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May we know you sir?
My name is Willie Amadi, I am a Lawyer, Community leader, Politician, and Chief Technical Adviser to the Government of the Imo State on Environment. I am a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State.
The media have been awash over your purported expulsion from the All Progressives Congress by the leadership of the Party in Owerri Municipal, what is the real position of the party decision Sir?
Well, I was surprised at the news of my purported expulsion from the All Progressives Congress on social media. Regrettably, the news of the purported expulsion came 12 hours after I made enquires and asked the APC State Chairman who is from Owerri Municipal how the money-logistics for the election was utilized since the party agents, canvassers and adhoc staff were all crying that they didn’t get logistics for the elections. Shortly after my enquires, I was surprised to hear from a radio announcement credited to the Owerri Municipal Chairman of APC, Mr. Onyekachi Ibezim that I have been disowned by the leadership of the party in Owerri Municipal as a result of my inquiry into the use of logistic funds. I was not worried because am convinced that no one disowns what he/she doesn’t own. As a chattered politician and a brand, no political party is in a position to disown me within and beyond party politics.
The next morning, I read in the newspaper another publication of my expulsion from the Ikenegbu Ward 1 of the party. At this point, I knew that something was amiss because am not a member of Ikenegbu Ward 1, and if the Chairman and executives of the ward can suspend a non-member who has never attended meetings, hosted meetings, contributed financially to the activities of the ward he belongs, there must be a third party influence. I registered at Aladinma Ward 2 where I currently reside. It is surprising that the same Local Government Chairman of Owerri Municipal Council, Mr. Onyekachi Ibezim, and his Executive that came to my Ajuziogu Lodge to register me on the instructions of the then state Chairman of APC, Chief Marcon Nlemigbo could not recollect or remember my ward where they registered me. The simple conclusion is Grace at work and the result was an own goal by the gang controlled by the State Chairman who is irresponsibly ignorant of the constitutional procedure for disciplinary action against an erring member. I am sure he has never read the party constitution otherwise he would not have misled the rascal to ridicule the party.
You had a robust and cordial relationship with all spheres of PDP leadership when you were a member and 1st State Vice- Chairman between 2005-2007. Now, having joined APC, it is expected that such respect accorded to you in PDP would have been replicated in APC. So Sir, before the purported expulsion, was there any altercation you had with the leadership of APC either in Owerri Municipal or the State at large ?
Not at all. Not at all! About seventy percent of the APC members in Owerri Municipal are virtually my followers. They are all my political children including the state Chairman, Dr Macdonald Ebere who used to be my political son. I offered him the opportunity to serve as the Owerri Municipal Sole Administrator under Chief Ikedi Ohakim’s administration in 2010. That position was my slot from His Excellency Governor Ohakim and I recommended and submitted his name for the appointment because I had promised Senator Hope Uzodinma, now our Governor that whenever the opportunity arises that I will consider and compensate him having lost to my younger brother Hon. Clinton Amadi who defeated him in the 2007 Owerri Municipal House of Assembly election. The promise encouraged me to submit his name to the Governor for appointment as a sole administrator of Owerri Municipal Council.
Also, the current Chairman of Owerri Municipal Council, Mr. Onyekachi Ibezim was appointed as caretaker committee chairman of GRA Ward Chairman in 2005 when I was the Owerri Zonal Chairman of PDP. He was recommended to me by my very good friend, Prince Azubike Uwandu, I never knew him but the recommendation got him there and I later pushed him to become the elected Ward Chairman of GRA before he became the LGA Chairman under Dr. Macdonald Ebere. They are all my political sons and I have a very robust relationship with so many of them and I have helped them both financially and otherwise. Many of them married under me, bought cars and some built houses, and I mentor and groom them to attain such height whenever I was in a position to do so. My lifestyle would not have allowed me to block them from achieving greater heights. In return, I expect nothing but gratitude but respect from them. If not for reasons I can not fathom, non of them would have had the moral courage to take such action against me if it was not sheer manipulation of them by the state Chairman who all of a sudden dreams that he had arrived with the little transient position he occupies now.
Your younger brother, Hon Clinton Amadi is running for the position of House of Assembly under Labour Party, and there is this allegation that you brought him out to contest against the APC candidate in Owerri Municipal. Don’t you think this could have triggered your purported expulsion from APC ?
Well, for me, it will be idiotic and unnatural for any body to think that way. It is embarrassing to assume that at RT.Hon. Clinton Amadi’s age of 52 and level as a former House of Assembly member, Majority Leader Emeritus, former Supervisory Council in a local government and a married man with more than six children, I would be bringing him out to contest an election or persuade him to join opposition party against the party he even joined before me while I was a Federal Commissioner/ Ombudsman in 2018.
