15th November
By Maxwell Oditta, Asst Politics Editor, Lagos

A close aide of Obi disclosed that Ojukwu believes the manner Obi was removed is unconstitutional but wished he had listened to the counsel he gave him in Awka a few weeks after the Election Appeal Tribunal declared him elected.

Ojukwu had urged Obi to continue with the work of former Governor Chris Ngige, especially the road projects.

He had wanted to prevail on him to re-contest for the governorship under the APGA platform, rather than resort to litigation for a four-year tenure or, worse, defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The source narrated that Ojukwu "felt let down when Obi gave the impression of abandoning the road projects. Each time he was taken to task on the projects, he would explain that the work would resume after the rainy season, an explanation that left everyone unimpressed."

Obi’s adversaries removed him from office just when the rains were over. But not before he received President Olusegun Obasanjo who came to flag off several projects, including roads, even when subsisting ones lay fallow.

The source stated that Ojukwu is critical of the fraternal relations Obi appears to have struck with Obasanjo, which many Igbo leaders believe is responsible for his ouster.

Obasanjo told Obi during the reception held in the President’s honour in Onitsha that he and Senator Ben Obi would not get a second term.

Obi took what Obasanjo said as a light-hearted way of trying to persuade him to join the PDP.

Besides, Ojukwu did not appreciate the manner Obi sought his good graces. For instance, many Igbo think that Aso Rock instigated the hostilities between the Obi administration and members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).

Ojukwu condemned the ‘shoot at sight’ order Obi gave the police during the face-off between MASSOB members and those of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO).

Despite the reservations he has about Obi’s government, Ojukwu and the party leaders reviewed his removal and decided that the alleged constitutional breaches were thumped up to reach a contrived end.

They encouraged Obi to file an application in court challenging his impeachment, while his Deputy, Virginia Etiaba, takes over as Governor, to prevent the state from sliding into anarchy.

Anambra APGA Chairman, Ikechukwu Onyeabo, dismissed reports that the party has suspended Obi over allegations of abuse of office.

He said Obi has not done anything to warrant him facing a disciplinary committee, let alone being sanctioned, and described the report as the hand work of disgruntled elements.

He took a swipe at factional APGA Chairman Chekwas Okorie for spreading the rumour.