The crisis rocking the Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a worrisome dimension as the party’s stakeholders led by Ken Nnamani, a former senate President; Geofrey Onyeama, the minister of foreign affairs, among others, demanded the removal of
Ugochukwu Agballah, state party’s caretaker chairman.
The stakeholders made the demand in petition submitted at a meeting with Abdullahi Adamu, the APC national chairman at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, they called for an interim executive of the party to be set up in Enugu State.
The petition read: “The party in Enugu State recorded an unprecedented milestone of reinvention of itself during the last membership registration exercise.
“The party rebounded in goodwill as membership soared and the Party continued on this positive trend into the ward and local government congresses and was cruising towards taking away the shine from the ruling party in the State.
“A major crack however, emerged during the State Congress, when Mr. Ugochukwu Agballah was surreptitiously manoeuvred into the party to become its State Chairman to the bewilderment and vehement opposition of a majority of the Party members who knew his antecedents as a person and in Enugu State politics.
“The Chairman may wish to recall that as Chairman of All Progressive Congress National Peace and Reconciliation Committee that H.E Sallivan Chime, immediate past Governor of Enugu State had led a protest of stakeholders/elders of Enugu State All Progressive Congress Chapter against the emergence of Ugo Agaballah as State Chairman on two grounds: (1) Non-membership of Ugo Agballah and (2) Controversial and irregular process of Ugo Agballah’s emergence as State Chairman.
“Ugo Agballah was given the benefit of the doubt by a few leaders of the party and issued a Certificate of Return. It was felt by those few leaders that the party needed to change direction at all cost and have a vibrant leader who could finally unite the party in the state. Unfortunately, the new Chairman did not waste time in proving those majority leaders who opposed his emergence correct in their warning.
“He immediately systematically dismantled the core of the party structure and brought in his followers. He insulted the party leaders, including those few who supported his emergence, sidelined them completely in matters affecting the running of the party in the state and has been operating as a Sole Administrator or indeed a Dictator! The result has been the withdrawal from the Party of a growing number of important leaders and members.”
The petition also stated that “The party is imploding and on the brink of imminent collapse. It is in no position as things stand, to be competitive in the General Election. The leaders now believe that a radical solution is called for to save the state party from total collapse and disgrace in the state. The aim is to unify the party through the appointment of a Caretaker Chairman as the current Chairman has alienated and lost the confidence of the majority of the members of the state party and its leadership.
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“Very importantly, it should be noted that he has been lawfully removed by his Udi/Agbudu ward of Udi LGA of Enugu State on the 19th day of August, 2022 by an overwhelming majority of party members in his ward. A copy of the resolution is hereby attached.
“This petition is written with a view of notifying the National Chairman and National Working Committee of APC of the state of affairs of our great party in Enugu State. As elders of the party in the state, we strongly believe that it is our duty to bring these anomalies to your attention for urgent remedial action. A stitch in time saves nine!
“We urge the NWC to immediately save the party in Enugu State from total collapse by removing Mr. Ugochukwu Agballa from office and in his place put a Caretaker Chairman who should be someone not within the present State Executive Committee. The party still stands a chance of remedying the situation and being competitive in the General Elections.”
In his reaction, Agballah, the Enugu state APC chairman dismissed the stakeholders, describing them as Abuja politicians who are APC at the national level and PDP in Enugu.
He said: “These eminent personalities are all APC in Abuja and PDP in Enugu. No wonder, none of them have never publicly condemned the bad performaning Ebeano cabal that has ruled Enugu for 23 years. Let them show or refer the press to a media report where they have ever done so.
“These eminent personalities and public office holders are mostly unknown in their various wards and do not participate in any APC activity in their various wards no wonder none of them won their respective polling booths in. 2015 and 2019. If they did so I challenge them to present the result sheet to the press.
“I also challenge them to present evidence of their attendance in any meeting of their wards since Oct 2021 when I was elected State Chairman and when I insisted every stakeholder and stakeholders should attend ward and LG A meetings
“That was why these great leaders could only return 2% of total votes cast in 2019 elections. And they are at it again but they forget I have more experience than them all and will not succumb to their unnecessary distractions. My eyes are on the ball.
“Every election year they create crisis . They did it to Nwoye few months to 2015 election and repeated it in 2019 election. These are comprador PDP in the night APC in the morning members.”
