The leadership of the All Progressives Congress, Abia State chapter, has demanded the intervention of the national leader of the APC, President Muhammadu Buhari, on the crisis which has engulfed the state chapter of the party at the ward, local government and state levels, in order to forestall destruction of the party in the state.
This was disclosed in an open letter addressed to President Buhari, and signed by leaders of the APC from Abia State.
The leaders include; Senator Chris Adighije, the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, serving member of the House of Representatives, Hon Sam Onuigbo and former Deputy Governor of Abia State, Dr Chris Akomas.
The open letter was made available to journalists in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, on Tuesday.
The Abia leaders drew the attention of the national leader of the APC on the purported recognition and inauguration of a certain Kingsley Ononogbu as the Abia chairman of the party by the Caretaker Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), chaired by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, informing President Buhari that actions of the national leadership posed a significant threat to the fortunes of APC, especially on its quest to form next government in the state come 2023.
The party leaders accused the national caretaker committee chairman, Governor Buni and the Secretary, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, of handing over the structure of the APC in Abia State to one Chief Ikechi Emenike, who was suspended by the state leadership of the party over alleged anti-party activities.
According to them, “Mr President, in the build-up to the Congresses of our great party, the National Caretaker Committee Secretary told a delegation of Abia State chapter Stakeholders that he has the instructions of Governor Buni to hand over the structure of the party in Abia State and that all members and leaders should go and line up behind him ignoring and sidelining the State Working Committee, the State Executive Council, State Caucus, LGA and Ward Executives and all other stakeholders.
During the Congresses, to make good their plan, the National Secretariat sent the congress committee to the said Chief Ikechi Emenike instead of the state party Secretariat. Since the congress committee did not report to the party in the state, the State Caretaker Committee together with the Caucus, stakeholders, ward and LGA executives proceeded with the Congresses in line with the guidelines issued to the state chapters by the national Secretariat having supervised the sale of forms to the party members. The said congresses were observed and monitored by the INEC, the police and DSS, all of which submitted their reports of the exercise. The party in Abia State conducted the congress that produced a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Acho Obioma, as chairman.”
Continuing, the Abia party leaders stated, “Before the commencement and conclusion of the Congresses in the states, all efforts by Abia State APC leaders to have an audience with the National Chairman proved abortive. On two occasions, our delegations met with the National Secretary who informed them that the instructions to hand over the party structure of our state to Ikechi Emenike emanated from the presidency”.
According to the party leaders, “Although Ikechi Emenike was also invited for the hearing, he shunned the invitation and did not turn up for the hearing. Orders of the Abia State High Court had previously been made restraining the executives who emerged from the charade which the Ikechi Emenike group purports to be a state congress, from parading themselves as members of the Abia APC Executive.”
