…you’re a mushroom party – Okorocha
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Oye, on Thursday, asked the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, to stay away from APGA.
He described the overtures allegedly being made by Okorocha to rejoin the APGA to advance his political interest as dead on arrival.
Describing Okorocha as worse than a prodigal son, Oye said the Imo governor was an ingrate that bit the finger that fed him.
The APGA national chairman stated this at a press conference at his residence in Amawbia, Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
He said Okorocha committed an unpardonable sin against APGA by filtering away the opportunity and platform the party afforded him to realise his ‘’long-sought ambition’’ of becoming a governor.
Oye said, “I’m a Christian and I’m familiar with the story of the prodigal son who returned to his father after squandering his wealth, but Okorocha’s case is worse than the prodigal son because he is still wallowing in “humongous sins and atrocities.”
Okorocha won the governorship election in Imo State on the platform of APGA in 2011 but had to dump the party for the All Progressives Congress.
Okorocha was recently reported to have approached APGA in a bid to return to the party after he reportedly lost the APC structure in last month’s congresses of the party in Imo State.
But Oye said,” Okorocha has not directly approached me for anything, but he has been making overtures through members of our party in Imo State. But I wish to use this medium to ask him to stop wasting his time because we have no place for him in APGA.
“Okorocha has been deserted by God and man. He has no credibility, and anytime a leader shows that he has no credibility, that’s the end of that leader.
“An Igbo proverb says a man who refused to join a ship cannot say he was chased away from the ship. Rochas chased himself away from the APGA ship, and I can tell you that he can never be a member of the party again.
“He won his governorship seat on the platform of APGA, but he took away our members and our mandate and joined the APC. He started well in Imo, but immediately he left APGA, he lost vision.
“He is worse than the prodigal son, and that is why we won’t take him back. He is not a sincere person. He is an unrepentant sinner and APGA cannot accommodate such a man. He is only coming to APGA because his APC ship has left him.”
Oye added that APGA’s choice of Okorocha in 2011 was an unmitigated disaster; stressing that because of the hasty need to change the Ikedi Ohakim-led government, no background check was done on Okorocha.
He added, “He does not fit into APGA. He is not a team player; he acts like the Lord of the Manor. He is not charismatic; he is not credible either. That is why you see even his fellow governors rejoicing when he was side-tracked by his partymen during the APC congresses.”
The APGA national chairman vowed that his party would take back Imo State in 2019.
Reacting on the telephone, the Chief Press Secretary to Okorocha, Mr. Sam Onwuemedo, said APGA was using Okorocha’s name to gain political relevance.
He said Okorocha, as a foundation member of a mega party like the APC, could not by any imagination start negotiating with a “mushroom party” that had no structure in Imo State for anything.
He said,” Why can’t these APGA people do their politics without calling Okorocha’s name? You see Okorocha has become a brand in Nigeria’s politics that anybody who wants to get credibility must mention his name either in the positive or negative.
“If APGA does not know what to do again to be relevant, they should wind up and join the APC instead of trying to be busy and wanting to be noticed by calling Okorocha’s name. Okorocha left with the soul of APGA, and that was the end of the party.”
