Crisis Brews In APC Over Ministerial List

An All Progressives Congress (APC) leader claimed that the numerous suspensions of party members were caused by the competition for ministerial positions in the new administration. The party has been in a crisis that has resulted in member suspensions, the party chieftain, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Sunday Telegraph.

The litany of the suspensions has cut across states like Delta Abia, Enugu and many others. In Delta, the Chairman of the NDDC, Lauretta Onochi and the governorship candidate of APC in the state, Deputy Senate President, Senator Victor Ovie Omo-Agege have been suspended.

In suspending Omo-Agege, the state Chairman, of the party, Ulebor Isaac, on behalf of the State Executive Committee of the APC, Secretary, Inana Michael, and 23 others, unanimously in the expulsion letter, resolved and adopted the expulsion of Omo-Agege as a member of the party by the executive committee of the Orogun Ward and Ughelli North Local Government Chapter.

The letter reads:-
“The State Executive Committee of all Progressive Congress, Delta State, in a meeting held on the 31st March, 2023 at the State Secretariat, Asaba, after due deliberation of the Notice of Resolution of Expulsion of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as a member of the party by the executive committee of the Orogun ward and Ughelli North Local Government chapter dated 20th March, 2023. “And in accordance with the provision of Article 21.2 (1)(II)(VII) 21.3 and 21.5(g) of the Constitution 2022 (as amended) we unanimously resolved and adopted the expulsion of Senator Ovie Omo Agege as a member of the party. Omo-Agege, the governorship candidate of the APC in Delta State lost to the Governor-elect, a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Sheriff Oborevwori. Also Lauretta Onochi was also suspended by some factions of Delta APC.

In Abia State, seven chieftains including former Abia State governor, Dr. Chris Akomas, former Minister of State for Solid Minerals, Dr. Uche Ogah, former Pro-chancellor of University of Calabar, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, the Executive Secretary of the National Land Development Agency(NALDA), Paul Ikonne, Hon. Sam Onuigbo and others. Also suspended were Director General of VON, Osita Okechukwu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Ken Nnamani, former governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime, and others for alleged anti-party activities.

Okechukwu, reacting to his suspension said, “The story of my kinsman Ugo Agbala is the story of a failed chairman quarreling with himself. He came from PDP akin to a political bandit and hijacked our great party with the assistance of His Excellency, Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo State.

“…He drove all the stakeholders away and boasted he will quadruple the 56,000 we scored in the 2019 presidential election. Regrettably he scored abysmally only 4,722. Instead of apologizing, I cited his CV flying around at the president-elect house and APC HQ. This is why he is telling childish lies against some of us who are foundation members of APC, who sold the only plot of land in Enugu during my gubernatorial election in 2011. Ironically then Agbala was in the comfort zone of PDP, while we were constructing APC structure. Also reacting over their suspensions, Chief Nkire and Anyanwu said the Abia State APC governorship candidate, Chief Ikechi Emenike, must be asked to account for the campaign money.

According to Anyanwu, Emenike neither erect any billboard for himself or the APC presidential candidate, Senator Bola Tinubu anywhere in the state. The APC chieftain from the party’s headquarters said, “party members are against one another because of the ministerial slots. Our party has not formed the govern 2023ment yet, members were already fighting for ministerial positions. “All the fights you see in the party in the state are all about ministerial slots. Our party members are not interested in the state of the party or our President-elect but in the position they may occupy on the next dispensation. “I will advise that the President-elect should look beyond those who were governorship candidates of the party in the last elections in appointing ministerial nominees but consider merit and competence.

“Our party, whose victory is being challenged, should be able to appoint people with integrity and capacity as ministers and head of parastatals.” It would be recalled that the same allegations of poor performance have been leveled against the National Working Committee of the party. The APC National Vice Chairman from the North West, Salihu Lukman, has accused some NWC members of poor performance in the elections. Lukman had asked for their resignations in the party.