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Tag: Parallel congresses

  • Furore over parallel congresses in Delta APC

    The crisis rocking the Delta State All Progressives Congress (APC) has escalated, following the parallel congresses held by the two groups struggling for the soul of the party. Correspondent OKUNGBOWA AIWERIE examines the logjam and its effects on the troubled chapter.

    All is not well with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State. Following the emergence of parallel executive council members at the ward local government  and state levels, the party crisis has escalated. Two factions are fighting for the soul of the party.

    The dramatis personae in the first camp are Minister of State for Petroleum Dr. Ibe Kachukwu ,  ex-governorship candidate and leader of the party Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, Chief Hyacinth Enuha, ex-Speaker Victor Ochei, Dr. Cairo Ojugbouh, and Cyril Ogodo.

    Others are Prof Pat Utomi, Dr. Leroy and Dr. Charles Nwandiani.

    In the second camp are Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Chief Frank Kokori, Chief Great Ogboru, Helen Uboh, Mrs. Mariam Alli, and Mr. Jones Erue

    The crux of the matter is the struggle for the control of party structure, following the inability of the dramatis personae to reach an agreement.

    The crisis that have bedeviled the Delta APC congress started at the ward  and local government levels when some party chieftains alleged that the chairman of the Ward and Local Government Congress Committee Sani Dododo, had violated the guidelines, thereby compromising the entire process.

    The national leadership of the party sacked the controversial chairman.

    Dododo allegedly connived with some interests in the party to hijack the process and unilaterally announced doctored results for  the ward congresses, without the imput or knowledge of the six  members of his committee.

    The national leadership of the party replaced Dododo with a new committee chairman, Hon Emmanuel Chindah, who supervised the subsequent exercise.

    Following the sack of Dododo as chairman of the committee by the National Working Committee (NWC), the stage was set for further crisis, which led to parallel congresses.

    Matters came to a head during the congress when a faction, led by senator Ovie Omo-Agege, despite a court order restraining them from conducting the state congress, went ahead to return the incumbent chairman Mr. Jones Erue.

    The congress, which held at St. Muluamba Secondary School, Okpanam, Asaba was conducted by the Senator Olugbenga Obadara led committee.

    The National Working Committee of the party appointed the committee to conduct the congress.

    The congress, which was conducted by voice affirmation, led to the return of Jones Erue unopposed. Others elected officers include: Mr Elvis Ayemanor, Deputy Chairman, Mr Chidi Okonji as state Secretary.

    The congress was attended by APC Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Chief Great Ogboru, Mrs. Marian Ali, and Chief Frank Kokori among other party chieftains.

    While addressing reporters,  shortly after the exercise, Omo-Agege said the Obadara-led committee was empowered to conduct the congress and that there was no counter-directive to that effect.

    Omo-Agege said any other committee outside the Senator Obadara committee was null and void, and their action was of no consequences.

    But, in the parallel state congress led by Emerhor, ex- Deputy Chairman of the Delta State APC, Mr. Cyril Ogodo, emerged as state chairman.

    The congress held at the play- ground of the temporary site of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba, was peaceful.

    Ogodor polled 731 votes to defeat Mr. Fred Obe, who polled 99 votes in the delegates’ election.

    The other positions were returned unopposed through voice affirmation.

    The congress was conducted by a five-member committee from the national secretariat of the party. Members of the committee include Eugene Odoh (chairman), John Dabwan (secretary), Jonathan Jibril, Ibrahim Nagogo and Mezia Linus (members).

    Ogodo extended an olive branch to his opponents and the faction led by Omo-Agege, saying that now was the time to unite the party ahead of the next year’s general elections.

    The leader of the party Emerhor, who addressed reporters at the end of the exercise described it as the authentic congress, saying that the presence of party chieftains testified to it.

    His words: ”I am here, Victor Ochei, Cairo Ojougboh, Hyacinth Enuha, Pat Utomi is on his way, Dr. Leroy, we are here. The minister, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu would have been here but he travelled”.

