By Sampson Boroh
The chairman and the secretary of the Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jothan Amos and Alabo Martins have been suspended from the party.
NIGER DELTA TODAY gathered that 10 others officials were also suspended over alleged fraudulent diversion of party funds and anti-party activities.
This is coming barely a month to the November 16thGovernorship election in the state.
It was learnt that the APC scribes were suspended by a faction of the party loyal to the immediate past Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, on Friday in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Similarly, a faction loyal to the former governor of the state and current serving Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, also suspended some officials of the party including its deputy chairman, Hon. Ogeibiri Orubebe.
Both incidents took place on Friday morning. It was gathered that the fresh crisis in the APC was not unconnected with party’s primary where Hon. David Lyon emerged as the flag bearer of the party for the next month governorship election in the state.
The Senator Lokpobiri’s faction of the party announced the suspension of Mr. Jonathan Amos (State Chairman), Mr. Martins Alabo (State Secretary), Mr. Peres Oyadongha (Senatorial Youth Leader), Mr. Iniekenimi Senator Mitin, (LGA Youth Leader Ekeremor), Mr. John Williams (LGA Organizing Secretary Ekeremor), Mr. Osadebe Ezinrin (LGA Treasurer, Ekeremor) and Lovely Agwor, (LGA Organizing, Secretary Sagbama).
Their suspension followed a resolution signed by 19 members of the State Executive Committee over a report submitted by a 4-man Disciplinary Committee on the complaints against various party officials.
The meeting was presided over by the State Deputy Chairman, Honorable Orubebe Ogeibiri on October 10, 2019 at the State party Secretariat, the APC resolved that their suspension will serve as deterrent and instill discipline and loyalty among party members.
A copy of the resolution made available to our correspondent on Friday, the suspended party chairman, Amos, is being accused of “refusal to account for millions of naira that accrued to the state chapter of the party as administrative charges on National and State Assembly aspirants.”
The State APC Secretary, Alabo was “accused of flagrantly breaching the party’s constitution by presiding over State Executive Committee meetings and inaugurating a purported Disciplinary, Contact and Reconciliation Committees contrary to Article 14(3) 7 of the APC constitution.”
The offenses of other suspended officers range from allegations of impersonation and connivance to deliberately create divisions among party members in the state.
Following the development, the Lokpobiri’s faction subsequently has appointed the State Vice Chairman, Bayelsa Central, Chief Fala Ebierein Etubo as Acting Chairman in line with the party’s constitution.
Meanwhile, the faction loyal to Sylva similarly announced the suspension of the State Deputy Chairman, Orubebe and other officials including the State Legal Adviser, Chris Toborowei Olorogun; the party chairman in Ekeremor LGA, Amasighan Azikiwe, Ekeremor LGA Secretary, Olorogun Isaac, and the Sagbama LGA chairman, Peter Bofumu.
But the sylva’s faction of the Party led by the embattled State chairman of the party, Jothan Amos explained in alliance with the resolution reached by the committee that, the aforementioned people were suspended due to gross misconduct and anti-party activities which was reported and investigated.
He said, after the direct primaries of the party which saw the emergence of Chief David Lyon as the party’s candidate for the November 16 elections, it is expected that whatever diverse interest anyone had before the primary, should have been dropped for the overall interest of the party.
According to him, the said persons’ refusal to drop the pursuit of their personal interest, is a clear indication they are against the party and their actions could mar the predicted success of the party, necessitating their indefinite suspension from the party.
The Assistant Organising Secretary of the party, Tari Emberru who raised the motion for their suspension, maintained that the consistent show of truancy and misconduct by the affected persons, undermine the unity and constituted authority of the party and should not be tolerated, since they have been severally called to order without any result.
Also speaking in favour of the motion, the state party auditor, Barrister Doumo Ogbomani argued that the affected persons have acted against article 31 section A; subsection 7 of the APC constitution, stressing that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
