Igbo Corner
APGA: Victor Oye is gangrene; he must be cut off, else he’ll infect others —Edozie Njoku
The National Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Edozie Njoku has described his predecessor, Chief Victor Oye as gangrene that must be removed.
Chief Njoku made the remarks during an interview with ElombahNews correspondent in his Abuja office on Wednesday.
The visibly aggrieved Njoku noted that owing to his antecedents, Oye must be cut off from the party like an illness otherwise he will keep infecting other persons.
Comparing Oye to a snake, he insisted that he must be removed, adding that once people are sure that he is out then they can start sneaking back.
He also spoke about the ongoing legal tussle between himself and Victor as the 2021 Anambra State governorship election looms, as well as APGA’s chances in the election.
Other issued buttressed by the APGA henchman include 2023 Igbo presidency, as well as Ebubeagu, the newly launched security outfit for the South East region.
Below are the excerpts of the interview:
Former APGA National Chairman, Ozo Victor Ike Oye
What are the chances of APGA in the upcoming Anambra State 2021 governorship election in view of the ongoing court cases between Victor Oye faction and Edozie Njoku faction? Will it not mar APGA’s chances because of the primaries for the election?
The luck APGA has at the moment is that I stood up to challenge Oye. The mess Oye created in Anambra and South East and everywhere from the last election till today, everybody would have decided to leave the party but you see that there is still so many people standing by waiting to see what happens in court.
But that is not good enough. It would be better if I was already there to be able to organise the party for us to go to election. But still, what I keep saying to APGA is that let us pretend as a party because I’ll rather have an APGA person than have a PDP person or APC. You understand? Because I’m a founding member of APGA so APGA is in my blood so I’d rather have an APGA person.
So, all I appeal with APGA people is to try and be very matured wherever you are. If you are with Oye, stay fast in APGA and work hard for the governor. If you are with Njoku, stay fast and work hard for APGA. But I guarantee you, eventually we’ll get that election. Oye did not do a convention.
How soon do you think this judgment we are talking about is going to come because with this judgment lingering… [He interjects]
It will be resolved because both the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court know that there’s an imminent election. So they will need to resolve it before the end of the primary election for us to know who will be the candidate for the election.
Another thing that has been bothering observers is the way Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano has seen some vital friends off the party; and Oye has not also helped matters; he has also driven some vital friends out of the party. For example, when Willie Obiano reneged on his agreement with Ifeanyi Ubah, Ifeanyi Ubah fell out with him [he added Stella Oduah]. Now Oye too, allegations are everywhere that he is culpable. Bianca Ojukwu is hitting [he added “more than we even know”]. Don’t you think that this is another big hurdle for APGA to scale?
You see, it is a shame on us that we can allow someone like Oye to be heading the affairs of APGA. It is just so sad! But we found ourselves in the problem. There is an adage that says “adi eji maka mgbagbu, we ghalu ogu” [speaks Igbo]. We must remove that guy from presiding over APGA affairs. It so important that everyone should do what they can to remove that man from representing APGA. So my battle, if you notice, there’s a way I’ve been fighting this battle. It is solely because Oye is a disgrace to the party. A big disgrace!
You said a few things about the governor, I said the governor is not a pure politicians so may be people around him who advise him have not advised him as well as it should have been. I don’t know him so I can’t judge on any action he’s taken but the buck stops with the national chairman of the party. We are talking about APGA, we are not talking about governance of Anambra State. So the buck of the governance of the party stops with Oye and every good and every bad that comes out of it there, he carries the can. The buck stops with him.
And if APGA, we are not saying it will happen but we try to see things from different perspectives, if APGA fails to clinch this governorship election, are you not worried that that might be the end of APGA?
Nooo… might even be the best thing for APGA. You know most of the problems of the South East have been coming from Anambra and the governor. When we started APGA, we put in Governor Peter Obi first and may be things went wrong along the line.
