Party fires back, suspends faction
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The crisis rocking the newly-registered Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (ADPA) took a new turn on Tuesday as stakeholders met in Abuja and sacked the Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad Shittu-led Interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
But the Shittu-interim party NWC has reacted by approving the suspension of Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Dan Nwanyanwu, and Mainasara Ilo for unlawful gathering in the name of the party and for holding what it described as illegal National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
At the NEC meeting which was held at Riez Hotel in Abuja yesterday the stakeholders said that the tenures of the NWC members had expired since June 14 this year in line with the constitution of the party, adding that the meeting of yesterday complied with the party’s Constitution as well as the provisions of the Electoral Act (as amended).
The following are the new national officers of the party elected during the NEC meeting: Illo, National Chairman, Chief Dan Nwanyan, Chairman Board of Trustees (BoT), Mr Amobi Nwosu, National Secretary, Alhaji Muhammed Tanko, Deputy National Chairman (North), Dr. Fijabi Adebo, Deputy National Chairman (South) and Mr. Ide Felix Eguabor as the National Publicity, among others.
Addressing journalists shortly after the meeting, the new National Chairman, Mr. Illo pointed out that the former NWC failed to organise a proper meeting to either extend their tenures or elected news officers in line with constitution of the party when their tenures expired.
Ilo, who read out the decisions reached at the meeting, said it also resolved to partake full in the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State.
He said the NEC approved the relocation of the party’s national secretariat to another more spacious location in Abuja.
He stated that the party with the appointment of new NWC members, was poised to embark on membership drive nationwide to enable it to contest and win in future elections.
However, the embattled interim national chairman, Shittu, addressed the media shortly afterwards and clamped a suspension order on some of the key leaders of the party.
One of the suspended leaders of APDA, Dokpesi, appeared to still be holding tight to his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as his name was listed yesterday as the head of publicity for the party’s national convention.
He said: “Due to the indiscipline of these members, the NWC met at an emergency meeting today and suspended them and constituted a disciplinary committee to sanction them for bringing disrepute to the party.
“We want to appeal to the public to disregard the announcement because they are agent of PDP trying to destroy the emerging alternative party that will give Nigerians a better life,†he said
