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Tag: Southeast

  • Southeast forum promises Buhari one million votes 

    A socio-political organisation, Southeast Peoples Consultative Parliament (SEPCP), has promised to give President Muhammadu Buhari one million votes in February.

    The group vowed to ensure Buhari returned to Aso Rock.

    SEPCP’s Presidential-General Udo Mba Agoha, who spoke at Umukabia, home of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Ikechi Emenike, said the group would ensure Buhari’s success at the poll.

    Agoha said it was high time Ndigbo embraced President Buhari, who had shown love for Southeast, as demonstrated by his appointment of Igbo running mates in his three previous attempts at the presidential poll.

    The group said it came together to review the brand of “self-destructive” politics played by Ndigbo, and decided to reverse the trend by mobilising the people to support the Buhari-led government.

    Agoha said: “We’re here to let people know that for Ndigbo to have the Presidency, we must work with the present government. If we support President Buhari, he will definitely support us in 2023, but if we are confrontational, it will not work for us.”

    He frowned at the misconception that Buhari did not love Ndigbo, saying the truth remained that Mr. President had consistently offered himself as a true friend of Southeast, hence he appointed Chuba Okadigbo, Edwin Umezeoke and Senator Obi as running mates in 2003, 2007, and 2011.

    “We must do something outstanding to remove that suspicion that Ndigbo will not reciprocate Buhari’s love for them. The only way to disabuse the minds of the detractors of Ndigbo is to support Mr. President with massive votes at the poll.

    “Supporting President Buhari guarantees us a short cut to the Presidency, as we have no other choice than to support him for us to get what we want; we should not allow people of little minds to deceive us.”

    Emenike, while receiving the delegation, said he was delighted with the group for setting out to pursue a goal which is for the interest of Ndigbo. The candidate noted that the political equation of Nigeria is such that the Southeast should not be found wanting in the power structure. He added that if the zone failed to support President Buhari, it would amount to self-marginalisation.

    According to him, Ndigbo had a lot to gain by backing the  President’s re-election, warning that it would be disastrous for the zone if after Buhari wins the 2019 Presidency, they were found wanting in making significant electoral contribution.

    He warned that Ndigbo should no longer listen to propaganda that Buhari does not have the interest of Ndigbo at heart as Mr. President has continued to demonstrate in practical terms his love for the Southeast.

  • ‘Southeast experienced 42 disasters in 2018’

    Forty-two disasters were recorded in Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states in 2018, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said yesterday.

    The disasters include flooding, fire, communal conflicts, erosion, windstorm, among others.

    NEMA’s Southeast Zonal Coordinator Walson Ibarakumo Brandon, who said this during a stakeholders’ meeting in Enugu, said over 300 persons were affected by the floods that ravaged Anambra between September and October.

    A check on their disaster profile and their emergency management outlook showed Anambra experienced 15, Ebonyi, 11 and Enugu 16 major incidents.

    Brandon said: “Three interventions were made by the agency in Anambra, with flood and non-flood items supplied to over 17 Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs’) camps, and recovery efforts are on with Emergency Operation Centres (EOC) set up.

    Read also: NEMA receives 193 Nigerians from Libya

    “Ebonyi State experienced over 11 disasters, with communal conflicts ranking as outstanding. The disaster profile of Enugu State includes 16 major reported cases.”

    According to Brandon, the agency had concluded direct distribution of relief materials to persons affected by windstorm in villages making up the Agbogugu in Awgu Local Government of Enugu State.

    He added: “These disasters disrupt people’s lives and jeopardise the country’s economy. In fact, one single disaster can overwhelm the GNP of the country. Therefore, it becomes pertinent that stakeholders cooperate multilaterally in line with the priorities of action stipulated in the Sendai Framework of Action (SFA).

     

  • Atiku promises ease of doing business in Southeast

    Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar has assured businessmen and women in the Southeast that his administration would ensure the ease of doing business if he is elected President in 2019.

    Atiku spoke at the Aba Sports Club in Aba, Abia State, during a town hall meeting with stakeholders and captains of industries in the Southeastern.

