Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday rejected the party’s National Working Committee ratification of the suspension of its chairman, Anselm Ojezua, by a faction allegedly loyal to Adams Oshiomhole.
Recall that the faction had on Tuesday suspended the state party’s chairman for alleged anti-party activities.
The faction however, elected David Imoise, a retired colonel to oversee the affairs of the party pending when “allegations of anti-party activities levelled against the embattled chairman are investigated.”
The state chapter, in rejecting, the NWC resolution, alleged that the decision was influenced by the party national working committee, Adams Oshiomhole.
Ikuenobe Anthony, the state assistant secretary of the party in a statement made available to newsmen in Benin City described the action as unconstitutional, null and void.
Anthony, however urged the national working committee to rescue itself from any matter concerning Edo State APC and allow the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party to attend to the issues and matters raised.
He also called on Nigerians, particularly the party’s faithful and members across the country to disregard the said decisions and the “contrived fallacies that led to the NWC resolution”.
He further alleged, that the national chairman of the party is a party to the dispute being the sponsor of the Edo Peoples Movement (EPM), a splinter group created to destabilise the party in the state.
“This is a fundamental reason for which all the executive organs and leaders of the party in the state have passed a vote of no confidence in him, culminating in his suspension from the party from the ward level to the state.
“The state chapter of the APC insisted that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) is tainted with bias, considering the speed by which it accepted the unconstitutional attempt by some misguided renegade members of the State Working Committee under the sponsorship and supervision of the national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole to remove the state chairman from office without recourse to the state executive committee of the party.
‘In any case, the state executive committee of the party in Edo State has met on the 12th of November and passed a vote of implicit confidence in the chairman, Anselm Ojezua,” he said.
In another development, a social political group, the Reformed Oghomwan Mandate has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole to order.
A statement titled ‘Taming an Emerging Terror in Adams Oshiomhole’ and signed by George Osagie Osaghae, director of strategy to the group, urged the president to intervene in the lingering crisis rocking Edo State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC).
The group in a “save our soul” letter to the president dated 14th November 2019, said the call became necessary in order “to preserve the fragile peace in Edo and save the polity from degenerating into a foreseeable collapse.”
IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, BENIN
