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| Chief Richard Kpodoh(Factional Chairman of Bayelsa APC) |
Jimmy Carter,Yenagoa
The fact that the Bayelsa Chapter of the All Progressive Party is in trouble is an understatement. There is the Chairmanship tussle between Tiwei Orunimigha and Chief Richard Kpodoh. This contention has brought some issues to the fore. The intent of this one pager is to ascertain who the authentic chairman of the Party is. If Richard Kpodoh is actually the Chairman of APC, then the Party has no moral integrity to even contest any elections. Again, it is troubling that a political Party that is struggling to have a foothold could be embroiled in such a crisis of confidence occasioned by power tussle, embezzlement of funds and anti-Party activities.
Most people are surprised that APC members could appear on AIT to argue who is the authentic Chairman and who is not. The summary is that APC in Bayelsa State is still an amalgam of people with dissenting voices, who do not know the nitty-gritty of politics. While it is true that Chief Richard Kpodoh used Famou Tangbei to engage in countless extra-judicial murders, it is Timipre Sylva that is vicariously liable. It is like the principle of delegatus non-potest delegare. Kpodoh could not have used powers not delegated to him by his superior.
The dominant story line is also very plausible. The impression APC members created a couple of days ago is that TIWEI ORUNIMIGHA has been impeached for sundry crimes ranging from absenteeism, failure to engage in grassroots mobilization, failure to open a bank account for the Party and embezzlement of N248million. Whether these allegations are factual or not is yet to be determined, since that can only be done in a court of law. It was also clarified that after the impeachment, Chief Richard Kpodoh was unanimously elected as APC Chairman. Last week Richard Kpodoh made a statement in Royal F.M 95.5 in Yenagoa to the effect that his Chairmanship of APC is unchallengeable, and there was no response from the Sylva-led APC. .
Now, it appears that APC is looking beyond the two factions: the Tiwei Orunimigha and Richard Kpodoh factions. The latest twist in the matter is that the APC in Bayelsa State, which now has about three splinter groups, is wooing a university Don as Chairman of the Party, at least to give it some credibility. Our source said, while Tiwei Orunimigha does not parade a clean record as shown by his corrupt dealings when he was Chairman of Southern/Ijaw LGA, Richard Kpodoh is regarded by many as the brain behind most of the Operation Famou Tangbei killings during the immediate past administration. Chances are that this move will further shatter the already divided party.
If the Southern-Ijaw born University Don accepts the offer, it will put paid to the lingering imbroglio in APC’s bid to search for leadership of the Party. However, a faction of the Party says Kpodoh must remain as the authentic Chairman, since unlike his contender Chief Tiwei Orunimigha, he has no documented case of corruption. Richard Kpodoh has also planned to arrest anyone parading himself as APC Chairman in Bayelsa State. As for the Bayelsa Chapter of the APC, the search for who becomes the Chairman continues. What is incontrovertible is that all is not well with the APC leadership in Bayelsa State even as we inch towards the December 5th governorship elections.