    The presidential candidate noted that the place of Southeast businessmen and women in the economy of the country and the West African region could not be underestimated, saying he was aware of the constraints and challenges facing business in the east, and the country at large. He promised to address the challenges as soon as he becomes the president.

    Atiku lamented that the country’s economy was nosediving because the present presidential economic team does not possess the requisite skills to turn the economy around.

    Read also: Igbo leaders backing Atiku are saboteurs, say Buhari supporters

    He, therefore, promised to use knowledge garnered as a public officer and businessman to turn things around economically.

    Atiku also promised to give attention to Onne and Calabar Ports to ease the congestion of Lagos port.

    He said: “I know of your challenges because I’m a business man like you. Your pain is also my pain; I face the same challenges you are facing, but the only thing we can do to change the situation is to change the government in power now.

    “This present government lacks the understanding and the capacity to turn our economy around, and promote the ease of doing business. We would ensure that policies that would encourage businesses to thrive in Nigeria are put in place.”

    Vice Presidential candidate Peter Obi said Atiku has ideas of solving the country’s problems and supporting the growth of the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMES), who he described as the backbone of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    According to Obi, the economy is in comatose because the manufacturing industry, which was contributing over 50 per cent to the economy in the 80’s, is currently injecting only 20 per cent now.

    He said: “Atiku is a businessman; he understands the economy. He feels your pains and knows what to do to make the economy work again. The problem with Nigeria is that those in power are not business-minded, and that is why they cannot solve the problem of the economy.”

    Host Governor Okezie Ikpeazu said there was no better way to improve the economy without one-on-one interaction with businessmen and manufacturers. He said his government was doing so well in promoting small and medium scales business through the made in Aba campaign.

  • Southeast to get commission as Senate passes bill

    WITH the passage of the Southeast Development Commission Bill by the Senate yesterday, the region is getting closer to having an engine to drive its growth.

    Excited by the development, the Southeast Senate Caucus lauded the passage of the bill.

    The Bill, sponsored by senators Samuel Anyanwu (Imo East) and Stella Oduah (Anambra North), sought the establishment of the commission as an interventionist agency for the Southeast zone.

    The passage followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the Committee on Establishment and Public Service on the Bill presented by Senator Emmanuel Paulker (Bayelsa Central).

    The Senate said that the commission, when established, would take care of the developmental challenges confronting the southeast states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.

    Part of the funding for the commission, the Senate said, would be one per cent of the ecological funds due to the five states in the zone.

    Lauding the passage of the bill, the Southeast Senate Caucus said the establishment of a development commission will enhance Southeast growth.

    Caucus Chairman Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe said that there was no doubt that the commission when established would go a long way to address age long developmental challenges.

    Abaribe noted that the establishment of the commission would further reintegrate the zone to the developmental plan of the country.

    The Abia South Senator was confident that concurrence by members of the House of Representatives would be easily secured due to the primacy of the bill.

    He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Bill into law when it gets to his table.

    Abaribe said that signing the bill into law would enable the Southeast to witness the much-needed developmental progress in the areas of infrastructure.

  • Anxiety in Southeast over Atiku’s six-year plan

    •Leaders demand firm commitment on single term

    As the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, prepares to kick off his 2019 campaigns, the six-year plan in his manifesto has continued to create anxiety, especially among Southeast leaders.

    The Nation gathered exclusively yesterday that although he is set to kick-start his presidential campaign with a zonal rally in Lagos on November 28, he was yet to make a commitment to the leaders of the party, especially to the Southeast caucus, on whether or not he will spend one term in office.

    The Southeast wants power shift to the geopolitical zone in 2023 and is seeking a firm commitment on this desire.

    The issue of tenure was said to be central to the backing of the Southeast for PDP because the zone is after power shift in 2023.

    A member of the National Executive Committee of PDP said: “Atiku has not been forthcoming on whether he will spend a term in office or two terms. We are trying to read his lips but no commitment yet.

    “Instead, we read of his six-year plan which pointed to a second term. If he spends two terms in office, it will give the North an edge of 16 years in power and it might foreclose the chances of the Igbo. This is why some PDP governors and leaders from the Southeast are being sceptical of Atiku Project.”

    But one of the strategists of Atiku, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, has said that there was “nothing in The Atiku Plan to suggest a hidden agenda of two terms in office for Atiku Abubakar.

