www.odogwublog.com reports that a former
Member of the United Progressives Party (UPP), Hon Chudi Offodile
yesterday gave reasons why he resigned his membership of the party. He
also urged all those who believed in the Biafran ideology to also resign
from the party.
Offodile
in a press statement made available in Awka said his Christian Faith
and belief in Biafran ideology places premium on the human life and he
had to withdrew himself from the primary when the party insisted it
would go on mindless of the death of a party executive and delegate.
His
words: ‘’The late Maduabuchi was "lucky" that his name appeared in both
the authentic list and the illegal website list. Equally "lucky" were
the youth leader and the woman leader but the secretary and treasurer
were yanked off the list and replaced with unknown persons. The
secretary, Clifford Madu was replaced with Charles Nwafor and the
treasurer, Joseph Onyegbule was replaced with someone called Annex
Opara. Only the ward congress can replace those elected officers but the
national Chairman, Chekwas Okorie, unilaterally replaced elected
officers of the party. He replicated these whimsical replacements in
about 264 wards across the state, giving him "preference shares" in the
primaries and in his 'dream government' in Anambra state.
‘’It
was while struggling to ensure that his less fortunate colleagues were
let into the venue for accreditation that Maduabuchi met his untimely
death. He collapsed at the barricades of shame erected to prevent
genuine delegates from gaining entrance and allowing handpicked
delegates to vote in their stead. He died fighting for justice. How can a
political party carry on with a primary election with an officer of the
party lying stone dead, a victim of the party's corrupt manipulation of
its delegates list. I immediately called on the party to call off the
accreditation exercise as a mark of respect for the dead officer of the
party who was killed performing his duties.
‘’When
the call fell on deaf ears and considering the fact that my Christian
faith and the Biafran ideology we profess, places a high premium on
human life, I promptly withdrew from the exercise. I consider it
unconscionable for the party to have carried on with the primaries under
the circumstances.
‘’I
have noted the willful and corrupt manipulation of the party delegates
list by Chief Chekwas Okorie, but it is the display of gross
insensitivity to the life of a party member that has made me reconsider
my membership of the UPP. I hereby resign my membership of the party
with effect from today the 21st day of August 2017. I urge all my
supporters and all those who believe in the Biafran ideology of
equality, freedom and justice to do same and await further directives.
Offodile
continued: ‘’despite all entreaties, including an order of court that
the United Progressive Party should adhere to the provisions of its own
constitution in the conduct of the Anambra state governorship primaries,
the party did just the opposite.
‘’After
a hotly contested ward and local government congress in June 2017, in
line with Article 10[4] of the UPP constitution, a delegates list
comprised of local government chairmen and secretaries and ward
chairmen, secretaries, treasurers, youth leaders and women leaders was
compiled and counter signed by the state chairman and secretary and all
the local government chairmen and forwarded to the national headquarters
for record purposes.
‘’To
the surprise and consternation of party members, a delegates list
copiously at variance with the list of ELECTED delegates was uploaded on
the website of the UPP on the 29th of July 2017 and variously amended
on the 4th and 5th of August 2017. The website list contained strange
names with no phone numbers unlike the authentic delegates list that had
the phone numbers of all delegates displayed.
‘’When
accreditation commenced on Saturday the 19th of August, the day of the
primaries, I got information that only those whose names appeared on the
website list were being allowed into the venue. I drove down to the
venue at about 9am and handed over a letter of protest to the election
committee chairman, Chief Ejike Uche and the chairman of the party in
Anambra state, Dr Sylvester Igwilo. I threatened to withdraw from the
primaries if they insist on the use of the illegal register.
Why I resigned from UPP ---Chudi Offodile ----accuses Chekwas of manipulation of delegates list
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Monday, August 21, 2017
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