Ukachukwu, Amechi Saga: Presidency Moves Against Umeh

From Beti Onu, Anambra
As the All Progressives Grand Alliance plans to hold its primaries for the Assemblies seats from December 3, 2014, indications have emerged that the Presidency may have concluded arrangements to dislodge the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Sir Victor Umeh by stopping his continued posturing as the party leader and  muddling up his Anambra Central Senatorial District candidacy.
The interest of  the Presidency, in the first instance, according to our source,  is not unconnected with the court order in suit No. FCT/HC/CV/614//14 as per Motion on Notice No.FCT/HC//M/1993/2014  of November 28, 2014 before the Presiding judge, Hon. Justice Valentine B. Ashi in which one Chief Martin Orji through his lawyer, Orji Nwafor-Orizu sued APGA and Chief Victor Umeh urging the Court to stop Umeh from parading himself as the National Chairman of APGA and taking stop to submit list of candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Granting the reliefs sought, the Judge ordered that the 2nd respondent (Umeh)  be restrained from parading himself as the  National Chairman of the 1st Respondent (APGA) and/or set up any  Committee/Panel in respect of Primary  Election in Anambra State for the 2015 general elections, while contesting the same primaries as an aspirant for the Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, pending the determination of the Motion on Notice.
Secondly,  Justice Ashi  further granted an interim injunction restraining the 2nd Defendants (APGA) from  submitting any list of the 1st Defendant’s purported  candidates to INEC in the general election for 2015 general election, pending the determination of the Motion on Notice.
The case is fixed hearing of Motion on Notice on Wednesday, December 3, 2014, when the first primary of the party is expected to hold for State Assembly aspirants to be followed by National Assembly December 4, this year..
The suit by Ukachukwu’s stooge, from our investigations, has thrown the camps of APGA and Umeh in disarray as they already know that the hand of the Presidency is in the scheming to undo the National Chairman who many have accused of over-stepping his  bounds and seemingly daring the Presidency.
According to our source, that there is nothing holding back the Presidency  from  moving against Umeh  who, insiders said, are keen in ensuring the emergence of Ferdinand Dozie Nnwankwo, the brother in-law to Rivers State governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amechi, a frontline  chieftain of All Progressive Congress (APC) and a tagged political adversary of the Presidency.
It was gathered that the suit seeking to stop Umeh from parading himself as the National Chairman of APGA and from submitting any purported list to INEC is targeted at rubbishing his young political aspiration.
The news about the Presidency moving against Umeh filtered and threw most APGA faithful in jubilation as according to our source, “It is time for Umeh to know what aspirants and candidates go through in every election. When he was the National chairman of APGA, he was full of himself and kept changing list of candidates who have spent millions of naira to enter the race. Those of us who fought for him when he was up in arms against former governor Obi are waiting for him for vengeance  because he used us to fight Obi, but dumped us to seek for reconciliation and kissing themselves. We know that you don’t reconcile without money exchanging hands, yet we never knew we existed in all the horse-trading  and now he has abandoned us to our fate. We are waiting to pay him back. The former governor who wants to be the only man standing messed us up and Umeh did not come to our rescue. This is our time. How I wish he is allowed to contest the Senatorial race
so that he would see that he is not popular as he thinks he is.”
Information reaching the reporter indicate that, apart from the Presidency, an avalanche  of opponents and enemies want Umeh to be disgraced in his first chance of contesting representative election.
It was revealed that former governor Obi would use Umeh’s electoral ambition to get back at him after he literally made him to go on his knees to reconcile with him ahead of the November 2013 governorship  election. According to this source, Iyom Ekwunife’s defection from APGA from PDP has the blessing of former governor  Obi. In the hatched plan, our source noted, Ekwunife as the PDP flag bearer will square up against Umeh in the Senatorial race, with the permutation that the combined teamwork of both former governor Obi and Ekwunife will secure victory against Umeh in the Senatorial District, as Umeh will only be left with insignificant votes  from his Aguluzoigbo ward.
Infact, Obi is said to be committing himself more in the anti-Umeh hence he desire to lead the President’s 2015 re-election campaign in the South East so that he will use the opportunity to ‘’finish Umeh up.”