    He said:  “The document is a product of 18 months of well researched and widely consulted hard work on how to move Nigeria forward and to speed up the pace of development across all the critical sectors of the economy.

    “The reason the policy document was authored to cover up to 2025 and beyond was simply meant to address the volatility and unpredictability of global trade and economics, as most progressive leaders who understand the intricate nature of growing their economies, draw up 10 year strategic vision plans for their nations, even when they well understand that their term in office will not extend to such a period.

    “Government is a continuum and as such a sound and effective development plan can serve several leaders who are desirous of enhancing the welfare and wellbeing of their citizens.

    The campaign strategist cited three examples from Nigeria’s recent past where the current administration continued to implement some major projects and policies of the immediate past PDP administration.

    He listed the projects to include Railway projects, the implementation of the TSA and BVN financial policy, by the Buhari administration, which were actually inherited by the sound development plan of the President Goodluck Jonathan era.

    “Sadly, the mudslinging intentions and diabolic attempts to divert the campaign away from the real issues that continue to bedevil the country, has been given a new twist by the purveyors of negative propaganda.

    “These persons have simply overlooked the salient points contained in the “My plan to get Nigeria working again” document to invoke ethnic and divisive sentiments by insinuating that the document has exposed a hidden agenda of a second term plan by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and by so doing are directly provoking the South- East or even south west into erroneously believing that they have no stake in 2023″

    “With all these, it is obvious that “My Plan to get Nigeria working Again”, is indeed a comprehensive work plan that has been structured to outlive Atiku’s stay in office, even if it was to become a two-term presidency.

    “The mention of 2025 and 2030 as delivery dates for some of the critical components of the plan is a clear demonstration that Atiku’s vision reflects the sincerity of his intentions to achieve a better more progressive Nigeria and the generosity of the mind of a good leader who thinks ahead in a selfless manner for common good.

    “Indeed, working with a man like Peter Obi, who incidentally is from the South East and whose sterling track record as a financial guru and economic master-strategist, speak volumes for the expansive nationalistic vision of Atiku Abubakar.”

    On Atiku’s plan to defeat Buhari in the Southwest, it was learnt that the weak structure of PDP in the Southwest is of concern to the candidate and the PDP.

    Also, ahead of the commencement of his campaign, pressure for posts has delayed the announcement of the full members of the Presidential Campaign Council of the party.

    The list of PCC was still being tinkered with at the last minutes to “accommodate different interests”.

    Checks have however confirmed that Atiku is set for campaign with a hectic programme.

    According to a copy of the campaign schedule of Atiku, which was exclusively obtained by our correspondent, Atiku will hold zonal rallies as follows: Lagos (November 28 for Southwest); Kano (December 1 for Northwest) ; Enugu (December 5 for Southeast); Ilorin (December 8 for Northcentral); Port Harcourt (December 12-South-south) and Bauchi (December 15 for Northeast).

    Atiku is expected to start a marathon state campaign shuttle from Sokoto on December 18.

    A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The choice of Southwest, especially Lagos, is to underscore the determination of PDP to win the zone in 2019. With the Southeast and South-south in our kitty, the main target is the Southwest.

    “The Southwest has a huge and sophisticated voting strength, it remains a major target of our campaign. With ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s backing, PDP will go all out to change the narrative in this zone.

    “We have a big plan to win the Southwest if it means going from door to door.”

    It was however learnt that the weak structure of the party in the Southwest has been a major headache for PDP.

    A party leader said: “Our party is not too strong in the Southwest like when Obasanjo was in power. This is giving us a bit of concern. But since we will tackle APC on issues, there might be empathy for PDP.

    “The people of the Southwest cannot be led by the nose. We want to capitalize on their discerning minds to capture the zone.”

    Investigation also revealed that Atiku is yet to release the list of members of the Presidential Campaign Council due to pressure to tinker with it and accommodate some party leaders.

    A PDP stalwart said: “Atiku is always reworking the list in order to make it representational.

    “There is always pressure to accommodate vested interests. But in the next few days, Atiku will roll out the names of PCC members.”