    “We cannot afford the bickering and division among ourselves. After today’s congress, we will reach out to others who feel aggrieved because we have the People Democratic Party (PDP) as a common enemy in the 2019 general elections to contend with.

    “But, one thing is that anything outside this exercise is null and void. You can see the democratic process as conducted by the assigned committee from Abuja and witnessed by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

    It is yet unclear whether the contending party men will sheathe their swords in the overall interest of the party as the 2019 governorship election draws near.

     

  • Scores injured as Ondo APC holds parallel congresses

    •Thugs invade venue, assault delegates, journalists
    •Adetimehin emerges APC State Chairman

    NO fewer than 50 persons yesterday sustained severe injuries at the state congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State when political thugs invaded the venue of the congress held by a faction of the party.

    The factional congress held at the BTO hall, along Ilesa road, had started peacefully before the hired thugs, suspected to be members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) invaded the venue and brandished various weapons, including guns, cutlasses, cudgels and axes among others.

    Leaders of the party, including the member representing Ifedore/Idanre Federal Constituency, Hon Bamidele Baderinwa, and the Osun State Commissioner for Regional Integration, Bola Ilori, were beaten to pulp.

    Reporters especially our Correspondent, Damisi Ojo, his colleague with The Sun newspaper, Bamigbola Gbolagunte, and some other media organisations at the venue of the congress were brutalised by the thugs. They were given instant medical treatment after the experience.

    The hoodlums blocked all the entrances to the hall when they perpetrated their dastardly act.

    The Commissioner for Regional Integration, Bola Ilori narrowly escaped, but some of his aides were not fortunate as they sustained matchete cuts on their heads.

    Also, the lawmaker representing Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency, Bamidele Baderinwa, who was just recuperating from protracted ailment, was assaulted. His white Buba and Sokoto were torn into shreds.

    Some of the thugs claimed that they acted on “authorities from above.” The thugs who came in seven buses and went straight to the hall where the delegates were seated threatened to kill people if they fail to co-operate with them. They proceeded to beat the delegates and other innocent people despite the presence of heavy security operatives.

    The faction recognised by the national secretariat of the party also held its congress at the International Events Centre, Akure.

    The state chairman of the party, Ade Adetimehin, who was the only contestant, emerged the state chairman from the congress. He described the exercise as peaceful and authentic and dissociated his faction from the violence that rocked the venue of the parallel congress.

  • Adamawa: Bindow, Nyako, others hold parallel congresses

    TWO different groups yesterday held parallel congresses in Adamawa State.

    The development may have further polarised the party as one of the groups is enjoying the support of Governor Jibirilla Bindow while the other is reportedly co-sponsored by former Governor Murtala Nyako and ex-Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal.

    While the governor’s group held its congress at Mahmudu Ribadu Square, Nyako/Babachir faction held theirs at Lelewal Hotel.

    Speaking earlier, the chairman of the Nyako group’s congress, Hassan Turaki, a former speaker of the state Assembly, said that the Bindow’s  group- led congress would not see the light of the day at the end of the exercise.

     

     

     

  • Parallel congresses in Ondo, Enugu, Kogi, Kwara, Zamfara, others

    Some of yesterday’s State Congresses of All Progressives Congress (APC) were marred by violence and disagreements leading to parallel congresses in some states, including Ondo, Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Kwara, Zamfara, Adamawa, among others.

    In Ondo State for example, no fewer than 50 persons, including some reporters who covered the congress, sustained severe injuries when some political thugs invaded the venue of the congress held by a faction of the party.

    Another state where thugs chased out some delegates during yesterday’s exercise was Enugu.

    Although there was no violence in Imo and Niger states, the outcome of yesterday’s congresses there also left much to be desired. While a faction of the party in Imo held the congress in a secret venue in spite of a court order, in Niger, some contestants publicly shed tears when the leadership opted to adopt affirmation.

    Besides these, many other states, including Adamawa, Kwara, Delta, Lagos and Abia states reportedly held parallel congresses.

    There are also reports of some top APC chieftains, like the National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun of Edo State and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, from Bauchi, who boycotted the exercise.

