Anambra APC Chairman, Basil Ejidike Suspended

Ejidike’s suspension was contained in a statement issued on Thursday in Awka, the state capital by a chieftain of the party, Okonkwo Okom, www.tracknews.ng understands.

According to the statement, part of why Ejidike was suspended was because he failed to convene a state congress to deal with challenges currently being faced by the party.

APC alleged it had severally called Ejike’s attention to the issues but that he failed to respond as stipulated by the party’s constitution.

Okom explained in the statement that the state chapter of the APC jointly convened by not less than two-thirds of the members of the state executive committee and not less than two-thirds of the 21 Local Government Area Chairmen of the APC with the mandate of the 326 Ward Chairmen in the state decided to suspend Ejidike.

The statement reads in part: “That Mr Basil Ejidike be and is hereby suspended forthwith from office as the Caretaker Chairman of All Progressives Congress in Anambra State, pending his appearance before a Disciplinary/Fact-Finding Committee of the Party.

“That the next most senior available official of the party in the state is mandated to convene an emergency meeting of the state executive committee in consultation with the leader of the party in Anambra State, Dr Chris Ngige, within the next 14 days from the date hereof to discuss the modalities for strengthening and repositioning the All Progressives Congress and for moving the party forward in Anambra State.

“That Mr Basil Ejidike shall be referred to the Disciplinary/Fact-Finding Committee of the party in the state as prescribed by the APC constitution to answer to charges of abuse of power and office, diversion and conversion of party property, flagrant sabotage, subversion and breach of the party’s constitution, insubordination and disrespect to the Office and person of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, embezzlement and misappropriation of party’s funds, among other charges.

“That as required by the party’s constitution, these resolutions shall be immediately transmitted to the National Caretaker and Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee for immediate implementation.”

However, in his response to the suspension notice, Ejidike described the party’s stakeholders action as laughable.

He said, “Those people are not members of our party. They are renegades who left the party after our primaries in June. They can’t suspend me.

“As I’m talking to you I’m at the National Secretariat of our party in Abuja. Their claim is laughable. What is the position of the person that convened the meeting that sacked me? They are trying to see if they can instigate a crisis in our party; that is their only interest.”