  • 2019: You can’t sway Southeast with fake promises, PDP tells Buhari

    •Pan-Igbo group endorses President

    THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has told President Muhammadu Buhari that with the 2019 elections around the corner, he cannot sway the people of the Southeast with fake promises and false performance claims.

    The party, in a statement yesterday, accused the President of attempting to lure the Southeast geo-political zone into supporting his second term.

    It added that the people have resolved not to follow any leader who cannot deliver on his promises.

    But contrary to PDP’s position, a pan-Igbo group, Igboezue Cultural Advancement Initiative, has declared its support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election in 2019.

    The group said after wide consultations, it has resolved to collaborate with the United Progressive Party (UPP) to chart the political way forward for Ndigbo in Nigeria.

    However, PDP spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan said President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been jittery.

    According to the main opposition party, the Southeast and other geo-political zones across board have expressed an overwhelming acceptance of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, due to his “proven competence, respect for equity and all-inclusiveness in governance”.

    The party said: “Instead of accepting his failure, which is manifest to all, President Buhari, who is reputed for not fulfilling campaign promises, is busy making a fresh list of fake promises to Nigerians.

    “In this desperation, Mr. President fails to understand that the people of the Southeast, just like other Nigerians, are too sophisticated to fall for gimmicks, false promises and ethnic politics, and as such cannot be swayed from their resolve to rally with Atiku Abubakar to rescue our nation from the shackles of misrule.

    “Nigerians have since seen through President Buhari’s bouquet of failures and fake promises, which in any case, cannot heal the wounds of marginalisation, nepotism, inequity, disregard for federal character principle and harsh economic policies, including obnoxious foreign exchange regulations and heavy taxations of his administration, which are killing businesses and plunging families into extreme poverty.”

    But, the national leader of Igboezue, Chief Chekwas Okorie, said at a news conference yesterday that the group is in total support of UPP in adopting Buhari as its presidential candidate.

    Okorie, who is also the UPP National Chairman: “Igboezue is in total agreement with UPP in its revolutionary agenda as encapsulated in the party’s manifesto and objective principles of its constitution concerning restructuring, self-determination of Nigerian ethnic nationalities, referendum, devolution of power, state police and community policing and unconditional release of prisoners of conscience etc.

    “While holding these principles sacrosanct, we also align with UPP in its wise decision to endorse and adopt President Muhammadu Buhari as presidential candidate for the 2019 election.

    “We will do everything within our power to ensure that Ndigbo do not put their political eggs in one basket either now or in the future. We shall work for the completion of President Buhari second term in office in order to pave the way for a patriotic Igbo man or woman to be elected president of Nigeria in 2023.”

    Okorie said Igboezue strongly believed that four more years of Buhari’s government was by far better and “more bearable than the possible eight years of Atiku Abubakar’s administration, which will bring back to our people sad memories of 16 years of PDP emasculation of Ndigbo”.

    He noted that the group was conscious of the truth that the PDP has not made any form of commitment to the restructuring of Nigeria or the much-desired Igbo presidency any time in the future.

     

     

     

     

  • Fed Govt, Southeast have abandoned us, say Igbo Muslims

    Igbo Muslims under the aegis of South Eastern Muslims Organisation of Nigeria (SEMON) have accused the Federal Government and Southeast states of marginalisation.

    They said they had been excluded from the political scheme in Nigeria and had benefitted nothing from the Federal Government since 1914.

    ‘According to them, it was a calculated plan “to make them irrelevant as second-class citizens in Nigeria.”

    They made the claims in a communiqué issued at the end of a Conference of Igbo Muslims held on Sunday.

    “The governments of states of southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria do not even recognize the existence of Muslims of Igbo extraction, thus no single plan for them, politically and socio-economically,” the communiqué read.

    The group lamented the “non-participation of Ndigbo Muslims in Nigerian politics,” blaming it on an “unfavourable political climate in their hometowns and lack of support from their politically influential brethren outside Igboland.”

    It urged Igbo Muslims to join politics and aspire and contest for every possible position during the general elections, “including the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Governorship, National and State Assembly positions, as well as Local Government and Councillorship

    “A situation where no appointment is allocated to Igbo Muslims by the federal and state governments after every general election is unacceptable and condemnable.”

