The State Of Affairs In The UPP

On Tuesday the 15^th of August 2017 at about 3.30pm, while on a campaign swing through Nnewi North, Nnewi South and Ekwusigo local government areas, I received notification of my indefinite suspension pending the determination of “my case” by the disciplinary committee of the Anambra state chapter of the UPP. Another aspirant for the office of governor, Chief Osita Chidoka was similarly suspended. Whoever came up with the idea to suspend the only two governorship aspirants in the UPP, four days to a scheduled primaries due on the 19^th of August 2017, does not wish the party well and has a lot of explanation to make.

The national headquarters of the party responded swiftly by dissolving the state executive committee with ‘immediate effect’. This terminology you may recall was popularized by the military regimes of yore and should not be part of our democratic lexicon. And the action even if well intentioned, is not in the interest of the party and the national headquarters may have acted ultra vires its powers. If the action of the state chapter was curious, equally curious was the reaction of the national headquarters. Why dissolve the state executive committee four days to a primary election in which the state executive committee has crucial roles to play?

The fact is that the contending parties have been at loggerheads for several weeks over the list of delegates for the governorship primaries. The list of delegates elected at the ward and local government levels was unilaterally amended by the national headquarters to the chagrin of the party rank and file, yours truly inclusive. The state chapter waged a relentless battle with the national headquarters insisting on the sanctity of the delegates list. Obviously, someone stands to gain from the alteration of the delegates list but it would not have mattered if the alterations were legally done. No one or organ of the party can unilaterally remove a ward chairman or secretary or indeed any officer of the party duly elected and engage in whimsical replacements.

The threat of sanctions by the national headquarters apparently triggered the bizarre indiscriminate suspensions unleashed by the state executive on the 15^th of August 2017. Earlier that day, as we now know, Justice Y Halilu of the FCT High Court, in suit no CV/2658/17 between Obi Emekekwue [Assistant publicity secretary UPP Anambra state] and United Progressive party and five others, gave an interim order directing the defendants to follow its time table/guidelines and constitution in all its activities pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion. The suit was adjourned to the 29^th of August 2017 for definite hearing.

The issues for determination before the court are

[1] Whether members of the local government and ward committees, having been elected and inaugurated, can be unilaterally amended or altered by any member of the party outside the local government area congress and ward congress that elected them?

[2] Whether having regard to article 12[1] & [35] and article 23 [3] of the UPP constitution, any other person or member of the party other than the Anambra state chairman of the party can preside over the Anambra state congress for the purpose of the governorship primary election?

These two issues need to be carefully resolved in order to preserve and protect the integrity of the primaries and the court has mandated the UPP to follow its constitutional provisions in the conduct of the primaries.

On the issue of my suspension from the party, I have since forwarded to the state secretariat all relevant documents submitted during the screening exercise and the mode of payment of the nomination fee, Guarantee Trust Bank draft dated 27/7/17 in the sum of five million Naira and five hundred thousand Naira in favor of UPP. I did not make any payment to the personal account of the national chairman of UPP, Chief Chekwas Okorie or any other person. The allegations are false and I expect a retraction from the state chapter of the party.

Hon. Chudi Offodile

The DG of Movement of Biafrans in Nigeria, MOBIN, Mrs Eberechukwu Anigbogu, 2nd from right, reading an address at a press briefing to protest what they called mutilation of delegates list by the UPP hierarchy, Aug 17, 2017, in Awka.

