By Monday Onyekachi Ubani
Towards the general election of 2019, All Progressive Congress in Abia State stood a better chance to have taken over the reins of administration from the inept administrators in the State but for the disunity and seed of discord sowed by certain characters who claimed to be APC members at that time who worked at cross purposes with the leaders of the party.
These characters never ceased in their treachery even after their anti party activities led to the loss of the party in the general election except for one senatorial and two house of representatives’ seats won at the National Assembly.
As the Party hierarchy in the National Secretariat failed and or refused to punish them, they became more emboldened in their treachery and have never ceased to contrive one crisis or the other to destabilise the party in the State.
Just as APC as a party has started their preparations towards the 2023 general election, their madness have resumed again. What baffles old and new members of the party in the State is the apparent complicity and connivance of some National Secretariat leadership with the intransigence and crisis playing out in the State.
The fact of the matter is that APC Abia State has a legitimate and recognised State Executive known to APC National and acknowledged by INEC. By the constitution and Electoral Guidelines of the APC, Ward and Local Government Congresses cannot be conducted without the active participation and organisation of the State Executives of the party. Nobody puts something on nothing and expects something, it is impossible.
On 31st of July, 2021 Ward Congress took place in Abia State. It is a public knowledge that before the said Ward Congress, the anti-party activities of one Chief Emenike became nauseating leading to the party at his ward in the State to take a definite stance by announcing his suspension from the party for anti-party activities. This suspension was ratified both at the Local Government and by the State Executives. On 30th of July, a day before the Ward Congress, The Expanded Caucus Meeting of The State APC re-affirmed the said suspension of him. The announcement of his re-affirmed suspension was made known when his destabilising actions and statements portend great danger to cohesiveness of the Party in the State towards 2023.
Despite this disciplinary measures, Chief Ikechi Emenike and his co-travellers have refused to allow peace to reign in the party but chose the part of infamy. They caused same confusion during the Local Government Congress in connivance with one Chief Sonny Goli led seven man Local Government Congress Committee sent by the Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee.
Recall that after the Ward Congress in Abia where it was apparent that parallel ward Congress took place, a suit was instituted by some Applicants representing all the successful Ward chairmanship candidates of the party in the 184 Electoral wards in Abia State as well as all the successful Local Government and State delegates of the APC, Abia State at Ukwa Judicial Division in the State wherein Hon Justice C.H. Ahuchaogu issued an oder of interim injunction restraining the All Progressive Congress (APC), The Ward Congress Committee Chairman Rt Hon Sunny Goli, The Chairman of the Caretaker Executive Committee of the party in Abia State, Hon Donatus Nwankpa and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by themselves, agents, and privies from receiving, accepting and acting on the purported list of successful candidate for the APC Ward Congresses in Abia from the Party’s National Electoral Committee on Abia Ward Congress.
The order of the court was explicit that APC, both at State and National level is restrained from receiving or accepting any name that was not a product of electoral process of the recognised State Executives headed by Chief Donatus Nwankpa.
A bit exposition of Chief Donatus Nwankpa suffices here. He was elected alongside with Comrade Adams Oshiomhole during the National Congress of the Party in 2018. In year 2020 as a result of the change of the leadership at the National, the State Exco in Abia was re-named A Caretaker Committee but still under the leadership of Chief Donatus Nwankpa. Since that time there have not been any other Congress that throw up new leadership in all the States of the Federation except where the national crisis, as I have earlier said led to the appointment or renaming State Excos as Caretaker Committees, as it is with the present leadership at the National level.
If this assertion is true and an indisputable fact, upon what basis will Chief Ikechi Emenike and his cohorts tend to carry out any activity whether at the Ward or at local government level without regard to the constitutionally recognised leadership at Abia State? Can anyone place any logic to this act of brigandage and impunity if not for the reality that someone, somewhere is drumming this dance of evil for them from somewhere?
Surely the evil dance is being beaten by the current leadership of APC at the National Secretariat. Recently the Secretary of APC in the person of Senator John James Akpanudoedehe told all the leaders of APC in the State that they must go and work with Chief Ikechi Emenike. Upon inquiry, he explained that such directive is from “above”. The rationale for such order or commandment from above is clearly beyond comprehension.