    The group thanked President Muhammadu Buhari “for his efforts in developing Nigeria”, but urged him “to remain focused in the fight against corruption and to be detribalised in his appointments even while putting merit above other considerations.”

    The communiqué added: “We pray for him and we promise to always support good leadership for Nigeria.

    “On the same note, we call on the Southeast governors and local government chairmen to protect us and our worship places and to carry us along in the socio-political and economic arrangements for citizens without discrimination against us.

    “We pray for the peace and unity of Nigeria and plead with politicians to play by the rules as the 2019 general elections approach. And despite the unfavourable political climate for us in our hometowns and states, we wish Igbo Muslim politicians the best in future general elections.”

     

  • Southeast governors reject police report

    Southeast Governors Forum has rejected yesterday’s police report that the security incident at the residence of the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu was a burglary and not an assassination attempt.

    The governors expressed their view through the forum’s Director General, Prof. Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, who addressed a news conference in Enugu yesterday.

    The forum called on the police and other security agencies to undertake thorough investigation and bring the culprits to book.

    “We reject the hasty conclusion that the attack was a case of burglary, otherwise, the so-called “burglars’’ would not have insisted on the Deputy President’s son taking them to his father’s bedroom. The careful and methodical execution of the plot points to something more sinister than burglary.”

    The forum, while condemning “the attempted assassination on Ekweremadu”, said the matter, “no doubt, casts a dark shadow on the state of security of lives and property in Nigeria”.

    Read also: Ekweremadu threatens to release video clip of ‘assassination attempt’

    “Apart from being a worthy son of Igboland, the Deputy Senate President has distinguished himself as a true Nigerian and a global citizen, having held the position of Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament for more than four years,” the forum stressed.

    The governors also touched on the neglect of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu and the abandoned Second Niger Bridge, urging the Federal Government to fix them.

  • 2019: Fresh trouble for Atiku in Southeast

    •Ekweremadu, governors weigh options
    •Why S/East leaders are angry
    •Saraki wades in, holds talks with Ekweremadu

    Southeast political leaders are accusing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of reneging on some pre-convention agreements reached with him.

    And this is the cause of the bad blood generated in the zone by Atiku’s choice of former Anambra State governor Peter Obi as running mate for the 2019 election, The Nation can now report.

    Particularly irked by the alleged renege are Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and some governors in the zone, sources said yesterday.

    Associates of the Deputy Senate President and some PDP leaders in the Southeast are already putting pressure on Ekweremadu to review his status in the party.

    His options are to defect from the party or remain in PDP to fight for survival.

    The alleged agreements include consultation with Southeast leaders on how to pick vice presidential candidate; consensus on other positions conceded to the zone; finding a meeting point with the zone on Atiku’s idea of restructuring; need to spend one term in office and cede power to the Southeast in 2023; the offer of the VP slot to Ekweremadu (Right of First Refusal) before any other candidate.

    Atiku had allegedly offered Ekweremadu the vice presidential slot a year ago.

    Sources said the Deputy Senate President’s response had always been: “let us get the ticket first. I am interested in the Southeast being in the mainstream of power equation in Nigeria.”

    As the PDP Port Harcourt convention approached, majority of the Southeast leaders in PDP were determined to work for Atiku, hence their decision to shun overtures from Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to team up with Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

    It was gathered that a few days before the convention, Ekweremadu and some Southeast governors shunned all the meetings convened by Wike.

    Within a week of Atiku’s emergence as PDP presidential candidate, he named Obi as running mate, causing bad blood in some political quarters in the zone.

    The first salvo was fired by Ebonyi State Governor  David Umahi who said Obi’s choice was made without consultation with leaders of the zone, although he was quick to add that he has nothing personally against Obi.

    Obi himself has since launched a mission to douse the tension, moving round the zone to talk to those that matter.

    But sources said the issue has continued to be a source of worry for  Atiku in the Southeast.

    “All our leaders have no grudges against Obi but they are just unhappy about how Atiku reneged on some of the agreements reached with him especially the essence of carrying stakeholders along,” a well- placed source said yesterday.