Another godfather who wants to deal with Umeh, is the brain behind Chrome Group and Polio Ambassador, Sir Emeka Offor who nominated the former Executive Vice Chairman of Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Chief Engr. Ernest Ndukwe to run for the Anambra South Senatorial District against Hon. Ukachukwu, Dr. Okey Udeh, a one-time  House of Representatives member for Orumba North and South Federal Constituency and Chief Maja Umeh, former Commissioner for Information under the Obi administration.
It was reliably gathered that former governor Obi and incumbent governor  Obiano are in support of the senatorial bid by Ukachukwu as a result of an existing understanding that Ukachukwu should drop his 2013 governorship battle and mobilize support for Obiano which he did, and in return got their backing for the Senate.
This understanding, it was learnt informed Ukachukwu’s  acceptance of invitation by governor Obiano to attend the eminent Stakeholders Summit of sons daughters  of Anambra State held inside the Governor’s Lodge, at a time opposition groups have amassed against Obiano’s emergence.
Remarkably, when Ukachukwu was thrown up as an aspirant for the Senatorial race, many political pundits jumped to the conclusion that  Engr. Ndukwe was to be sacrificed as he is said to be a political novice at the grassroots despite his intimidating credentials and rich contacts nationally and globally.
But political watchers disagreed saying Umeh only joined force with Sir Offor when it became apparent that Obiano is interested in giving the ticket to Ukachukwu.
Umeh’s plan, we gathered,  was part of an understanding he is said to have reached with the Ubas so that Senator Andy Ubah of the PDP will have a ‘political weakling’ in Ndukwe to contend with while the Ubas will work to ensure Umeh scales through.
Though this angle may not be known to  Sir Offor who believes Umeh is fighting for his interest, and helped to get Engr. Ndukwe back into reckoning with the result that Ukachukwu’s disqualification was ‘stage-managed’ on the ground that he would defect to another party, as he is wont to, if elected, in addition to the allegation of pending suit of criminal charge hanging on his neck at the instance of  EFCC.
Both Sir Offor and Umeh were fingered in the alleged involvement of Obiano to jettison  Ukachukwu’s  clearance report of Screening Appeal Committee and replacement with the resolution of APGA National Working Committee which issued a damning report of Ukachukwu’s disqualification, but Ukachukwu got a reprieve as the Screening  Appeal Committee gave him a clean bill to contest.
It was gathered that through the closeness of Ukachukwu’s billionaire brother, Linus who has contacts in the Presidency, the first Lady was believably involved to get Nicholas Ukachukwu to return to the contest which was sealed by the favourable court order.
Having backed Ukachukwu to this stage, the next thing, we gathered, is fight-to-finish by which Umeh will be disgraced for rejecting the directive of President’s wife to drop Mr.   Dozie Nwankwo, brother-in-law of Rivers State governor, who is said to have told close friends that the National Chairman has assured him of the ticket.
Feelers from Amechi’s camp indicate that the camp has  been given the list of candidates for the primary, a situation that is said to have made the camps of other rivals, Mr. Onochie Okagbue and Chief Mike Nkwocha, Chairman of Electoral Sub-Committee in the defunct National Political Reforms Conference of 2005 to contemplate withdrawing from the race because it will be an exercise in futility
Our source who pleaded anonymity told our reporter “that the wife of the President  had issued a directive to Umeh and APGA leadership not to clear Ferdinand Dozie Nwankwo from contesting the  House of Representatives seat for Anaocha, Njikoka and Dunukofia Federal Constituency presently occupied by Hon. (Mrs) Uche Ekwunife who dumped APGA ahead of former governor Peter Obi for  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).But rather than act on the Presidency’s  order, Umeh was said to have dismissed it, daring the wife of the President saying onwero ife ga eme (nothing will happen) saying he knows what to do at the last minute.
Now the Presidency’s patience has boiled over and Umeh is being fought on all sides to disgrace him in the first representative  elective position he is aspiring in his life. Questions recur like a decimal, “who can save Umeh  now? Not even governor Obiano whose seat is still shaky over his seeming  connivance with Umeh to fraternize with the Rivers State governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amechi and his brother in-law, Mr. Dozie Nwankwo, who is said to have been promised the ticket for Anaocha, Njikoka and Dunukofia  Federal Constituency by Umeh, in preference to  more popular and experience contenders.