Former Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator James Akpanudoedehe, has blamed the national leadership for being non-challant to the crisis in Akwa Ibom State chapter of the party.
Akpanudoedehe, in a statement he personally signed yesterday, said the party was yet to intervene decisively in the crisis where the former New-PDP elements are moving to muzzle the defunct ACN tendency out of the party they built.
“The leadership in Abuja has been non-challant. The South-south APC set up the Kokori Committee to resolve the problem in the APC in Akwa Ibom. But nothing has been done about it”.
Blaming former PDP members who joined to form APC as his recent suspension, he said: “The former PDP members, PDP defectors, who joined the party have taken all appointments due to the state, seven of them in all.
“They are Federal minister, Special Adviser to President on National Assembly Matter, Commissioner in NPC, MD of Oil &Gas Free Zone, House of Reps from the state and ambassadorial slots of Akwa Ibom.
“They have taken over the party we built. They removed the state Chairman of ACN, made him Chairman of Eket Local Government just to diminish us in the state and take over the party.
“We want more people in APC, but these people give the impression that everything is closed as if we don’t want more people, which is false.
“They have the audacity and moral authority to assault the sensibilities of the people”.
Akpanudoedehe alleged that the former New PDP elements in APC were orchestrating moves to eliminate him.
The former minister said his suspension was sponsored and stage-managed unconstitutionally.
“These people wanted me dead in PDP. They charged me for treason and murder. Now, they crossed over to APC, which we built by our sweat and blood and they now want to push me out.”
He alleged the forces induced some people to sign a document allegedly suspending him from the party.
“What they are doing is unconstitutional; anything founded on corruption cannot stand. It was fed by corruption.
“They are trying to muzzle the old ACN tendency within the APC out of the party.”
“They brought in a fake ward chairman to say they had suspended me. They paid people money to remove me from the party I built.
“The people who wanted me dead in PDP are now in APC and are behind this plot.
“I was not part of those who engaged in protest during the South-south meeting.
“It was South-south zonal meeting and the state APC cannot take any action as a result of the meeting. They lacked the locus standi to do so.
“Their plan is to stop us from participating in the mini congress. But they will not succeed”.