    “Shortly after he emerged as the PDP candidate, he has stopped consulting Ekweremadu, Southeast governors and leaders.

    “The painful thing is that he bowed to pressure from outside the Southeast to pick Obi and he did not care to revert to these leaders and governors on his choice.

    “For instance, Ekweremadu (the highest ranking political office holder in the Southeast) was not briefed and has not been briefed till today on why Obi was picked.

    “Yet, it was Ekweremadu who coordinated and delivered the block votes from the Southeast to Atiku at the convention.

    “The assumption is that if Atiku can treat South-East leaders and governors in this manner as a candidate, what if he becomes the President. It is just a matter of trust. When in need, he offered Ekweremadu the position of running mate. Courtesy demands that he should have also confided in Ekweremadu before choosing Obi.”

    Another source confirmed that following pressure from his associates and PDP leaders in the Southeast, Ekweremadu has started weighing options on his next step.

    Investigation revealed that the Deputy President of the Senate has to choose between remaining in PDP or defecting to prove a point that he is a force to reckon with.

    The third option is to remain in PDP and sabotage Atiku by entering into an alliance with President Muhammadu Buhari on a good deal for the Southeast if he is re-elected.

    The source added: “From the look of things, it seems there is a conspiracy within PDP to alienate Ekweremadu.

    “Apart from Atiku, the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus has not deemed it fit to call the Deputy President of the Senate on why Ekweremadu was not invited to the meeting where Obi was nominated. Even after the nomination, Secondus has not met with Ekweremadu on the choice of Obi.

    “The party and Atiku went ahead to constitute the Presidential Campaign Council without any input from Ekweremadu. This is an insult.

    “Some powers that be are angry with Ekweremadu for backing Atiku and the same presidential candidate does not care a hoot about Ekweremadu.

    “It is regretful that we all betrayed Wike and now Atiku is abandoning our leaders.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “With the choice of Obi, Atiku is going about as if he has the South-East in his pocket. Far from it, the scenario may be different during the presidential election.

    “Atiku needs to sit down afresh with Ekweremadu and other leaders to win votes from the zone. These are matchmakers in their own right.

    “The unfinished business includes the following:

    *Reaching consensus on other posts to concede to the zone;

    * Finding a meeting point with the zone on Atiku’s idea of restructuring;

    *Need to spend one term in office; and

    *Ceding power to the Southeast in 2023

    “Without definite answers to these demands, Atiku should forget the backing of the Southeast.”

    It was also gathered that  Senate  President Bukola Saraki, who is the Director -General of the PCC, has waded into the complaints  of the Southeast leaders.

    A PDP leader said: “I am aware that Saraki has opened up talks with Ekweremadu.”

     

     

  • APC targets Southeast, Southsouth take over

    As the campaigns for the 2019 General Elections gather steam, our state correspondents in the Southeast and Southsouth zones report on the new schemes put in place by All Progressives Congress (APC) to win in the two zones

    SINCE 1999, Southeast and Southsouth political zones have remained strongholds of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But since 2015, when former President Goodluck Jonathan, who flew the flag of PDP for re-election, lost the presidential election to President Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress (APC), the politics of the two zones have witnessed dramatic changes.

    Today, as the country prepares for the 2019 elections, APC boasts of many prominent members who are bent on ensuring that the party, which performed abysmally in the two zones in 2015, will become APC controlled zones even as they evolve fresh strategies that will give victory to APC’s presidential candidate.

    The specific plans in the various states differ even as various states have different political leaders at the helm affairs. The overall impact of the activities of the various teams is a pointer to how the 2019 elections would be fought and won in 2019.

    C/River APC: A house at war with itself

    SINCE the commencement of the present democratic dispensation in Cross River State, never has the opposition been in such an advantaged position to take over power in the state as it has today.

    Given the widespread feeling of disaffection with the present Peoples Democratic Party-led government within the political class and the masses in the state and the fact that the party at the federal level, for the first time, is the opposition, and also for the first time there is an array of political gladiators across the state within the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), political analysts are skeptical to assume, as they would normally believe, that the ruling party would easily retain its position in the state.

    In a paradox of sorts, it appears the only thing standing between the opposition and taking over the state next year is not the ruling PDP, but the APC members themselves.