    These problems notwithstanding, the exercise was successfully conducted in the majority of the states where new executives were either elected or unanimously retained.

     

  • Oyo APC holds parallel congresses

    The two factions of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Oyo State held parallel congresses across the state yesterday. While Governor Biola Ajimobi’s supporters held their congresses at the headquarters of local government councils, the Unity Forum held their  congresses at the secretariats of the party in the council areas.

    The two factions have been flexing muscles since last week over the conduct of ward congresses.

    Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) observed the exercise in different parts of the state.

    The Secretary of Unity Forum, Dr Wasiu Olatubosun, praised members of the party who trooped out en mass for the congress. He said they defied attempts by the government to intimidate them from coming out for the exercise.

    Olatunbosun added  “Government officials were all over the place yesterday threatening that policemen and  members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) would be used to disperse party members,  if they assemble for the congress today. But, our members who are delegates were so determined that they turned out in their numbers to vote in the exercise. We have to stop impunity in our party.’’

    A member of the Unity Forum, Prof Adeolu Akande, said the congress went on peacefully, adding that it  confirmed that the group is the soul of APC in the state.

    He added: “Our members were peaceful in their conduct and are determined to ensure that the tenets of democracy as enshrined in the constitution of our party are followed”.

    A party elder, Dr Busari Adebisi, a former Secretary to Government,  had earlier commended members of the Unity Forum for standing against what he called impunity, urging them to brace up for the many tasks ahead of them. He said that is the only way to rescue the party from its present state of comatose.

  • Oyo APC holds parallel congresses

    The two factions of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Oyo State held parallel congresses across the state yesterday. While Governor Biola Ajimobi’s supporters held their congresses at the headquarters of local government councils, the Unity Forum held their  congresses at the secretariats of the party in the council areas.

    The two factions have been flexing muscles since last week over the conduct of ward congresses.

    Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) observed the exercise in different parts of the state.

    The Secretary of Unity Forum, Dr Wasiu Olatubosun, praised members of the party who trooped out en mass for the congress. He said they defied attempts by the government to intimidate them from coming out for the exercise.

    Olatunbosun added  “Government officials were all over the place yesterday threatening that policemen and  members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) would be used to disperse party members,  if they assemble for the congress today. But, our members who are delegates were so determined that they turned out in their numbers to vote in the exercise. We have to stop impunity in our party.’’

    A member of the Unity Forum, Prof Adeolu Akande, said the congress went on peacefully, adding that it  confirmed that the group is the soul of APC in the state.

    He added: “Our members were peaceful in their conduct and are determined to ensure that the tenets of democracy as enshrined in the constitution of our party are followed”.

    A party elder, Dr Busari Adebisi, a former Secretary to Government,  had earlier commended members of the Unity Forum for standing against what he called impunity, urging them to brace up for the many tasks ahead of them. He said that is the only way to rescue the party from its present state of comatose.

    Among those elected as chairmen at the congress held by the Unity Forum are Adetoro Mathew (Saki East), Elder Olu Opawale (Egbeda),Alh S.T. Opadeji(Akinyele),, Adegboyega Aderemi(Ogo Oluwa), Oguntoye Michael Asamu*Ogbomosho South), and Alh Ajibike Rasaq(Oyo West).

    Others are S.Ayanlola (Ogbomosho North), Ganiyu Mumonu (Oriire), Kazeem Azeez ( Ibarapa Central), Mrs Tinuade Adigun(Ibadan North), Alh Kareem Adebayo(Saki West), Pastor Samuel Popoola Akintokun, Alh Lateef Akinsanya,Amusat Tawaliu OlawaleAlh Raimi Adeniyi, Waheed Akinyele, Owolabi Banusomo (Itesiwaju, Hon. Muniru Elegbede (Kajola) and Layi Omokunmi (Iseyin).

     

  • APC: Parallel LG congresses hold in Ondo, Kwara, Kogi, 4 others

    Police arrest three over killing of man in Lagos

    Kwankwaso, supporters boycott exercise in Kano

    Commissioner escapes death in Edo State

    … Zamfara, Bayelsa, Kwara, Abia also

    In at least seven states, factions elected parallel executives during yesterday’s All Progressives Congress (APC) Local Government Congresses. Reports filed by state correspondents show that some of the states where parallel congresses held yesterday include Enugu, Kogi, Ondo, Zamfara, Bayelsa, Kwara and Abia.