The Movement for Biafrans in Nigeria, MOBIN, has accused the Chekwas Okorie-led United Progressive Party, UPP, of changing the delegates list for the primary of the party in order to favour a certain interest. This is just as one of the two governorship aspirants of the party, Hon Chudi Offodile, called on the party to stick to due process by adhering to the guidelines and constitution of the party in all its activities.
Addressing newsmen in Awka last Thursday ahead of the party’s primary election slated for Saturday, August 19, in his office, Offodile described as illegal, the alteration of the delegates list of the party, insisting that no organ of the party could unilaterally remove a ward chairman, secretary or indeed, any officer duly elected, and engage in what he called whimsical replacements.
It will be recalled that the Anambra State Chapter of the UPP had recently announced the suspension of its two guber aspirants, Offodile and Osita Chidoka, on trumped up charges, a development that was followed by the dissolution of the state executive committee of UPP by the national headquarters of the party.
But Offodile said such action reminded one about happenings in the military era, describing the action of the national headquarters as beyond its powers.
‘If the action of the state executive was curious, equally curious was the reaction of the national headquarters. Why dissolve a state executive committee four days to a primary election in which the state executive committee has crucial roles to play? Offodile queried.
He said that it was the threat by the national headquarters that triggered what he called the indiscriminate and bizarre suspensions unleashed by the state exco on August 15, even as he referred to an interim order by an FCT High Court which directed the defendants to follow the party’s timetable/guidelines and constitution in all their activities, pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion.
He gave the issues at stake as whether elected and inaugurated members of the local government and ward committees could be unilaterally amended or altered by any member of the party outside the local government area congress and ward congress that elected them; as well as whether any member or any other person of the party, other than the state chairman, could preside over the state congress for the governorship election in line with Article 12 (11) and (35) and Article 23 (3) of the party constitution.
He said that the two issues must be resolved in order to preserve and protect the integrity of the party’s primary election, especially following the court order for the adherence of the party to due process.
But reacting to developments in the party, MOBIN which says it is an affiliate of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, under the leadership of Committee of Elders, stated that it had become necessary for it to address the public on its quest for the self-determination of the Biafran people through due process of the law, which, it pointed out, included political, diplomatic and judicial processes.
Speaking through its director general, Mrs Eberechukwu Anigbogu, MOBIN said it had consequently reached an agreement with the national leadership of UPP to form a partnership for building the party as a Biafran brand.
On the trending matter in the party, MOBIN said it was against established democratic norms, while condemning what it called the fragrant violations and bizarre abuses perpetrated by the leadership of the UPP at national level, as led by Chief Chekwas Okorie.
It said the UPP national leadership instead of ratifying the delegates’ list for conducting the Anambra State governorship primaries, chose to sit in its Abuja national secretariat to mutilate the list by adding and removing names, re-designating several elected officials, with the single aim of deciding for their nefarious purpose, those who should be the delegates for the Anambra primaries against the express provisions of the UPP Constitution and the Electoral Act.
‘This was done in such a bizarre manner that a particular candidate has already been favoured by the doctoring that went on across board in all the LGAs of the state. This act of impunity saw a man taking up the position of women’s leader in some wards, dead people taking the posts of chairmen and many chairmen downgraded as vice or other offices.
‘Some were even taken off completely. What an act of rascality by people bestowed with public trust!,’ she stated.
Using the Anambra East LGA Ward executive list as an example of the said mutilation that occurred in all the LGAs, MOBIN claimed that Anambra East LGA had a total of 15 wards which gave a total of 75 delegates. It said that each produced 5 delegates namely: Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Women’s Leader, and Youth Leader.
She said that in Nando Ward III, the entire list was excluded by the national, even as it also gathered that the reason for the ‘strange exclusions of some ward lists by the national exco was for the perceived absence of party members loyal to their favoured candidate, and replacements of which they were working out as we speak.
‘These illegal and fraudulent re-designation and replacements of elected officials is purposely meant to deny these authentically elected ward executives their rights to vote at the Anambra guber primary. As said, in some cases, the entire lists submitted by the State EXCO for some wards were totally thrown out and new names imported. It is important to state at this juncture that many of these imports are not UPP members but drafted for the purpose of using them for the primaries only.
‘How can you go to primary with this level of manipulation and criminality? Where’s is the Biafra Ideology? Where’s the fairness? Where is the Democracy the UPP has promised?’ she queried.
Consequently, the group vowed never to be part of a system that upheld injustice, criminality and impunity, adding that it could never support any candidate that emerged from the skewed process, even if he was a pro-Biafran.
It said that MOBIN, being a political arm of the Indigenous People of Biafra that went into an alliance with UPP, insisted that the party must do what was right before the law by respecting the party constitution.