    At the moment, the party is embroiled in a bitter in-fighting that is threatening to consume the soul of the party and give the ruling PDP little or nothing to worry about as they look to extend their dominance in the state next year.

    Signs of trouble within the APC in the state became obvious in January this year, when the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani, was indefinitely suspended and recommended for expulsion to the national leadership by the then executive council of the party in the state led by Sir John Ochalla.

    Usani, a former chairman of the party in the state, was accused of indiscipline. Ochalla had alleged that Usani was into organising illegal meetings, which was not in the best interest of the party, even after several efforts to reconcile their differences. Ochalla, who was with the National Vice Chairman, Southsouth, Ntufam Hillard Eta, told reporters that Usani’s aim was to install a state chairman of the party that would do his bidding. It was alleged that the minister’s aim was to set himself up to run for the governorship of the state on the platform of the party.

    In a swift reaction, the decision to indefinitely suspend Usani, from the party was described as nullity and cheap blackmail by some executive members.

    A communiqué signed by the then State Organising Secretary, Ekpe Owan Ayang; Legal Adviser, Lazarus Undie and others accused Eta of being behind the development and also went ahead to declare that Ochala and Eta have been suspended.

    They said there was no resolution by either the State Working Committee or the State Executive Committee of the party to suspend the minister from the party and no allegation was raised or was pending against him.

    The minister himself said he was not aware he had been suspended from the party.

    However, on February 24, in a special state congress, conducted by a five-man screening/election committee, led by Mohammed Indebawa, which held at the party’s secretariat in Calabar, Mr. Godwin Etim-John, a loyalist of Usani, emerged as the chairman of the party. Etim-John polled 56 votes while Dr. Mathew Achigbe got 36 votes to come second.

    However, a suit filed by one King Edom Vincent Odey, among other things, sought an order setting aside the directive for the holding of the special state congress, in which saw Etim-John emerged. Usani, who was an observer at the congress, said he was not aware of any court injunction.

    Besides, the issues of an injunction against the congress that brought Etim-John, Achigbe, who rejected the exercise, had accused the party’s National Chairman then, John Odigie Oyegun, and National Organising Secretary then, Senator Osita Izunaso, of compromise.

    Addressing reporters at the time, he urged the National Leader of the party, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to intervene and save the party from imminent collapse before the 2019 General Elections. Achigbe said what transpired at the congress was illegal and would be challenged to a logical conclusion.

    Achigbe said the congress defied Article 25 of the APC constitution, which states that at least 14 days’ notice should be given before the conduct of a congress. He also alleged that even suspended members of the party, including Etim-John, were allowed to participate in the congress. He alleged that the congress was not even witnessed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as provided for in the 2010 Electoral Act as amended.

    After much ado, another state congress for the election of a party Executive Council was organised on May 19. This was again rejected by Achigbe and some major stakeholders of the party in the state.

    The new state congress, which was conducted by Hon Useni Adamu, saw the new executive emerge through voice votes at the Cultural Centre Complex, all unopposed.

    The congress, which was boycotted by these stakeholders, again saw the emergence of an Etim-John led executive council. The stakeholders, who boycotted the exercise, accused Usani of manipulating the entire process to have his way. They accused the minister of quarantining the congress committee to do his bidding.

    Those who accused the minister include former governor, Dr. Clement Ebri; National Vice Chairman Southsouth, Hilliard Eta; Senator John Owan-Enoh; Hon Cletus Obun; Prof Eyo Etim Nyong; Hon Venatius Ikem; Hon Paul Adah; Barrister Utum Eteng; Chief Ernest Irek; Mr. Odey Ochicha; Dr. Chris-Valentine Eneji, among a host of others.

    The stakeholders led by Ebri, who addressed reporters after the exercise, accused Usani of trying to destroy the party in the state. They demanded that a “proper state congress” be held.

    Usani had dismissed these claims, saying the congress was legitimate having been endorsed by the national secretariat.

    However, about a week later on May 27, the group made up of those who boycotted the earlier exercise had gone ahead to conduct another state congress in Calabar.

