Mr Ferguson Ogbonnaya, the National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), on Thursday dissociated the national youth wing of the party from the merger talks with other political parties.

Ogbonnaya made the position of the party known in a statement signed by him and made available to newsmen in Awka.

He criticised the action of some members of the party whom he said, went ahead to support the merger without a decision of entire APGA members.

"We have heard and read on the pages of newspapers about merger meetings of other political parties discussing among themselves of which, APGA was never part of.

"It is ironic that some people belonging to a party in a democratic dispensation would contemplate taking action that would involve the totality of party members without allowing such a decision to be deliberated upon by the party.

"The action of those that unilaterally said that APGA had merged with other parties can justifiably be described as the best manifestation of dictatorship and apparent lack of direction," the statement read.

Ogbonnaya further described the exercise as "bizarre and unacceptable," insisting that the development was the "best manifestation of a party that had refused to strengthen its organ."

The youth leader called on APGA members to respect the party and its ideals, which, according to him, are greatly bound to the ideals of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

"Ojukwu maintains that APGA is essentially to give voice to the Igbos and not an instrument to negotiate selfish, political calculation," he noted.

Ogbonnaya accused Chief Victor Umeh and Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo as being behind the purported merger, saying "it has no basis as the duo have been plotting on how to destroy our great party for their self-benefits.

"We call on all faithful APGA members and Nigerians as well as INEC to totally ignore what is on pages of newspapers as regards APGA merging with any political party in Nigeria.

"The idea of merging without consultations with any party in Nigeria was never the dream of the founding fathers of APGA," he stressed.