Crisis Rocks Cross River APC Over Ward Congress, As Party Leaders Demand Cancellation Of Exercise

The management of the Cross River chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised the alarm over alleged irregularities within the final ward congress, describing the train as a flagrant abuse of occasion structure and pointers.

 

The occasion disclosed that since Governor Ben Ayade joined them on Thursday, Might 20 its previous teeming members and supporters have been side-lined and made to endure undue therapy within the arms of latest defectors.

In a press assertion made accessible to Press Informant and signed by Richard Ogbeche and Dr Ntete Bassey-Duke as Deputy Chairman and Secretary respectively, the occasion accused decried the angle of the governor who ‘decreed a consensus association for all congresses and directed his key aides to take cost of it as an alternative of the occasion.’

 

The assertion acknowledges that the APC structure offers room for consensus association, however with a caveat that the place is dissension, there can be a correct election in line with the congress pointers, which weren’t adopted.

 

The occasion accused the state occasion chairman, Sen Mathew Mbu, of collaborating with a few of Ayayde’s aides and allegedly hijacked all of the supplies for the ward congresses for the state to the presidential Lodge Calabar towards all entreaties and backbone of state exco.

The assertion learn partially:

‘The occasion guideline for the congress was completely breached and never complied with as nomination kinds weren’t accessible to members who paid by means of the financial institution; there have been no screening committees arrange for the aspirants wherever within the state and that as an alternative of the purported consensus association, choices have been achieved with out carrying together with nearly all of stakeholders within the wards.

 

‘The complaints arising from the consensus association weren’t addressed as new members hijacked the processes as native authorities chairmen acted because the ward congress returning officers as an alternative of ward congress committee.

 

‘And in view of the deliberate and flagrant breach of the occasion structure and pointers, as stakeholders, we will confidently say that there was no ward congress in Cross River on July 31, 2021.

 

‘In addition to the enchantment committee that got here from Abuja, that may have rescued the faulty congress, have been once more hijacked by the state chairman, Mbu, to Governor’s Lodge, the place they took images with the workforce and left for Abuja after just a few days with out attending to a number of petitions towards the purported ward congress.’

 

The state referred to as on founding members of the occasion to not sit on the fence and permit the fruits of their labour to go down the drain, advising all involved to adjust to the occasion structure and pointers for congresses as failure to take action may end in pointless litigation which will jeopardise the occasion’s probabilities in 2023.

 

It needs to be famous that on July 28, the State Caretaker Committee led by Sen Mathew Mbu summoned a gathering by which the occasion resolved that names of officers for the congresses shall be compiled solely by the occasion beneath the path and supervision of the State Caretaker Committee.

 

The 27 exco members current on the assembly acknowledged that correspondences pertaining to the congresses and the first elections between occasion and the electoral officers (INEC) and safety operatives shall be left solely within the preview of state (govt) and never the federal government, failing which state exco shall absolve itself of no matter blame which will come up.

 

In accordance with them, administration of the occasion rests solely with them and that each one dealings pertaining to the occasion’s membership registration/re-validation train within the state is immediately beneath the supervision of state exco members as represented by their varied native authorities areas.