    In Enugu State for example, Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, Special Assistant to the President on Judicial Reviews, Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku and the Director General, Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, emerged as delegates. But they were elected from parallel congresses of the Udi Local Council.

    Onyeama and Ibekaku, as well as other key officials of the Udi APC Local Government, were elected unopposed at a parallel congress held at Comprehensive High School, Abia-Udi.

    Okechukwu was elected at a parallel congress held at the Udi APC Local Government office, 9th Mile Corner, Ngwo, near Enugu.

    Okechukwu was returned unopposed likewise two other national delegates, Mr. Charlie Chime and Maureen Anosike, at the same venue.

    Onyeama, while commenting on the congress, said: “But unfortunately, those who want to be elected and the congress team that came here, the chairman, claimed that the National Working Council said they should only meet with the chairman of the state party.

    “The chairman of the state party himself is interested in competing, so you can imagine a situation where they said that the person who is interested in being elected should be the one that should carry out the election process.

    “So, what has happened is exactly what you would expect to happen; he now keeps all the forms for himself and completely excludes everybody else; in fact, he excludes the majority of the people. And we can’t allow that to happen.

    “So we have gone on with the parallel congress. I spoke to the chairman of the congress; I said to him you just impose a democratic process on the state; but he said no, he had instruction from Abuja that he should relate with the chairman, and that he knows is not fair, and that he knows that will just come up with a list without having gone through any electoral process at all.

    “But we are going to fight it today because you’ve seen so many people here, and by God’s grace, their votes must count.”

    The APC National Vice Chairman for South-East, Emma Eneukwu and the Acting Women Leader, Mrs. Oby Nwofor were among the party chieftains from the local government who attended the congress in which the VON Managing Director was elected.

    Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ?were also in attendance at the Udi APC office.

    Reacting to his election as national delegate, Okechukwu assured that he would use the mandate given to him to support the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari to improve infrastructure in the South-East geo-political zone.

    At the congress which held at the St. Luke Primary School, Adankolo in Kogi State, the Audu/Faleke faction of APC, elected Usman Mamanlafia and Abubakar Nagogo Maiyaki as the chairman and secretary, respectively, in the 27-man executive.

    The faction is alleged to be sympathetic to the embattled APC state chairman, Alhaji Haddi Ametuo.

    The congress was supervised by officials of INEC, amidst the presence of some operatives of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad.

    But Okene, the faction loyal to Governor Yahaya Bello, led by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Abubakar Ohere, were observed putting final touches for the LG congress, at the popular Lafia Street area, while similar arrangements by Bello’s loyalist, led by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mathew Kolawole, were ongoing in Kabba, as at 2pm.

    In Zamfara State, a group loyal to the chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Kabiru Marafa, yesterday organised a parallel congress across the 14 local government areas of the state.

    The congress, according to a statement by the camp, signed by Bello Soja Bakyasuwa Maradun for the group, said the parallel Congress recorded a large turnout across the 14 local government areas of Zamfara state.

    The camp had last week threatened to block the local government Congress over the alleged refusal of Ambassador Dauda Danladi-led committee to organise ward Congress.

    Marafa’s group accused Ambassador Danladi of pitching tent with Governor Abdulaziz Yari to scuttle the will of Congress members of the party in the state.

    ” Our group is the only faction that fulfilled all the party conditions, having paid the prescribed fees through the designated banks for all our candidates during the just concluded ward Congresses that were held nationwide last week,” the statement reads in part.

    Parallel local government congress was also recorded in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

    Two  factions loyal to a former Governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, and a former Acting Governor, Chief Nestor Binabo, conducted separate congresses.

    Sylva commended the delegates and party members for the peaceful conduct of the congresses.

    But Binabo claimed that the LG congresses conducted by them were the real ones, describing Sylva’s faction as fake.

