Son of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Mr Emeka Ojukwu (jnr), has attributed the cause of the crisis rocking All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) to the clash of interests on who succeeds Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra.
“Any information that is being put out there about the need for change of leadership within APGA is only a cover story.
“Essentially, I view the so called crisis in APGA as a manufactured crisis meaning that the underlining issue and major thing causing the problem in APGA is succession.
“There are few other issues but that is the major one.
“Every other thing that people have read or observed as crisis in the leadership of APGA including who becomes the chairman of the NEC is only as a result of Gov. Obi’s succession,” Ojukwu said on Wednesday in Nnewi in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said that he did not support the attempt by Chief Victor Umeh to remain in power as national chairman of the party forever.
He added that he was also not in support of Gov Peter Obi having the right to nominate his successor.
Ojukwu insisted that APGA’s constitution should be adhered to in selecting who would succeed Obi just as there are laws governing Nigeria.
“In a situation where the question on who succeeds Gov. Obi should be made by him alone, negates the ideal for which APGA was formed.
“Umeh should not be the chairman for life, but when the time comes, the change should come through the constitution,” he said.
Ojukwu expressed concern that the crisis plaguing the party `raised its ugly head’ after the death of his father.
“If my father were alive, he will support Umeh,” he said.
Ojukwu told NAN that APGA was not part of the arrangement by some opposition parties to merge to form the All Progressives Congress (APC),
“What happened was that Gov. Rochas Okorocha was interested in the merger and he came in with APGA because he is an APGA governor, but that was not done with the agreement of the party.
“Our position always had been that we should maintain our identity as a party. That was the wish of Eze Igbo Gburugburu.
“I will also add with caution that we must not go back on the ideals of Eze Igbo Gburugburu but remember our ideals because time and needs change.
“The situation we find ourselves in currently does not warrant that change now. We want our voices to be heard.
“Igbo voices are lost within PDP and if we merge with APC, I believe Igbo voices will still be lost because we don’t have enough delegates. We only have five states and it is not going to work, he said. (NAN)