Okowa’s Christmas Largesse Tears Delta APC Apart
• State secretary suspended, probe panel inaugurated
Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba
The crisis rocking the Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken another turn with the alleged suspension of the state party Secretary, Mr. Chidi Okonji, for allegedly being involved in anti-party activities.
According to state APC chairman, Jones Ode Erue, who announced Okonji’s suspension in Asaba, a five-member disciplinary committee has subsequently been set up to investigate the alleged wrongdoing of the secretary.
THISDAY however, learnt that the fresh crisis in the state APC arose from disagreement among executive members of party over the formula to share the sum of N600,000 grant said to have been meant as Christmas largesse from to the party by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state government of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
Nonetheless, Erue claimed that the secretary had collected the said Christmas largesse from the PDP-led government on behalf of the state APC but allegedly kept the money for himself.
He therefore slammed an indefinite suspension on the party secretary pending the report of a five-man disciplinary committee set to investigate the allegation and other alleged anti-party activities of Okonji.
However, Okonji in a swift reaction debunked the allegation, describing his alleged indefinite suspension as a nullity from the outset as there was no meeting of the state party executive council to begin with.
According to the secretary, only a properly constituted State Executive Council (SEC) of the APC made up of 35 members has constitutional powers to suspend him.
On the alleged N600,000 grant from Okowa, also being interpreted among some APC members as “bribe money,” Okonji told journalists in a statement in Asaba yesterday that he was duly authorised by the state chairman (Erue) to collect the money of which he (chairman) allegedly appropriated half to himself.
The embattled secretary said, “Erue (state chairman) authorised me, Okonji, through a letter to collect the grant of N500,000 on behalf of the party which Erue split into two and collected half. He further insisted that the amount ought to be N600,000, and that he was going to see the SSA (Senior Special Adviser to Governor Okowa) to confirm the amount.”
He said the present crisis started when he (Okonji) asked the chairman to “return the party’s bus donated by the former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar (and) call SEC meeting to address burning issues including the N13.5 million Christmas gift given to the party.”
The secretary also claimed he had asked the state APC chairman “to account for the N5 million given to run the party every month and to stop using his personal account to siphon money from the party’s account.
“The purported suspension is null and void as the nine person-meeting (State Working Committee) lacks the constitutional power to suspend or apply any punitive action without the approval of SEC,” Okonji submitted.
Meanwhile, the embattled Delta APC Secretary has appealed to the national leadership of the party to institute an investigation into the series of financial scandals rocking the state executive body under the leadership of Erue, and to compel him to give financial accounts of his stewardship since 2013.