From 2003 till date Chief Emenike has been a recurring decimal in contest of one position or the other for leadership either as a Senator or Governor in Abia State, a venture that never ends well.
Either in PDP, ANPP or APC he has a rich history of conducting parallel Congresses, causing constant crisis and usually end up losing at the highest court in the land. The truth is that he is good at provoking parallel Congresses, causing confusion in any party he finds himself, and he is usually the first to file indiscriminate and frivolous court cases all over the country which are usually thrown out by the Supreme Court often with ignominy.
This attitude of creating confusion in every election reared its ugly head through him, having joined APC in 2014. He did everything to frustrate the party in 2015 gubernatorial election and in 2019 general election.
The 2019 general election saw his mischief in large measures. He was literally in court throughout the election, causing confusion and so much pain to the party and ceased his antagonism when he saw that APC had lost the gubernatorial position as he has achieved his motive which is to destabilise the party in the State. The gubernatorial candidate of APC for the 2019 General Election was made known by the Supreme Court at the eleventh hour due to his multiple litigations against the party. The State Chapter has never experienced peace since after he joined the party.
Instead of punishment, the party seem to have rewarded him generously with several positions to him, his family and cronies. “His drummer is obviously in the bush while his dance is on the main road”.
As 2023 approaches he has recruited some of his friends for the same purpose, creating confusion and ensuring that APC will loose the State in the forthcoming general election, if care is not taken.
That the Party rewards himself handsomely with these his “achievements” still baffles majority of genuine APC members in the State. The PDP members in the State calls him the man with “network” in the State and this has actually emboldened him to cause more confusion with very spurious claims that he has the ear and eye of President Muhammadu Buhari in the State. It appears so until the contrary is proved.
This enlightened write-up has only one aim which is to open the eyes of the party members in the State and outside who may not understand the current happenings therein. It is either there is a conspiracy to destroy APC in Abia State by these funny characters but arguably aided by external forces especially from the National Secretariat or there is grand conspiracy engineered by the ruling party in the State ably partnered by these characters and the national Secretariat of the party to ensure that Abia remains the worst governed State in Guiness Book of Records for reasons yet to be deciphered by any sane being.
The true position of things as it presently stands, is that, Chief Emenike with his parallel executives have no place under the constitution of APC, both at the National and state level. It is believed that some of the National Officers he may have deceived concerning his political weight may not have known his antecedents and are not conversant with the full facts playing out in Abia.
Abians in APC will never allow any leadership to be imported into the State through an unknown means and procedure.
Sadly it is reported that the Party Leaders at the National Secretariat are frustrating every attempt by the stakeholders in the State to have them address this grave matter squarely. Petitions written on this abnormalities are yet to be responded to, and all scheduled meetings with them have been postponed on one spurious reason or the other. The people of the State will participate democratically in electing the leaders that will pilot the affairs of the State in the party. No amount of intimidation and purported order from above will be allowed to displace the legitimate leadership of the party in the State.
Now that the true situation of things are expressly laid bare, it is our belief that those behind this contrived crisis will retrace their steps and stop destroying and jeopardising the chances of APC as a party in Abia, come 2023.
It is the belief and conviction of the stakeholders and members of the party that the quick resolution of this crisis by the National Secretariat will place the party in greater strength, unity and cohesiveness to take over the leadership of the State from the ruling party due to their bad governance.
As keen observers of the development in the State, we watch, wait and see how the whole resolution of this contrived crisis by the national leadership of the party shall be resolved, but let it be on record that the leadership of the party in the State cannot be imported from Abuja. The present leadership, which is a product of a democratic process, must, if any, be removed democratically in accordance with the constitution of the Party. For now they are recognised by the constituion, the people and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Every official correspondence and communications are through them. They are the one representing the party at all official and national functions and must be the one to ensure the success of every Congress in the State.
No imposed or imported leadership whose emergence is unkown to the constituion of the party shall be allowed to take a stand in the State!
A word is enough for the wise..
Monday O. Ubani Esq
Lawyer/Son of Abia.
