By Okechukwu Jombo
South-South Zonal Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chukwuemeke Ogbuobodo Esq and other zonal officers have condemned in strong terms the suspension of the Minister of State (Petroleum) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri by the party’s executive in his local government in Bayelsa State.
Oguobodo who made this assertion in a statement on Wednesday, said the officers rejected the purported suspension of the Minister, describing the action as illegal, null and void as the LGA executive cannot be a judge in its own matter.
Ogbuobodo referred the LGA executive and who ever that is sponsoring it, to see article 21.3 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (a) (b) (c) (d) and (e) of the party’s Constitution and see the procedure for hearing and determination of complaints or allegations.
He also warned the LGA executive that they are not above the law and not to see any other person as beneath it; “APC is not a party for supermen but a party guided by rules of law.”
Ogbuobodo said the officers in the South-South Zone of the APC rejected the purported suspension of the minister, describing the action as illegal, null and void.
Recall that the APC in Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor Local Government Areas in separate press briefings had last week purportedly suspended Lokpobiri and the 2019 gubernatorial candidate of the party in Bayelsa State, David Lyon.
But Ogbuobodo warned the persons behind the purported suspensions to be mindful that the entire executives in the state was invalidated by the decision of the Bayelsa State High Court in Suit No YHC/16/2022; ”so who gave you the power to suspend the Minister?
“As a consequence, the decision by the so called LG Executive of APC is unknown to both the party’s Constitution and the laws of the land.”
He averred that to avoid this kind of unwholesome intervention by imposters in the affairs of the party in Bayelsa State given the current vacuum created by the judgment of the High Court of Bayelsa State in suit no. YHC/16/2022 and as a law-abiding entity, party chieftains in the South-South zone would now move swiftly to get the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to appoint a caretaker committee to help oversee the party’s activities in Bayelsa State in the interim pending the election of a substantive State Executive.
“To this end, we urge party members in Bayelsa State and members of the general public to disregard the purported suspension of Senator Lokpobiri by individuals who are out to cause confusion in the Bayelsa State chapter of the party.
Ogbuobodo commended Senator Lokpobiri for his invaluable contributions to the successes being recorded by the President Bola Tinubu administration as Minister of State (Petroleum) and urged him not to be distracted by the antics of those who do not mean well for the state.
He said: “Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has demonstrated capacity as minister and has attracted meaningful development projects to Bayelsa in particular and the South-South region in general. The action of these individuals was borne out of envy and a wicked plot to destabilize APC in Bayelsa State and the South-South Zone.
“This is why we condemn and reject the unlawful act and we urge all well-meaning party members in the county to do same,” the statement concludes.