We need to go back to the drawing board and know whee we went wrong and start over. Tinubu did his ACN and went further with it, we did our own and crashed. So thee must be something that we’re doing wrong. CPC went on with theirs and has even gotten a president. So there is fundamentally somewhere w went wrong in APGA. And it is because of Anambra scenario where it is politics of money where the highest bidder comes and we sell him the ticket, such nonsense. We need to stand up and remove that nonsense from our politics. Politics is not played like that; politics is a grassroots issue. Until we bring back grassroots as the owners of the party we have a problem.
The Anambra scenario has turned out where a group of 10 or 12 persons feel that they own the party. It’s not like that! The people own their political parties. We all said at the beginning that it is a national party. In the South East a party that elders have such passion in the hearts to raise and it should be run like that in the South East.
The owners, the local persons, and the people of the market, they should own the party and not a group of people. So may be if we lost our governorship, the we will start rebuilding.
All of them will run away when they lose; everybody will take off. Then the real APGA people will stay to bring back the party to its track.
From the circles I’ve been interacting with, many people feel that APGA will be buried if they lose Anambra election… [He interjects]
That’s the mindset when you think back from Peter [Obi] to the last governor. The question is: How much money has the governorship of Anambra, I’m not talking about any particular government, invested in the party growth and anywhere else? How much of the confusion in other South Eastern states have been caused by the people from Anambra? If a good aspirant comes in, he builds the party properly.
APGA has always been in the psyche of the people and we will build it back. It will just take a bit of work but we will build it back.
Oye is just like a snake so he must be removed and once people are sure that he is out then they can start sneaking back. But it will take time because people might be wondering if he has children inside other places. That is the dilemma we have, but the quicker it’s done, the better. But he must be removed because he is gangrene. We must cut off that illness otherwise he will keep infecting the other person. APGA is badly infected by “Oyenism”.
The question is: How do we build a good platform? You see what is going on everywhere in Nigeria. Is it Ohanaeze… Who is speaking for the Igbo people? And because of one Oye there is confusion everywhere. I believe that if we lose Anambra, we will win four states.
What is your take on the 2023 Igbo presidency; is it feasible or is it just another wild goose chase?
It is not a wild goose chase. When I look at APC and PDP, I look at it as not practical. I feel that we have been that route before. If you remember, is it in 2007 when some politicians came out for ANPP or something. There were over 20 Igbo who came out for president in ANPP. It’s not possible!
I remember the former governor of Abia, Ogbonnaya Onu and how he fared which made us to register APGA.
What is your take on Ebubeagu, the newly launched security outfit for the South East region?
I don’t know why we can’t be proactive rather always following trends. But it’s better late than never. Ask yourself: how is the recruitment going to be made? I think we need to be more honest with ourselves people from the South East. The world has become a global world; it’s no longer that little village that everybody thinks… Youths should be brought in and when I’m saying youths that includes and everything. Modern things should be brought into play. We are sooo analog in everything we are doing. I don’t know why we do things like that. While we should be the ones leading, we are the ones behind in everything. I don’t know; it could work. It’s easy announcing something but what are game plan, how are they going to be done? That’s the most important thing.
I think we should really start working hard to bring youths into politics in Nigeria. The Igbos need to do something very, very fast. We are so dull. I was just coming back from South East, I was there for ten days. Terrible! It’s a shame, a big shame! The level of unemployment, the level of everything is a shame.
We keep complaining that Hausa man did this, Yoruba man did that. I feel that we need to do the first things first. There was something you said earlier that our leaders left a vacuum and Nnamdi Kalu took over the vacuum. We need to look inwards properly and honestly. Anything we are doing cannot just be politically based; we need to look inwards properly honestly because we are not leaving anything for our grandchildren and children.
I give you an example: My son is 29 and he was made a CEO British Music from being a Senior Special Adviser to a Minister. Before then he was a PA to Cameron the former Prime Minister. In the article that was written about him, they called him a senior member of the Conservative Party. But he’s only 29! Even me, will they call me senior member of PDP or APC or even APGA that we are fighting now?
It’s just the clique holding power that regard themselves as “senior members”. But a 29 year old from Africa has been called in all the papers as “a senior member of the Conservative Party”. We must allow the youth to take over from us so that when we look down the line.
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There’s something about persecution that does two things to a people: it either breaks them, or it makes them beasts of survival.
