The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has been on the identical spot for lengthy. It’s neither shifting ahead nor backward. Deputy Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the prospects and constraints of an opposition that which spere of affect is just not past a Southsouth state
Twenty 4 years after, the occasion continues to be on the identical spot. Though its founder, Chief Chekwas Okorie, and his compatriots who registered it in June 2002 envisioned that it will be a nationwide organisation, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has remained an area, or at greatest,a state occasion, unable to even dominate the Southeast, the bottom of his late promoter, the late Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
Though there may be an argument that in a plural setting like Nigeria, a political occasion might not have aspiration in the direction of nationwide outstanding, APGA by no means got down to be a celebration working in a nook.
“The entire thought was to first awaken the political consciousness of the folks of the south scattered everywhere in the nation, particularly the south-easterners, and impress and rally them underneath a political umbrella for the needs of engendering socio-political integration,” mentioned Okolie Uchenna, a commentator and APGA supporter.
“Our founding fathers additionally supposed to make use of the APGA political platform to encircle the 5 southern states for the needs of negotiating energy on the centre,” he added.
Unable to increase its tentacles past Anambra State, APGA is now pronounced as APUGA, underscoring its possession by fanatical ethnic supporters.
However, it has remained the dominant occasion in Anambra, its stronghold, the place it has succeeded in putting in three democratically elected governors in a row, from 2003 to this point.
After Governor Mbadinuju got here an outsider, Dr. Chris Ngige of the Peoples DemocraticParty(PDP), who was booted out when the stolen mandate was restored to Peter Obi, of APGA, who handed over to Willy Obiano.
He was succeeded by Prof. Charles Soludo.
APGA dominates Anambra State Home of Meeting, it could actually solely boast of 1 senator, Emmanuel Nwachukwu (Anambra South). The Abia South senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe, who borrowed the platform in 2023, had retaced his steps.
Since Ojukwu aspired for the presidency on the platform, successive candidates have usually been deserted halfway. An instance is a jurist, Peter Umeadi, who ran with out the entire assist of the occasion within the final normal election.
Forward of subsequent 12 months’s ballot, there is no such thing as a assurance of direct participation within the presidential contest.
APGA was largely troubled by management disaster and instability up to now.
The pioneer Nationwide Chairman, Okorie’s regime, solely lasted for about two years. He was shove apart for Chief Victor Umeh (Anambra State) to exchange him. Umeh is just not in APGA at this time. He left to Labour Occasion (LP) in 2022 to contest for the Senate. He was succeeded by Dr. Victor Ike Oye (Anambra State).
Instructively, the nationwide chairmanship and management of APGA, as noticed by Uchenna, “have remained on this aphorism of “dot in a circle” in Anambra State for 19 years.”
The ethnic background of the occasion has labored in opposition to it. Though Ojukwu was requested to steer it when it was discovering it tough to develop, that additionally labored in opposition to its plan to transcend the Southeast.
In 2003, the occasion gained 1.4% of widespread votes and two of 360 seats within the Home of Representatives. It didn’t win any seat within the Senate. Its presidential candidate, Ojukwu, gained 3.3% of the vote.
However in 2011, fortune appeared to have smile on APGA. Chief Rochas Okorocha was elected governor of Imo state, polling 15% extra votes than Governor Ikedi Ohakim of the Peoples Democratic Occasion (PDP). However in 2014, he took his APGA faction to a merger with the Motion Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Occasion (ANPP), and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to type the All Progressives Congress (APC).
There was a exceptional progress in 2019. APGA gained seven seats within the Home of representatives in comparison with the 2015 elections the place solely two seats have been gained. It additionally mustered the power to resolve its management logjam.
Two folks claiming to be nationwide chairmen, Edozie Njoku and Victor Oye, have been suspended by the Nationwide Government Committee, and the Deputy Nationwide Chairman South Jude Okeke, grew to become Appearing Chairman in June 2021.
Nevertheless, Oye continued to regulate a lot of the occasion and declare that he’s the rightful chairman till the Supreme Courtroom dominated in Oye’s favour in October 2021.
The disaster dragged on till Soludo managed to make sure the emergence of Slyvester Ezeokenwa as nationwide chairman.
His predecessors, Obi and Obiano, solely used and dumped the platform. As an alternative of rebuilding the platform,Obi jumped ship in 2019 and teamed up with Atiku Abubakar as operating mate in 2011. 4 years later, he opted for the Labour Occasion (LP). Forward of 2027, he’s hobnobbing with Atiku once more in African Democratic Congress (ADC). Obiano has opted for marginal roles within the occasion. Now, at the very least, orally, Abaribe has referred to as it quits with the occasion.
What future awaits APGA? Presently, its affect is just not past its stronghold, Anambra. Can it prolong tentacles to different Southeast states? Can the occasion purchase a nationwide outllok?