Two former antagonists and key leaders of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi and Chief Victor Umeh, last Monday, met behind closed doors for several hours at the Government House, Awka.
At the end of dialogue, the former combatants came out to embrace themselves. They proclaimed that the crisis which tore the party apart had been resolved. As Obi and Umeh declared that the crisis had been resolved and buried forever, they were joyous that with the development, APGA was now poised not only to win the scheduled October and November local government polls but the governorship elections as well. Events that led to the duo declaring the APGA crisis dead started in the afternoon when Umeh arrived at the Government House. He proceeded immediately to hold hours-long meeting with the governor in his office.
As the meeting dragged on, anxiety was high. Top government officials and other interested parties waited to know its outcome. Eventually, the proceeding ended; they came out and announced that the crisis was over and that they had finally buried their differences. Emotions were high as Umeh, who was accompanied by his key allies, Chief Mike Kwentoh, Williams Obiorah, among others, took the microphone.
He described the day as one of the greatest in the life of APGA and the government of Anambra. Umeh gave insight into what he did and agreed with the governor during the parley, saying, "I have come to crystallise the various peace meetings we have had in recent times and to declare to the whole world that the APGA crisis has come to an end.
Many people would be surprised at this sudden end of the crisis. I want to say that APGA is an indivisible party which should remain united now that we are facing some very strong political opponents. Like brothers, we would continue to resolve our differences harmoniously."
He maintained that with the end othe crisis, there was no victor and no vanquished, while commending Obi for being focused throughout the duration of the problem.
Umeh expressed gratitude to all men of peace who initiated and encouraged the peace process which, he said, had now buried the crisis in the party. Summing up his feelings, he added, "Whatever we can do for the coming elections, we would pursue them assiduously; it is the glory of God that we have to pass through the crisis which is really difficult. Obi and I are now the best of friends."
Supporting the position and views of Umeh to the effect that the crisis has been resolved, Obi stated that it was their decision that the crisis would never occur again. The governor promised that they would also reconcile everyone and ensure that all were brought on track.
As Umeh and his group have rejoined the mainstream of APGA led by Obi, it was therefore not surprising from the tone of his speech that he acknowledged that he missed the Government House much throughout the duration of the crisis. This was glaring when he was addressing the audience as to how he felt about his renewed friendship with Obi in the Conference Hall of the Governor's office.
Giving hint as to the future direction of APGA, Obi said, "In the coming elections, we would approach them the way we have done in the past elections. Let me assure everybody that those who think it is the end of APGA, it is not the ending. We are just starting and soon action would follow to show what we have achieved today." He expressed gratitude to God for making it possible for the crisis to end.
It would be noted that among those groups and individuals that made the settlement of the rift between both combatants possible were key Bishops of the Catholic Church and the MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike. It was learnt that Uwazuruike had hosted a peace meeting for Obi and Umeh during which they agreed to forgive each other and bury their differences in the interest of APGA, which they contended represents the Igbo soul and identity.
This however is not the first reconciliation that had taken place in APGA. It should be noted that Maxi Okwu, the then leader of party, had taken his group to Enugu where they apologised to Chekwas Okorie over his removal from the party and for all the alleged injustices meted out to him since the crisis began.
That reconciliatory move which was welcomed by key leaders of the party, including the Chairman of APGA Stakeholders Forum, Chief Nwobu Alor, who was in the vanguard for the removal of Umeh from office, was rejected by Umeh, who said it was illegal as it did not receive the blessing of his group.
Shedding light on why it was necessary to reconcile with Okorie at that critical period in the life of the party, Chief Nwobu-Alor said," On Chekwas, we discovered that Umeh did not tell us the whole fact in the first instance and that is why we deemed it necessary to bring him back."
He described the opposition made against the apology to Okorie as arrant nonsense, adding that Umeh misled them in fighting Chekwas. So far, the reconciliation they had with Okorie is now history, even as the focus would now be on how to handle the fall out of the widely lauded event of July 29 in Awka, when Obi and Umeh embraced each other and declared the APGA crisis dead and buried. Among the groups that gave kudos for Obi and Umeh for finally burying the hatchet was the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Inter Society, a good governance and human rights watch group led by Comrade Emeka Umeagbalasi.
Inter Society had in a statement which was issued on the issue in Awka stated that they are hopeful that with the reconciliation, the prospect of the criminal class staging a comeback in Anambra politics is dimmed. Umeagbalasi advised those in charge of APGA to ensure that Chief Okwu and others elected with him during the April 8 National Convention in Awka are fully integrated and carried along.
Umeagbalasi in thanking those who made the newfound peace possible contended, "We thank the duo of Chief Peter Obi and Chief Victor Umeh for coming together again; we also thank their Lordships and other concerned Igbo sons and daughters, including Mr Ralph Uwazuruike and Mrs Bianca Onoh-Ojukwu for their roles in resolving the crisis."
It will be recalled that at a stage in the APGA feud, Umeh teamed up with the Governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas okorocha who was then a key party leader to fight Obi for the control of APGA. However, the reality today is that both men who since have parted ways, have taken their supporters to their new camps, to the extent that Okorocha has now joined the newly registered All Progressives Congress (APC), with the retinue of his cronies and friends.
However, as Umeh, hordes of individuals and groups were commending Obi for making it possible for peace to return to APGA, the camp of Okwu has gone on the offensive, denigrating the new-found peace, just as the event signals the final parting of ways for Governor Okorocha and his erstwhile political ally. Reacting on the issue, Okwu issued a widely circulated press release through his Senior Media Assistant, Francis Ede, who stated that their deputy national leader unilaterally meet with Umeh and the Anambra State chapter of the party in Awka on July 29 as part of the reconciliation process.
Shedding light on their grievances, Ede contends, "The Maxi Okwu-led APGA from this turn of events disowns the purported reconciliation as it was neither informed nor involved in this pseudo peace meeting. We believe it is a great step backward in our collective efforts at restoring peace in our great party. Okwu stated that they would soon meet to take position on the issue of reconciliation and other issues.
Apart from Okwu who has issued a statement outlining his position on the contentious issue, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Bernard Akoma, has in his reaction which was sent to newsmen, alleged among others that any peace move that did not address the anomalies in the party would amount to delaying the doomsday.
Making reference to the Court of Appeal judgement which they said Umeh is basking so much on, Akoma contended thus, "Though we have submitted to the ruling of the Enugu Appeal Court, we have equally noted that the ruling merely left the party with more challenges as it dwelt only on the locus standi of the complainant.
It is indeed a judgement without justice". Meanwhile, with Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, a former PDP key leader and gubernatorial candidate, announcing his entry into APGA, speculations are rife that he was going to be the consensus candidate of the party. Political observers also believe that with the rumour persisting, it is necessary that those in charge should react immediately to clear the confusion in the interest of its numerous aspirants, who have been positioning themselves for a free and fair primary election to be conducted by the party leadership