For centuries the Jews… they were hunted, hated, and humiliated by empires. But they didn’t vanish.
They evolved. They adapted. And today, the Jews are arguably the most powerful tribe in the world economically, intellectually, and politically. Ruthless when necessary.
They are unapologetic about their survival. Now, look at the Igbo. A tribe known for industry, resilience, and brilliance.
A people who just want to live, do business, and thrive. But Nigeria doesn’t want that. Nigeria wants control.
Nigeria wants submission. And the one thing the Igbo have never known how to do is bow. And that’s the real issue.
So what does Nigeria do? It sidelines them. Isolates them. Provokes them. Bombs their villages under the guise of security.
Locks up their agitators. Shuts down their businesses. Mocks their pain. Ignores their history. Prevent them from voting. Play politics with their education. Sponsored bigotry on them.
And then Nigeria pretends to be surprised that there’s growing radicalization in the East?
Let me be clear: The Igbo didn’t start this fire. Nigeria did.
And history, the very same history we keep refusing to learn from, has shown us that when you keep pushing a tribe that knows how to survive, they evolve into something stronger, something unstoppable.
It’s happened before. With the Jews. Europe tried to exterminate them. Instead, they became the backbone of global finance, media, tech, and diplomacy.
You don’t touch a Jew today without consequences. You don’t push them to the wall and expect them to stay quiet.
Now Nigeria is doing the same to the Igbo, pushing, prodding, provoking.
But here’s the warning: when you push an animal to the wall, it doesn’t stay calm. It fights back. It bites. And this time, when it bites, don’t act shocked.
But this isn’t just about the Igbo solely. Nigeria has perfected the art of creating monsters, then acting surprised when they bite.
The Niger Delta? Radicalized. The region was exploited for oil, polluted beyond repair, and ignored until their youths picked up arms.
The Fulani terrorists? Radicalized. Left behind by the same government that claimed to represent them, now manipulated by religion and resentment.
The Almajiri? Radicalized. Abandoned by an elite that used their poverty as a vote bank and then left them to rot.
The Agbero? Radicalized. Uneducated, weaponized, and unleashed as tools of political chaos.
Even the middle class is slowly being radicalized, not with guns, but with hopelessness. That, too, is a ticking time bomb.
A nation cannot continue to marginalize its most brilliant tribe and expect peace.
The Igbo are not docile. They are not quiet. They are not forgetful. They are survivors, and survivors don’t beg for space forever. At some point, they take it.
The Igbo didn’t set out to be radicals. They were made into one by a country that won’t stop seeing their confidence as a threat.
You can’t keep pretending unity means silence. You can’t keep preaching peace while planting injustice.
The Igbo are not asking for too much, they just want to live, build, and grow.
But if you insist on turning their dignity into defiance, their enterprise into enmity, and their survival into sedition, then you are creating a monster.
And if history has taught us anything, it’s this: when a persecuted people decide that survival is no longer enough, when they decide to stop running and start resisting, they don’t just fight back. They win.
Nigeria must understand this: you cannot keep pushing people into a corner and expect submission.
When you back a lion into a wall, don’t expect it to purr. It will roar. It will claw. It will tear through anything standing between it and freedom.
So here’s the final warning, for those who still care to listen: Nigeria is radicalizing the Igbo.
But worse, Nigeria is radicalizing everyone. And it won’t end well.
When the fire spreads, when the rebellion multiplies, when the beast we created begins to fight back, don’t act shocked; no tribe will be left untouched.
Don’t pretend it wasn’t preventable. We all made it happen. You don’t corner a lion and expect peace.
Abolaji Rasaq is a public affairs analyst.
Palpable crisis is brewing in Nnewi over the election of the President General of Uruagu Community in the industrial town of Anambra State, with a business mogul and owner of Organiser Plc., Chief Innocent Okoli, accused of upsetting the apple cart.
The crisis has led to protests and resignation of members of the Board of Trustees (BoT).
One of the resignation letters sighted by News Band was from a legal practitioner, J. N. Obi, Esq.