If Clinton left APC for Labour Party, how does that concern my membership and loyalty or affect my political orientation. Let me also inform you that Clinton was even annoyed at a point in APC because I remember he complained how Macdonald cut N50,000 from the money provided for former presiding officers the day Asiwaju Tinubu and Ahmad Lawal came to Imo State for their presidential campaign tour. He alleged that the state Chairman of APC took N50, 000 each out of the N250, 000 given to every Principal Officer out of sheer greed. Angered, Clinton resisted the half money until the total money was completed, but when the APC state Chairman was not yielding, Clinton had to reject the money and walked away. I told him that he made a mistake and that he would have held the N200, 000 since the state Chairman was not ready to return or complete the money to him. The truth of the matter is that both Clinton and Ebere are friends and early members of APC before me. They also shared confidences and women and even worked together in Environmental Transformation Commission earlier in the 3R administration as brothers. So it, therefore, becomes mischievous and misleading for anyone to attribute his dumping of APC to me. Clinton simply embarked on a personal development drive and he is entitled to it and since blood is thicker than water I got his back.
There is this other allegation that during the Presidential and National Assembly electioneering campaigns, you never came out boldly to join them in the campaigns. Is that true ?
Yes, that is true. I confirm it as 100% percent correct. My reason is simply that in Aladinma Ward 2 which was ceded to me during the congresses to harmonise, I had to make sure that the 27- man Executive Committee of the Ward came out in a very fine and democratic setting. Each Stakeholder / Financier in the Ward made nominations for the composition of the 27-man Ward Executive. This gave them ownership of the Ward rather than one man drawing the entire Ward list at his whims and caprices. I nominated the Chairman, Dan Izundu Amadi. All of a sudden, the Chairman was alleged to be involved in Labour Party immediately Clinton joined Labour Party. This allegation against the Chairman has no proof, no proper invitation and he was asked to resign. Meanwhile, while the State Chairman and LGA Chairman plotted his removal, they didn’t have the simple courtesy to inform me of the allegations or complaints if any. I complained to the Chief of Staff who promised to intervene and within few days he was removed without a single word with him. The State Chairman also pressured DG- PAM PAM Organisation RT. Hon. Godfrey Dikeocha to remove him as the Campaign Cordinator for Owerri Municipal and he did the next day. Now tell me if you are in my position will you campaign with them ?
At this point, I felt that that if they could not honor and give me that respect, I would rather stay off the campaigns though at my level, I wouldn’t have joined in Ward tours, but as a leader, I handled Technical, Financial and Strategic issues. You don’t expect me to start running around with my children for a Ward tours. Believe it or not, I am the Iwuanyanwu of Owerri Municipal both in politics and wealth.
When you stayed away, did you ever direct your supporters or personally worked for any candidate other than APC candidates in the election?
No, nothing like that ever happened. Ask Chief CDB Williams the role I played in his nomination and election before he was sabotaged by the State Chairman, EBERE and the Campaign Council Chairman IBEJIAKOR. He was my Candidate, Prince Alex Mbata was my Candidate in the election and I had a series of technical meetings for them with strategic groups with my personal money. I spent close to N8 million in their campaign and election. You can make inquiries from them. I spent time and money in a bid to ensure that they won that election but because of intrigues by the chairman who wanted the seat to be vacant till 2027 to enable him to contest from Owerri Municipal in the event, he does take over from the Governor as he childishly boasts everywhere.
As a Lawyer and party leader, do you think the leadership of APC in both Ikenegbu Ward and Owerri Municipal has the powers and the rights to expel you from APC?
No, they are unable to do that. The constitution of APC is structured and its procedures had to be followed. The Ward Executive is the first point of call when petition is submitted against a member or an office holder. On receipt of the petition, the Ward appoints disciplinary committee to look into it and recommend accordingly. But in the event of expulsion, it is only the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Party that has the powers to suspend or expel me as an appointee of Government. Even the National Working Committee (NWC) cannot but only make recommendation to the NEC for approval to expel. What it means is that my membership is beyond the ward, LGA and State level under the APC Constitution. So you can see that their action was just a waste of time and energy. I don’t think that APC State Chairman In Imo state knows the constitution of the party he is leading, because if he has read the constitution and understood it, I doubt if he would be in that huge mess.
In summary Sir, how do you describe your purported expulsion from APC as a Lawyer and as a party leader?
As far as I am concerned, it was a tea party for the boys. They are jokers in the sense that they joked with the party constitution, they joked with me as a leader and they joked with the party. However, it is good that that rascality exposed them but enlightened them and others of the provisions of the party constitution as it relates to disciplinary procedures going forward.
Finally, how do you rate the leadership of the party and the party?
Regrettably, while the leader of the party in the State, His Excellency, the Governor is doing everything possible to keep the party stronger, the party leadership under Dr Macdonald EBERE’S second name is sorry. It is painful that rather than attracting new entrants to the party he is busy exploiting members and fighting perceived enemies. It could have been better with a seasoned, respectful and more mature politician as Chairman of Imo APC.
Source: Championnews.com.ng | Read More
