1
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Udu LGA, Comrade Mike Ibada has picked holes in the claims by former DTHA member, Hon Keston Okoro that Sir Richard Odibo ‘‘is co-chairman of the Udu APC College of Leaders’’, warning that any attempt to foist him on the party after his deliberate and overt fight against the APC in the 2023 general elections, would not be acceptable to majority of party faithful and could be counter-productive in the current efforts at building the APC in the area.
In a statement released to newsmen in reaction to the news report by Hon Dr Liege Lord Keston Okoro Muhammed Al-Amin on the leadership of the APC College of Leaders in Udu LGA, Comrade Mike Ibada declared that the APC in Udu have not met to put the house in order, elect or pick new leaders for the College of Leaders and that Sir Richard Odibo lacked the locus standi to assume the leadership of the party after fighting against the APC in the 2023 general polls.
‘’To set the record straight, there was never a time that APC in Udu LGA met to select either Sir Richard Odibo or Chief Eddie Ono-Sorhue as co-chairmen of the APC College of Leaders. There is no existing leadership structure that Sir S.K Palama is trying to destroy. In the first place, Sir Richard Odibo is not qualified to be the leader of the party after working and mobilising massively against APC in 2023 just because of his hatred for Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who facilitated his appointment as a Federal Commissioner.
‘’The whole of Udu, both old and new APC members, can testify to the fact that the major financier of the APC over the years is Sir S.K Palama. He is a very distinguished personality of high repute, a very successful business mogul and a philanthropist of the highest order. He can never descend so low as to destroy the party he has invested hundreds of millions of naira to build over the years.
‘’S K Palam was a member of the party from the start. It is an insult to say Keston Okoro brought him into the party. Even in the time of the Alliance for Democracy, far back 2003, he was one of those who sponsored the gubernatorial struggle of Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru in 2003. He was there when the party changed to Labour Party and finally APC in 2014 ahead of the 2015 general elections.
‘’S.K Palama sponsored the APC in Udu LGA in the 2023 general elections, and Udu secured 5/5 for the APC under his leadership. He sponsored the presidential polls in Udu, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Senator Ede Dafinone, Rt Hon Francis Waive and Hon Collins Egbetamah’s elections in 2023. How much did Sir Richard Odibo contribute to the party even as a federal Commissioner in 2023? Just because of his hatred for one man, he worked against his own APC, and today he is fighting to assume leadership of the party in Udu. That cannot happen!
‘’Nobody can assume the leadership of the party in Udu from the back door. If you must lead the people, then earn it. You can’t lead the people by force. This game Sir Richard Odibo is playing cannot help the APC in Udu. His elfishness will destroy the party if care is not taken.
‘’After the elections and party congress of 2019, many people were angry with the outcome. Sir S.K Palama, who bankrolled the elections, was not appreciated, and so he resolved to step aside. That was what led to the reconciliation committee set up by party Chairman, Comrade David Rheriobore. The committee has Chief C.C.I.Whiliki as Chairman, Barr Wilfred Ohgiagbephan as Secretary and Comrade Mike Ibada, Hon Edjoghene Onoseme, Pius Ghavwan and Patrick Oyeghe, among others, as members.
‘’The committee achieved a major milestone with S.K Palama agreeing to forget the past and rebuild the party. But Sir Richard Odibo rejected all entreaties to work with Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, particularly in the 2023 general election, even though he was a Federal Commissioner. Hon Keston Okoro was never a member of the reconciliation committee and couldn’t have played any role in pleading with S.K Palama to join forces with other leaders to deliver the party. His claim that he brought S.K Palama into the APC was therefore false, irritating and malicious.
‘’Since then, the Leaders and Elders of the party APC Udu LGA have been meeting to build the party, and it was in one of those meetings before 2023 that the entire leadership in Udu selected and honour, Mr S’K Palama as Chairman of the College of Leaders in Udu. Under his leadership, APC achieved 5/5 in 2023 even when Richard Odibo worked against the party.
‘’Mr S.K Palama brought peace, unity and transparent leadership to the APC Udu LGA. Recently, when PDP joined the APC, Mr Palama hosted a meeting of the APC leaders where a template for building an inclusive leadership structure was developed. The old and new APC members were to bring 5 members each per ward, with Richard Odibo as part of the team from his ward 8, Keston Okoro from ward 10. The decision was communicated to the incoming former PDP members to bring their list before a general meeting for harmonisation of the party leadership would be convened. The meeting where this decision was taken at S.K Palama house was attended by Richard Odibo. He expressed satisfaction and did not raise any objection.
‘’How and why he suddenly started parading himself as the leader of the APC College of Leaders, together with Chief Eddie Ono-Sorhue came to party faithful as a huge surprise. Richard Odibo cannot impose himself on the party. The entire leadership will choose or elect their leaders, not through the back door. Let me warn that any self-imposition on the party in Udu will only drag the party in the mud. Selfish and personal interest should not be promoted against the general interest. If we want to move forward and build the party, we should all come together to elect or select our party leaders’’, Mike Ibada added.
Read the full article here
