She is not fighting to be a commissioner but this women did whatever she can do in 2003 but has no followers. The real women leader who has followers is aspiring for a day the congress will be held so that she will take up the crowd. When she is sure that in the next four years that there won’t be any congress, she will continue to follow somebody who has no followers at all. What do you think she will do. She will join another party. The same thing happened to the Chairman and youth leader. Had he agreed to reorganize the party, then, there won’t be problem, people will take their rightful positions at the ward level down to National.
    By the way may I ask, has he not stayed enough to step aside and allowed others to try?

But APGA gave him the mandate to be the National Chairman till 2014.
And I am telling you that he deceived us. He said we are coming to adopt President Jonathan. Do you expect us to start shouting No! No! No! that day? We accepted it as a brotherly thing. We know there was no congress at various levels how come he come up with the resolution.

Is the state leadership of the party part of this agitation?
Its only reasonable ones amongst  them. But  they won’t speak out. If you corner them, they will tell you that what you are fighting for is right.
    So as it stands now the stakeholders are not working together with the state leadership of the party.
    We are not, I am saying that. What Nwobulor is saying is let us hold proper congresses from the ward up to the national level. We are not saying that they shouldn’t contest. Any of them that contests and shall remain there but for now  they are there without our consent. So the face off is not between Ume and Governor or Nwaobulor but between Umeh and the stakeholders.

Do you think you will succeed since the National body is solidly behind him and all the 36 state chairman passed a vote of confidence on him?
(Laughs) let me ask you. Did all the State Chairman sign? The State Chairman of Lagos State did he sign, did Adamawa State Chairman did he sign? So many did not sign that. I expect you to say yes so that I will tell  you how APGA is in that state.
    So the question is, where were these people when local government election was conducted in their states. Did they win common councillorship, even in the own ward. A State Chairman who did not return counsellorship in his own immediate ward, a national secretary who could not win anything in his own immediate constituency. That will show you the position of APGA whether they exist or not. We need practical existence. APGA is existing in Anambra. Are you doubting it? Is it existing in Ebonyi; and Enugu. These are the issues. APGA is existing in Anambra State and they are now seeing Anambra State as a gold mild where they will come and it will be very bad for us to allow those people who have no say in their states to come here and destabilize what we are doing in Anambra and what His Excellency is doing. They can’t do it. Why are they after the governor? Is Gov. Peter Obi the only Governor who have not conducted local government election. We have about 11 states that have conducted local government election. What was APGA’s position in those 11 states? Did they win common counsellorship? Have you seen why I said that APGA is existing only in Anambra and they want to come and distablise us, we won’t allow that. They are soldiers without barrack coming to talk to a soldier with barrack.
We are surprise that the stakeholders in the state are fighting the National Chairman of the party.
Yes, because what he is doing is wrong. He is fighting the fingers that fed him. He is fighting His Excellency and we can’t sit down and watch that. He is rather fighting us because that is the finger that fed him. Who was he in 2001-2003. He was nobody and the finger he is now fighting raised him up. I know why he is fighting him. He wants to put somebody there as governor which is absolutely wrong. He should listen to the voice of reason.
We southerners cry that we are marginalized but we have not looked round to see if we are marginalized some people around us. We hold that the next Governor of the state we come from the North. That the North senatorial zone has not spelt the position. So they are being marginalized. So any body that is against that is not fighting the governor but the good people of Anmabra state and we the stakeholders of the party.
What is your stand on local government election in Anambra state?
My stand on the local government elections is that the governor should be allowed to conduct the local government election at the right time. This is not the right time. Will he disobey the court? Do we need any education on local government? He never said he will not do it. Let me tell you something as an insider. I know why this people are agitating. It is because of what is hocking them on the neck. They collected one million naira each from the aspirants.
What for?
For nomination fee for chairmanship aspirants and they are many that paid the money. For instance only my local government, more than 5 people paid the N1 million naira, so you can think of other local government where we have 21 local government in the state. You will be surprise that we have more than 100 candidates that paid the money. What party in the history of Nigeria have pad such huge amount of money for chairmanship position.
    What of councilors?
They paid N100 thousand each and I asked, what will be the salary? What do we expect from them after paying the money. That will show you the management of the party. So they should allow the Excellency to do the right thing which he is doing. He planned to conduct the election before the problem in ASIEC that went to court and

He lived between December 18th, 1949-March 25, 2015