Bayelsa ANPP Suspends 4 Exco Members

The Bayelsa State chapter of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has suspended four of its executive officers following a vote of no-confidence passed by two-thirds majority of the State Executive Council.

Those suspended were former deputy chairman, Mr. Tuku Ogbogene, pubilicity secretary, Mr. Niccodimus Anthony, Vice chairman (Bayelsa East) Mr. Loveday Abiri and state legal adviser, Mr. Leilei Solomon.

In a communiqué issued after its end of year executive council meeting held in Yenagoa,and signed by state vice-chairman, Barrister Bofede Okporu, who presided over the meeting and Secretary, Mr. Eminah Bioghoemu, the party accused the four members of anti-party activities.

The communique reads in part “The State Executive Committee has today by an overwhelming two-third majority vote pass a vote of no confidence on the four members for gross abuse of office and flagrant breach of the party’s constitution. They are hereby suspended indefinitely from the party”.

“For conspiring to unilaterally reverse the working committee and state executive council’s decisions a behavior aimed at frustrating the ANPP in Bayelsa state, a disciplinary committee will be set up to review their offences and make appropriate punishment.” The statement added.

The party also accused the four members of placing an unauthorised radio announcement reversing the decisions of the party’s joint working committee and executive council on Radio Bayelsa, a development it said was aimed to cause a corporate embarrassment to the image of the party in state.

The communiqué which was endorsed by 22 signatories out of the 34- member state executive council, the party stated that it wished to reaffirmed the validity of all the decisions reached at the State Working Committee meeting of December 14th State Executive Council meeting of December 15th which the four suspended members had sought to reverse.

The party further hinted that its long silence on political development in the state was not because it had lost focus, but that, “we are only undertaking very essential internal body-building and strengthening of our organs for the 2011 general elections”, saying that “we still remain on indivisible and united loving ANPP Bayelsa family”.

It also used the medium to formally announced the emergence of Hon. Ayebide Fatiede as the new state chairman of the party after a state congress election which was conducted on the 3rd of July 2010, the result of which the party had maintained its validity.

“The state executive council has nominated Hon. Ayebide Fatiede who had placed second in the last congress of the party, which was supervised by INEC and the State Security Services in the state as the substantive chairman of the party”, the party stated.

The Tide gathered that the emergence of a substantive chairman followed the recent election of former chairman of the ANPP in the state, Chief Livinus Opuakpa as the National Vice-Chairman (South-South) of the party.

The statement further explained that with Opuakpa’s resignation on the 3rd of September 2010 to contest for the National office, the former state deputy chairman, Mr. Tuku Ogbogene had been the party’s acting chairman before he was suspended along with the three other executive members