APGA crisis: No reconciliation without refund, aggrieved aspirants insist

From Chuks Moses, Awka
Hoards of aggrieved All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA) aspirants in the recently held party primaries especially for the governorship, state and National Assemblies have shunned a reconciliation meeting convened by the leadership of the party in Anambra State at the Secretariat of the party in Awka.
The visibly disconsolate victims had insisted that the money they were goaded into putting down for nomination forms and expression of interests  must be refunded first before they would consider any reconciliation meeting whatsoever.
The party’s chairman in the state, Chief Norbert Obi, had convened the parley on the instance of the national leadership of the party.
Chief Obi’s self explanatory invitation to the groaning members read in part, “All APGA aspirants in the recently concluded primaries, party wards and local government executives are invited to meet with the committee as part of the party’s reconciliation efforts.”
The membership of the reconciliation committee included the vice presidential candidate of the party in the coming 2019 general elections, Chief  Jerry Chukwueke; a Board of Trustees (BOT)member, Dr Ifenyinwa Obegolu;  Chief Uzoma Obinyo; Chief Elias Adokwe and Mr. Uche Nwegbo.
Primaries organized by the party were characterized by rancour, ranging from accusations of  extortion, induced disqualification and issuance of tickets to favoured persons without any regards to established norm and guidelines. The intense bad blood so generated by the exercise forced the party to set up a high powered reconciliation committee immediately.
The planned maiden meeting scheduled for 3pm Thursday, Oct 26 at the party’s state Secretariat in Awka was shunned by the aggrieved aspirants, and the reconciliation committee.
According to one of the aggrieved aspirants, “What reconciliation are they doing? Which reconciliation are you talking about? After extorting monies from us, they now say they want reconciliation; how possible is that?
“We’ve decided that if they are serious about any reconciliation, let them start by refunding us our monies; then we will know they are serious.”
The man who gave his name simply as Emeka also accused the governor of being behind the whole saga. Hear him, “Gov Willie Obiano has killed APGA.We will demonstrate our anger against them in next year’s election. Just watch and see what will happen, this is the beginning of the end of APGA.”
The party chairman, while acknowledging that the reconciliation committee has run into deep troubled waters said he would not comment, saying, “there is nothing to say. We didn’t see anybody  here for the reconciliation. I’m going to my house. There is nothing to say.”
A more volatile situation exists in Imo state where about 13 aspirants for the office of governor dumped APGA along with their thousands of supporters enmasse in one fell swoop.