    The exercise this time was conducted by the National Vice Chairman, Ntufam Hillard Eta, who said they used lists of delegates from the ward and local government congresses conducted by the chairman of the Congresses Committee, Major General Umar (rtd).

    The exercise was to hold at the Ikot Ansa Town Hall in Calabar, but the venue was barricaded by dozens of armed policemen. It was later held at the premises of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.

    The new 36-member executive council, which emerged at the State Congress, through affirmation, had Dr. Mathew Achigbe, as chairman.

    Speaking at the end of the exercise, Achigbe said there was no other legitimate executive council of the party in the state.

    However, the Etim-John group described the congress that produced Achigbe as a nullity. Both groups with two secretariats in Calabar, the state capital, held that they were the legitimate executives of the party. The Achigbe group had gone ahead to obtain a court injunction restraining Etim-John from parading himself as the chairman of the party.

    In the heat of the crisis, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Frankland Briyai, had recognised Etim-John as the chairman during a stakeholders meeting on the conduct of the by-election for the Obudu State Constituency of the Cross River House of Assembly which was slated for August 11, 2018.  Loyalists of the other group had accused INEC of compromise. But reacting to this, the Secretary of the Etim-John faction of the party, Chief Francis Ekpenyong, said INEC’s position had settled the issue, as they were the legitimate party executives in the state.

    Ekpenyong had said that INEC had laid to rest the matter at the stakeholders meeting, when the Resident Electoral Commissioner informed everyone that the state chairman of APC in Cross River State is Godwin Etim John.

    According to him, the injunction obtained against them was a motion exparte, which by law had expired on its own in 14 days, which had long expired.

    But with the National Convention of the party that saw Comrade Adams Oshiomhole emerge as the National Chairman, the two state executive councils were dissolved by the national secretariat and a date fixed for a new state congress.

    Etim-John had dragged Oshiomhole, the secretary of the Convention Committee, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, and the party to court over grievances about the conduct of the convention. They were aggrieved that they were marginalised.

    On August 22, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, inaugurated a new executive council, led by Dr. Mathew Achigbe. The Etim-John group boycotted the exercise.

    The executive council was inaugurated after being elected in a state congress conducted by a five-man congress committee led by Mr. Henry Idah Agbom and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). They emerged through voice votes.

    Oshiomhole, who was represented by the National Vice Chairman, Southsouth, Ntufam Hillard Eta, said it was the wisdom of the National Working Committee to dissolve all the state executive councils and elect a new one to move the party forward in the state.

    Despite the fact that Oshiomhole swore-in the Dr. Mathew Achigbe-led State Executive Committee at the party’s National Secretariat on August 28 in Abuja, the Etim-John faction still insists it remains the authentic executive council of the party in the state. The faction said the congress was an illegality given that there was an injunction from an Abuja High Court stopping the exercise.

    Agbom, a lawyer, had in a response to a query by our reporter denied knowledge of such injunction.

    At the moment, it appears all is settled with the swearing in of Achigbe as the chairman of the party, but a closer look will reveal that the problem of the party is far from over. Despite having a majority of the political heavyweights across the state in its fold, the brawl within the APC in the state is threatening to destroy the party. The fear is that the party may be spent dealing with its own internal crisis rather than preparing to wrestle power from the ruling PDP.

    Both sides keep saying there is no division in the party, but it is very clear the acrimony within is far more dangerous than any external aggression. Also, both sides keep accusing the other of working with the ruling PDP to run the party down. Concerned party members have continuously called on both sides to bury the hatchet and move forward united, but by all indications, there is no letting up by either side. It is apparent the APC may break their own pot with their own hands even before they begin to prepare the meal.

    “If all the APC in the state speak with one voice, they have a very good chance of flushing out the PDP. All the top political players across the state are now in the APC, but there is a lot of acrimony and discord in the party. If the APC can set aside their differences and work together, there is a very good chance Cross River would be an APC state from next year.

    “But the first step to solve a problem is even acknowledging there is a problem. This is something both factions have not even come to terms with yet and it is likely to destroy the party. A fight from within is more dangerous than a fight from outside. If nothing is done to bring everyone together, despite the new exco and the array of political gladiators within the party, they will definitely crumble and there is no way they can win anything with such infighting,” a political observer noted.