National chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Oye, has said the party has slated 15th August for its primary election to select a candidate to fly its flag in the 18th November governorship election in the state.
Oye stated this in an interview with a select journalists, Saturday in his country home at Amawbia, new Awka, capital of Anambra State.
The. National chairman of the party said this is coming on the heels of two separate High Court judgments in Awka and Nnewi on Friday, where the courts held that the factional national chairman of the party, Chief Martin Agbaso can not hold the primary election for the party.
Oye said with the judgments, Agbaso has been permanently gotten rid of in the party. He said that Agbaso was not a member of the party ab initio and as such can not contend its leadership.
He said, “The two Court judgment came simultaneously, and you saw the joy people expressed yesterday over it. The court simply interpreted the constitution of the party and said that the chairman of the party was elected through a national convention, and only a national convention can remove him.
“The Supreme Court made this clear in the matter between Makarfi and Sheriff in PDP. So we have resolved the problem, and there is no more problem in the party, and so we are forging ahead,” Oye said.
He said that the party will start the sales of nomination form within the week, but refused to state how many aspirants were indicating interest to run on the platform of the party besides the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano.
Meanwhile, Chief Oye has denied that former governor of the state, Mr Peter Obi has totally left the APGA.
Oye said his party has been speaking with Obi on the need for him to return, and expressed confidence that soon, Obi would return to the party.
“In the first place, he did not leave the party. I am the national chairman of the party and I did not receive any letter from him saying he was leaving. I hold him by his words because he always said that he would never leave APGA until he leaves politics.
“He is still in politics today, and that means he is still in APGA. He is a very important member of our party, and we are talking with him to return, and very soon, he will return.”
On whether Obi would support his successor, Obiano to win a second term, despite the frosty relationship between the two, Oye said Obi has no option but to support Obiano.
“Forget what you hear, this is politics. Obi laid the foundation of this state, and Obiano is building super structures on that foundation today. You can not see the foundation, but you can see the structure, but the structure would not be there if the foundation was not laid, and that foundation was laid by Obi.
“He has no option than to support the man who is building on a four dation he laid, so I believe Obi will support Obiano,” Oye concluded.