Barrister Obi, until his resignation served as the Secretary of the Executive Committee and member, Uruagu Board of Trustees.
Tendering his resignation letter, Obi cited brazen violation of the Constitution of Uruagu Nnewi Community Development Union.
The letter was referenced OB/03 /296/2025, dated May 8, 2025, and addressed to His Highness. Obi A. C. Obi (Ogidi IV).
In the letter entitled “Letter of resignation as member, Board of Trustees (B.O. T) Uruagu Nnewi. Obi announced his resignation based on the following reasons:
- Article 8. 9 (a) of the Constitution of Uruagu Nnewi Community Development Union. 2022 (As Amended) states and I quote:
“The Board shall “Ensure the observance of this Constitution”. - Article 14.4 of the Constitution of Uruagu Nnewi Community Development Union 2022 (As Amended) states and I quote:
“Each ward shall submit a list of the Electors In writing to the Secretary General of the Union, one month before any election.
“The submission of the list of the Electors shall be done by the Ward Chairman In consultation with the Ward’s Obi.” - “The election sought to be conducted on Saturday, 10th day of May 2025, did not comply with the above provisious as it was on the Union’s general meeting of the I3th day of April 2025 that the expiration of the tenure of the Executives was announced.”
The legal pratictioner, however, noted that the election to be held on May 10 will not be up to one month.
He, therefore, resigned his membership of B. 0. T for failure to abide by the above provisions of the Constitution as stated above.
On his part, the former President General of Uruagu Nnewi, Chief Ambassador Charles Nwonye, decried series of illegalities in the proposed election championed by Chief Okoli.
He recalled the efforts of past and present stakeholders to ensure that Uruagu Nnewi Community Development Union is recognised as a legal and responsible entity in the state.
He, however, speaking in a voice note obtained by Diaspora Digital Media (DDM), regretted:
“It’s very, very unfortunate that those counsels that instituted Uruagu Development Union are no longer alive.
“They were the ones who were known for speaking out the truth. But at the same time, we will not all keep quiet.
“I, hereby, wish to bring the following to the attention of all Uruagu indigenes, scattered all over Nigeria and in the diaspora that four years ago, a similar thing happened.
“Uruagu Nnewi Constitution was also flagrantly violated four years ago.
“At the end, a lot of stakeholders asked the former Executive Committee to resign and leave en masse.
“The Constitution, however, allowed them to recontest.
“The Executive Committee then honourably resigned and no one of us recontested, ushering in a new Executive Committee.
“They argued that following the election, the Constitution will be amended to correct all the flaws and ensure no such flagrant abused repeats itself.
“They went for the election and what happened there was the same illegality we’re talking about.
“Some of our youths went and connived with mischief makers, disrupted the election and declared the present Executive Committee members winners.
“The youths stood by them in their misguided thoughts that the Executive Committee members enjoy special gains in the office.
“They disrupted the election and ensured that the present crop of Executive Committee members was ushered in.
“The election was heavily flawed and rigged in favour of Eloka Ike and Innocent Okoli, but we let go and left peacefully.
“The new Executive Committee promised to preside for only four years and leave, but we are currently seeing the same illegalities.
“I dare ask: Should Uruagu be known only for illegalities? I thought Ndi Uruagu are smart people?
“I have observed that there are certain individuals who are hell-bent on ensuring that the Uruagu leadership fails.
“They seem bent on destroying all our efforts, acting as agents of chaos and destruction.
“How can one man gather a bunch of Umuezeagu indigenes and take them to the court, claiming that they sued the union to court?
“They deceived the High Court and got a frivolous injunction against Uruagu people, all in the name of election!
“When I got this information, I knew that something was wrong.
“How can someone, after serving a tenure fraught with irregularities, fight his way to a second tenure against the people’s wish?
“I want to make it clear to all the delegates in the so-called election that it will not be possible to make an illegality legal.
“Anyone who casts a vote in that sham election is an agent provocateur, as well as a villain.
“Let it be on record that I denounced the so-called election founded on illegality and fraud and all participants, be it a delegate or participant in any manner is an enemy of the people.”
Chief Okoli and other responsible people of Nnewi leadership could not be reached for comment at the moment of this publication.
