Why APGA Suspended Governor Okorocha ––Umeh Speaks

National chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, has said that Governor Rochas Okorocah of Imo State was suspended from the party for dragging the party to the newly registered All Progressives Congress (APC).

“For some months now, the news had been that APGA had been part of this merger discussion and we went into a meeting to clear this wrong impression so that Nigerians will know that APGA was at no time involved in those discussions, but you will recall that the Governor Rochas Okorocha has been at the forefront of the merger talks.

"He initially said he was there on his own and because he is a governor, we could not rein him in at the time, and we were very patient to see if this thing will clear out."

Umeh, who spoke in Abuja with other APGA national leaders, said that at no point was the party interested in APC, which was formed by ACN, ANPP, CPC and a faction of APGA led by Okorocha.

Umeh said that, "We are aware that on Wednesday, INEC registered APC and announced that three parties merged to form the All Progressives Congress and proceeded to withdraw the certificates of the three parties: ANPP, CPC and ACN.

"But starting from Thursday, people in APC started placing advertorials in the newspapers rejoicing over the new party. In each of the advertorials, they always exerted APGA logo as part of the parties that merged. We considered this to be very mischievous and unacceptable. For two days now, on Thursday the governor of Lagos State placed advertorials in four national dailies that we could see with APGA logo conspicuously present there. Yesterday (on Friday), the Governor of Nasarawa State followed suit by placing an advertorial again with APGA logo." 

Umeh insisted that the decision to suspend Governor Okorocha is “to cut off the branch from where APC is infiltrating the rank of APGA

But in his reaction last night, Okorocha said he joined APC “in the interest of Ndigbo”.