Crisis rocking leadership of a political support group of Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo under the aegis of Soludo Support Group (SSG) has led to expulsion of its former national coordinator and convener, Chinedu Nwoye also known as Glamour.
The expulsion followed allegations of embezzlement of funds, highhandedness, usurpation, misrepresentation and refusal to apologize to the body over recent press statement he reportedly authored against the group’s leadership which it considered as misleading.
Moving the motion for Nwoye’s expulsion, alongside seven others, the Njikoka/Dunukofia/Aniocha Zonal coordinator of the SSG, Prof. Ike Morah, noted that Nwoye’s dispositions had remained an embarrassment to the group.
Morah, whose motion was seconded by Idemili zonal coordinator, Dr Okolo Ikechukwu, frowned at his refusal to apologize as directed by the Board of Trustees, through a message reportedly written by its Chairman, Nze Eze-Omenyilioha Basil.
The group alleged that Nwoye tried to usurp the powers of the national coordinator and the BOT by calling for meetings and holding what it described as clandestine gatherings through which he was said to have attempted to misinform and mislead the public.
It further noted that Nwoye’s expulsion, together with others was the only way to restore sanity to the body.
National leadership of the SSG loyal to its national coordinator, Sir Arinzechukwu Awogu, pronounced Nwoye expelled from the SSG together with those who aligned with him.
“Following his alleged refused to account for funds paid through him in the course of the group’s efforts towards the 2021 governorship election, Nwoye must be expelled and made to refund all the money,” the group insisted.
Those expelled alongside Nwoye, as made available to the press include; Emmanuel Oramalu, Ochije Mmodilim, VanGorge Ezeogidi, Sam Emeka, Chimdindu Orakwue and John Ikechukwu while seventeen others were said to be still under investigation.
The expelled Nwoye is also the State Chief of Protocol and Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Soludo.
The crisis got complicated as there was a disagreement between the group that called the Thursday meeting and elders amongst them which led to the working out of the BOT Chairman, Nze Basil, Mr Awugosi among others.
The elders argued that they were not aware of the plan to expel Nwoye and the seven others contending that it should have been discussed at the BOT level first and more time given to Nwoye, to hear from him and perhaps to tender his apology, describing the expulsion as unacceptable to them.
Reacting, Mr Nwoye described his expulsion as illegal and of no effect, saying that those at the meeting were not members of SSG.
“I saw pictures of those that attended the so called meeting and it is clear that they are not members of the Soludo Support Group and those people that convened the meeting have been expelled from the group long before now because they are against the reelection of Gov Charles Soludo.
“Where were our uniforms that we wear to meetings? You see non of them had our uniforms on and what they are doing is an attempt to fool members of the pubic and I had earlier made it clear in my initial statement that they worked against APGA in the last general election and their actions are tantamount to mutiny.
“When you look at our bye laws you would discover that the so called kangaroo meeting was not properly convened and that shows that they have no locus standi to suspend or expel anyone.
“The public has been urged to discountenance the so called expulsion because it doesn’t hold water and cannot stand at all and those masquerading as leaders of the group remain expelled indefinitely, “he said.
Speaking after the meeting, the national youth leader of the SSG, Dr Charles Ebulue, bemoaned the attempt by Nwoye to resort to the use of police in his an attempt to stop the Thursday meeting from holding. He wondered why Nwoye would be inviting the police in a brothers’ dispute.
He thanked the police for being professional in their approach to the issues of SSG, adding that Nwoye’s desperation would only worsen matters.
“Why would Chinedu Nwoye write to the police to stop us from meeting, he may have forgotten that this is democracy and there is freedom of association and assembly, “the national youth leader queried?
The group further abolished the position of “convener” and replaced it with “founder,” and announced Dr Chidi Okoye as the founder.
The group also announced that, weak and unproductive Council Areas coordinators were replaced with vibrant and grassroots-based Council Areas coordinators to man the twenty one Council Areas of Anambra state to bring about better coordination of SSG activities at the grassroots with about three million of its members across the state.
Earlier, a national daily (not this paper) had made a publication captioned: Soludo’s Chief protocol officer issues disclaimer on dissident SSG members. The publication accused them of not working for Governor Soludo.
The publication said Nwoye (Glamour) had issued a disclaimer against three dissident members of the SSG.
Nwoye who spoke with the reporter was quoted saying that the three rebellious SSG members were fighting tooth and nail to pull the Governor down because they claimed the Governor did not give them political appointments or contracts as a “settlement”
Nwoye, in the report, therefore, emphasized that the general public and other members of the SSG should be mindful of the said three characters who he accused were going around using the SSG to deceive unsuspecting citizens that they were working for the Governor.
He said the three dissident characters working against the Governor’s administration were Mr Chidi Okoye Ogazi, Dr Charles Ebulue, and Hon Arinzechukwu Awogu, an allegation that led to the Thursday meeting where Nwoye was pronounced expelled.