More details will follow…
The remains of HRH Eze Stephen Nwabueze Ugorji, Orji Ukwu 1 of Lorji Nwekeukwu Autonomous Community in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area, will be laid to rest on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
The late Eze Ugorji will be buried in his palace at Orji Ukwu Estate, Lorji, following a Catholic funeral Mass at St. Andrews Catholic Church, Lorji.
News Band was informed that His Excellency the Catholic Bishop of Ahiara Diocese, Bishop Okezuo Nwobi, has been invited to officiate at the ceremony.
Bishop Nwobi, it was learnt, has also accepted the family’s invitation to officiate at the funeral rites of the late grand traditional ruler.
This information was provided to members of the press in Owerri by the Opara Eze (First Son of the Eze), former Commissioner for Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs, Dr. Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji.
His Lordship Bishop Okezuo Nwobi, the Catholic Bishop of Ahiara Diocese (Mbaise) and Eze Nwabueze Ugorji’s First Son, Dr. Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji
“The family is grateful to His Lordship for granting us a rare request to officiate at a funeral on a Thursday,” Dr. Ugorji said.
“Our father will feel honored and appreciated because he was not just a devoted Catholic, he shouldered the building of the St. Andrews Catholic Church at Lorji until his death,” the former commissioner added.
Igbo Corner
EXCLUSIVE: Ngozi Orabueze dissolves Biafra Govt In Exile as Simon Ekpa may spend longer time in prison
Dr. Ngozi Orabueze has abruptly dissolved the Biafra Government In Exile following secret information that his former boss, Simon Ekpa may not be coming out from Finnish detention in a hurry.
News Band reported that Mrs. Orabueze, a former Chief of Staff to Mr Simon Ekpa, the self-acclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra Government In Exile, toppled his principal after he was thrown into prison for promoting violent agitation and terrorism in the Southeast of Nigeria.
Ekpa’s trial is scheduled to start in May 2025.
Ngozi, a former chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Atlanta, United States in a statement on Wednesday, announced the dissolution of Biafra Government In Exile.
She said all assets of the Biafra Republic Government In Exile and it’s affiliates shall be transferred to the secretary of the State of the United States of Biafra.
Orabueze also directed all officers of the former exile government to report to their counterpart with the United States of Biafra for reassignment.
The statement reads, “It is resolved that the Biafra Republic Government In Exile (BRGIE) is hereby dissolved as it’s reason for the existence has been superceded by the November 29, 2024 Declaration of the restoration of the Independent United States of Biafra
“All assets of the Biafra Republic Government In Exile and it’s affiliates(BRGIE corporation ID: D237527271) shall be transferred to the secretary of the State of the United States of Biafra.
“All officers of the former exile government shall report to their counterpart with the United States of Biafra for reassignment. All activities of the Biafra Republic Government In Exile shall cease as of February 15, 2025”.
Meanwhile, an insider source in the movement reliably told News Band that Ngozi decided to dissolve BRGIE after receiving intel that Simon Ekpa might spend longer time in prison.
The source also revealed that the Nigerian government is doing everything within it’s power to nail Simon Ekpa for all his atrocious acts in the SouthEast region.
So, the only way to keep the agitation going in the absence of Ekpa is to dissolve BRGIE.
“Yes, Ngozi Orabueze dissolved the Biafra Republic Government In Exile so as to be fully in charge of the assets belonging to the movement. With the way the Nigerian government is going about the case of Simon Ekpa, he may spend longer time in prison”, the source said.
Moreover, before now, Orabueze has been at war with some arrowheads of the separatist movement who refused to acknowledge her authority.
This however, has led to series of fights, accusation and counter accusations among the agitators.
We celebrate the life of Mrs. Roseline Udu Eze, a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and pillar of strength.
Her unwavering love, kindness, and selflessness left an indelible mark on all who knew her.
Though we mourn her passing, we take solace in the legacy she leaves behind and the cherished memories we hold. Rest peacefully in the arms of the Lord, dear Roseline.
You will forever be missed.
May her soul rest in perfect peace.
Amen.
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