Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state has declared that going by the way Chief John Odigie-Oyegun has managed the affairs of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the outgoing APC national chairman was apparently overrated by leaders of the party who had allowed him to succeed Chief Bisi Akande as party chairman.
Okorocha who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo maintained that Chief Oyegun has taken the Party several years backward to the extent that today, there is no State chapter of the party where there is no crisis or factions.
A statement by Onwuemeodo read in part, “The way Chief Oyegun has pursued the elongation of his tenure also showed how selfish and greedy, he is. He is not interested in the well-being or future of the party, but only interested in staying put as the National Chairman of the Party. And that is why he is after anybody who opposed the tenure elongation.
“The worst thing that would have happened to APC is to allow Chief Oyegun to continue as the National Chairman of the Party. It would have been worst for the Party. Chief Akande never tried to destroy the party when he was leaving as the pioneer Chairman, but Oyegun wants to destroy the party because he is leaving. He is not patriotic.”
He continued, “In the case of Imo, he disobeyed two court orders with regard to the congresses in Imo and the inauguration of strange elements as the state officials of the party just to get at Governor Okorocha because of the issue of elongation. And we have no option now than to ask our lawyers to press for his imprisonment and that of Osita Izunaso and all those who were involved in the lawlessness.”
The statement averred that the only thing Chief Oyegun has achieved in his ‘anger against Governor Okorocha is encouraging elements with no electoral value like Osita Okechukwu and those from Imo to be insulting the Governor. And these are people who cannot win their booths in an election’.
The same elements, he said, came together during the Anambra State governorship election.
“The governor stayed away and at the end of the day, they could not justify their noise making. They have also started again. And these are people who have been running election since 2007 and have not won any”, he said.
The statement warned that Imo APC members would not tolerate factionalization of the party.
“In case Chief Oyegun does not know, Imo APC members won’t allow any faction. The APC in Imo and even in the South-East is Governor Okorocha’s making. And it will be foolish of anybody to think that he would build the party and allow cowards to take it over. If they have the political strength, let them go and pick a party and present a candidate, and it will be very interesting”, the statement stressed.