    Ondo is another state that recorded parallel congresses. At least, two visible factions held congresses across the 18 local government areas.

    One of the factions was loyal to the state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and the Acting Chairman of the party, Ade Adetimehin, while the other group supported the embattled chairman of the party, Isaac Kekemeke.

    It was a supremacy battle between the two factions as they struggled for the group that is authentic.

    However, the congresses were devoid of violence.

    Some of the local governments where the parallel congresses were reportedly held included Akure South, Ifedore, Akoko South-West, Ondo West, among others.

    The Acting Chairman, Adetimehin however denied having parallel congress, saying the real congress which was conducted and attended by the congress committee, set up by the national secretariat, Abuja, was the authentic congress.

    Commenting on the exercise, a leader of the APC in Ifedore Local Government and leader of the Kekemeke’s faction in the local government, Bamidele Baderinwa, a federal lawmaker, said the congress was held at the APC secretariat, Igbara Oke, the headquarters of the local government.

    In Abia State, the congresses were peaceful across the 17 local government areas but reports confirmed that parallel congress was held in some areas.

    Our reporter who was at the party’s secretariat in Umuahia, Abia State capital, reports that materials for the congress in all the 17 local government areas of the state were distributed as early as 7:30am including Arochukwu, Ohafia, Isiukwuato, Ikwuano, Umunneochi, Bende, Ukwa East and West, Ugwunagbo, Obingwa, Aba North and South, Osisioma, Umuahia North and South respectively.

    Meanwhile, NAN reports that a faction of the party loyal to Chief Ikechi Emenike also held a parallel congress at Umuawa Alaocha Primary School in Umuahia North LGA.

    The congress, which also adopted Option A4, elected Chief Nelson Udenze (Chairman), Onyebuchi Igodo (Treasurer), Chigozie Oriaku (Secretary) and Mercy Uchechukwu (Women Leader).

    Speaking with newsmen at the end of the exercise, former Deputy Gov. Chris Akomas, who is a delegate and member, Board of Trustees of the party, expressed joy over the peaceful congress in the area.

    In Kwara also, two parallel congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took place across the 16 local government areas of the state yesterday.

    A faction of the party loyal to President Muhammadu Buhari and another led by Senate President Bukola Saraki conducted different congresses.

    The congresses were conducted in a peaceful atmosphere.

    Just like what happened during last week’s ward congresses, APC stakeholders in most local government areas in the state picked their executives through a consensus arrangement

    The faction loyal to President Buhari said its grievances against the other faction included maginalisation and inaccessibility to nomination forms.

     

  • Parallel congresses in Ondo

    •Chairmen in war of words  

    The Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State yesterday held two separate ward congresses for election of delegates for participation in the party primaries.

    Both factions are laying claims to the party structure.

    One is the dissolved State executives Committee led by Ebenezer Alabi and the newly constituted Caretaker Committee headed by Hon. Dare Adeleke.

    Former members of the Labour Party (LP) who joined the PDP have been at loggerheads over control of the party.

    But the factional congresses held at the two camps in all the 203 wards without violence.

    Our correspondent observed that party members trooped out in large numbers for the exercise in Owo, Ikare and Akure.

    INEC officials and the PDP National delegates for the ward congresses led by Senator Lekan Mustapha were also on ground to monitor the event.

    The old State Secretariat along Oyemekun road, Akure the State Capital reopened on Thursday was again sealed off when our correspondent visited the area.

    A handful of police men were on vigil at the premises.

    The building, which had been serving as the State PDP secretariat for the past 16 years, was sealed off by the Police last week immediately the party National Working Committee (NWC) dissolved the State executive and constituted a caretaker committee.

    It was however later reopened three days later as exco members returned to the office.

    Speaking with reporters, the embattled PDP State Chairman, Alabi insisted that the congress conducted by the new PDP is illegal.

    He insisted his faction was still in control of the party.

    But Adeleke said his committee is recognised to perform its assigned duties.

    He faulted the Alabi’s faction for going ahead to conduct the congress despite its dissolution by the NWC.