Governor Rochas Okorocha
was absent as Imo state APC congress was conducted by a faction of the party on
Saturday despite a Federal High Court order stopping the exercise.
According to PUNCH Newspaper, a faction of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) in Imo State has gone ahead to conduct the state congress of the
party on Saturday, despite a federal High court of Owerri order stopping the
exercise.
There was tension in Owerri, the Imo State capital on Saturday
as the operatives of the state police command numbering over 200 with about 20
operational vehicles barricaded the state secretariat of the All Progressives
Congress.
APC secretariat, located at Imo State University junction in
Owerri, including roads linking to the building, were blocked as the
arms-bearing policemen guarded the area.
The policemen were believed to be acting on the instruction of
the new state commissioner of police, Dasuki Galadanchi, to stop the APC state
congress following the court order.
It was gathered that while the stern-looking policemen maned the
APC secretariat, all the officials of the party, including members of staff,
avoided the secretariat.
The Police Public Relations officer in the state, Andrew
Enwerem, said that the Police were determined in ensuring that the court order
was obeyed by all members of the party in the state.
According to the Police spokesperson, the Police would arrest
anybody “who tried to defy the court order in order to conduct the
state congress.”
But in order to beat the Police security, APC members who are
not in tandem with the state governor conducted the state congress in an
undisclosed venue despite an order of a federal high court stopping the
congress.
The APC state chairman, Hilary Eke, said that the idea was to
ensure that security agencies who had become partisan did not truncate the
exercise.
Eke, who spoke with a correspondent on the phone from an
undisclosed venue, said that over 1,500 delegates from the 305 wards of the
state were electing state executive members of the party under the supervision
of officials from the national secretariat, and members of staff of Independent
National Electoral Commission.
Eke said, “Over 1,500 delegates have elected the state
executives. The venue of the congress was not disclosed because of security
reasons.
“INEC officials and officials of the party from Abuja are here.
Okorocha is not part of the congress; the delegates are the ones electing the
state executive.
“The congress is very peaceful and we are working hard to make
sure that the people take back Imo APC.”
But state secretary of APC, Obioma Ireagwu, said that Eke, who
was suspended for alleged anti-party activities, risked a jail term for defying
an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
The party scribe maintained that the party would ensure that
those who took part in what he described as “flagrant disobedience to
an order of the court” face the full wrath of the law.
He said that in due course, the party would conduct its
congresses, starting from the ward to the state level.
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