Former national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Senator Victor Umeh, has called for the resignation of his successor, Victor Oye, saying that he must also refund monies he allegedly extorted from governorship aspirants of the party in Imo State.

Umeh, who stated this in an interview with journalists said his position was predicated on the fact that Oye cannot go to Imo State to run any activity for APGA in the event of what had happened.

He maintained that the action could lead to the death of the party.

The former chairman also accused Oye of collecting over N800 million in bribe from aspirants in Imo State with a promise to hand them the gubernatorial ticket of the party.

Recall that Umeh had in a leaked email he wrote to the Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, who is also the chairman Board of Trustees of the party, had been the accused Oye of collecting over N800 million in bribe from aspirants in Imo State with a promise to hand them the gubernatorial ticket of the party.

The letter resulted in a protest against Umeh by Oye’s loyalists but Umeh said that no amount of protest against him would stop him from insisting the right thing be done in a party he worked hard to build.

“Let me start by saying that I forgive the protesters, for they do not know what they were doing. I, Senator Victor Umeh, is the oldest member of APGA in Nigeria today, from 2002 till today, I’ve been in this party.

“I have a very huge stake in the party, in the sense that I with my colleagues in leadership nurtured this party out of the turbulent times and established it firmly in Nigeria as a very popular political party.

“I am a life member of the Board of Trustees of this party whatever happens in this party. I have more than any other person’s interest in the party. I am the number one person that’ll see to protection of this party.

“When Ojukwu was dying he handed this party over to me and enjoined me never to allow this party to die. So, at any time I see things that are not working well in the party, I will remember that directive from Ojukwu to act.

“I am somebody nobody can intimidate, once I see anything that is not going well in the party. I will speak out to ensure that this party is kept very strong for our people. It is clearly obvious to all party members that in October 2018, when we had our primaries, party people complained across the South East, that they were not treated well.

“I felt that the National Chairman did not do his work well. It was clear to me that he did what he ought not to do at all. If you are in a position of leadership, you must ensure that you do not do things that will tarnish the image of the party.

“When people produced evidence of huge sums of money collected from them for the same position and at the end nothing was done. It became a moral burden for me to intervene on their behalf.

“I won’t be alive and somebody will endanger this party and lead to its death and I will keep quiet. I will not. So I maintain my stand. I am not supporting him to continue as Chairman of APGA because if he continues this party will die,” Umeh said.

While saying that he was not prepared to leave the party but would rather remain to fight whatever wrong doing that could arise, to fulfill the promise he made to late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who, according to him handed the party over to him before his passing on.

Update news