The fragile peace in the Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) might have collapsed, yesterday, as thugs invaded the party’s state secretariat and disrupted the meeting of the State Working Committee (SWC).
The thugs, numbering over 100 and brandishing dangerous objects, disrupted the meeting shortly after an indefinite suspension was slammed on Eugene Odo, Ada Ogbu, Flavour Eze and El-Aja over their alleged role in the party’s ward congress, held last Saturday, leading to the denial of voting materials to members.
The hoodlums chased away members that had gathered for the meeting. In the process, cameras belonging to TVC and NTA, used to cover the event, were seized. As at the time of filing the report, the cameras had not been returned.
Reporters of the television stations told The Guardian at about 5.15 p.m., yesterday: “We are in the process of recovering them. We are trailing the thugs with the support of the Department of State Services (DSS).”
APC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Dr Ben Nwoye, while addressing the meeting, said the suspension followed the recommendations of a committee set up by the state executive to investigate the conduct of the men during the ward congress.
He said the committee was headed by Enugu East Zonal Committee Chairman, Chief Anike Nwoga. The report accused those suspended of allegedly working to field “fictitious names” in their respective zones.
But while Nwoye was announcing the suspension of the members, another group of party members, led by Deputy Chairman, Caretaker Committee, Prince Gilbert Chukwunta, which met at a location in the state, passed a vote-of-no confidence on him and announced his removal as chairman of the party.
They said Nwoye contravened the party’s guidelines for the ward congress by “declaring the results and swearing in ward executives” when the national leadership of the APC had not given such approval.
Reading the resolutions allegedly signed by 42 members of the State Executive Committee (SEC), Chukwunta, who claimed he had been appointed “acting Caretaker Committee Chairman pending the state congress”, said: “There was no SEC, no working committee meeting where we met and resolved to go on with the aberration that happened on August 2 at the secretariat. He invited people to a meeting but did not state the agenda.“
Those that came there were deceived into inaugurating the purported elected ward executives. That is why we are dissociating ourselves from the aberration in the party secretariat.”
Chukwunta said the decision was taken to save the party from further implosion, considering the crises, which had torn the party into factions since 2015.
Meanwhile, Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, condemned the invasion, saying it was a ploy by certain politicians who joined the APC from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to take over the structure of the party.
Credit: The Guardian, Ben Nwoye.