ONE person was feared dead, yesterday, at Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State during a clash between security operatives and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

The heavy presence of security operatives, including the police, the army and the navy, made the people wonder what was amiss, until they learned that the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was scheduled to visit the area. Several truck loads of security operatives were sighted at Upper Iweka in Onitsha and were said to be heading to Ekwulobia for reinforcement. Despite the heavy presence of security operatives, the IPOB members were still seen parading major roads in the area, singing and waving Biafra flags. An eye witness said security men confiscated the Biafran flags, caps, shirts and other items being sold by the youths, which apparently angered the IPOB members, who allegedly tried to attack the security operatives. It was at this point, the eye witness said, the police used teargas to disperse them, adding that it was the stampede that led to the death of one person. Though the State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mrs. Nkeiru Nwode, denied the death of any IPOB member, she confirmed that there was presence of security in the area, which was to avoid breach of peace. She said: “The presence of the security men was to secure the place from being attacked by hoodlums. People should not take laws into their hands; the security operatives in Anambra are working day and night to secure the environment and are not ready to allow miscreants take over the society.” While urging the people to go about their normal businesses as Anambra was secure, she insisted that security operatives would not hesitate to deal with anybody or group that tried to cause trouble. Apparently due to the problem, Kanu was not seen in the area as at 4.00 pm, even as the security men were still patrolling the area. Vanguard recalls that it was at the same Ekwulobia that suspected IPOB members tried to disrupt church service while Governor Willie Obiano was worshipping at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in the area. Kanu’ll return to Ekwulobia on Sunday—IPOB Reacting to the clash at Ekwulobia, IPOB described the action as a brutal murder. A statement by the IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, said  the police officers in Anambra State were acting on the orders of the Inspector General of Police. It said despite the intimidation, IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, would be at Ekwulobia on Sunday to condole with the family of yesterday’s victim. He said: “The now seemingly regular deployment of a certain kind of Nigeria Police in Biafranland, especially in Anambra State since the announcement of election boycott in Biafranland starting from the gubernatorial election come November 18 this year is becoming alarming. ”IPOB intelligence unit discovered that those posted to Nigerian Army and Police formations all over Biafranland were ordered to kill as many civilians as possible in the hope of causing chaos in the country. “We want to alert Biafrans, men and women of good conscience across the globe that the Federal Government of Nigeria has decided to kill yet another innocent person in Anambra State, in the name of holy war against IPOB. “It has been reliably gathered also that Hausa- Fulani settlements in Biafraland are awash with police and army uniforms, which makes it possible for Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists to kill with impunity. “There is a disproportionate number of Hausa-Fulani police and army officers in Anambra State and other parts of Biafranland who were posted on a mission to kill innocent Biafrans. “The order to shoot at innocent Biafrans in Ekwulobia today (yesterday) came from authorities in Abuja because there is no justification for the barbaric savagery frequently exhibited by the army and police in Nigeria against the Ekwulobia incident. “The entire police and army personnel in Anambra State today are now staffed and manned by exclusively handpicked by Inspector General of Police and Chief of Army staff. “We are also aware that the new terrorists group posted to Anambra State with the Police and Army uniforms by Nigeria Government is sent to terrorize Biafran population in the hope of intimidating us into silence.

Source: Daily Sun

An alleged group of Traders on Tuesday attacked a group of Protesters led by Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, at the popular Wuse Market in Abuja.

Charley Boy has been leading a protest demanding the resignation or return of President Muhammadu Buhari who is receiving medical treatment in UK.

Some of the traders who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said that the action of the protesters was politically motivated and not a representation of minds of Nigerians.

A jewelry trader, Malam Adamu Musa, said that the protesters had the right to protest, but pointed out that they ought to know that the president was not on ‘honeymoon’ in the UK.

“These protesters should know that it is not everything that one should politicise, especially the issue of health,” Musa said.

Mr Filibus Abuh, a petty trader, said that they never expected the protest to be taken to the market where common Nigerians were looking for their daily bread.

Abuh said that the protest disrupted business activities in the market for some hours.

The Spokesman of the Police Command in the FCT, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, told NAN that the prompt intervention of the police averted a major clash between two opposing sides at the market.

“The police had brought the situation under control at the market,”Manzah said.

He said that to forestall further breakdown of law and order, the management of the market had ordered its closure.

Manzah also said that a large contingent of policemen had been deployed to the market to provide security.