APC Splits In C’River, Says Ex-Presidential Spokesman

  * Accuses Party Leaders of Mismanaging Rice Donation From Minister

    * It’s A Lie-Party Chair

The All Progressives Congress in the Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State has split, according to a former presidential adviser and chieftain of the party, Okoi Obono-Obla. Obla made this known to TNN in an online interview on Thursday.

He has also accused the party leadership in the state of mismanaging the 10,000 bags of rice donated to the party by the minister of sports development, Senator John Owan Enoh. But the party chairman, Alphonsus Eba has countered the claims, describing them as tissues of lies.

Obla said the party leadership was not transparent in the handling of the rice donated to the party. According to him, 10,000 bags of rice were donated by the minister, but most of the targeted beneficiaries were yet to receive.

The former presidential adviser on corruption in the regimes of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, also lamented what he called the split in the party in his Yakurr Local Government, with the emergence of what he called a faction of the party called the Yakurr Embassy.

Saying that the party leaders had displayed corrupt acts in their handling of the party, Obla said “it is not only when you take what doesn’t belong to you that you have indulged in corruption. When you do not do things in accordance with the laid down procedure you are indulging in corruption.

“For instance, since the assumption of the leadership of the party in the state, certain critical organs or structures provided in the party constitution have not been activated inexplicably. They (sic) are certain organs of the party created by the constitution such as state caucus, senatorial district caucus, local government area caucus and ward caucus which are still in limbo because the state executive has flagrantly refused, failed and or neglected to constitute since 2022.”

He also accused the party leadership of promoting factionalisation. He said: “They also conveniently promote factionalization within the party by granting privileges to cliques or groups formed by those whom they are disposed to within the party.

“For instance when I wanted to convene in Yakurr for party members to meet, to discuss matters of concerns within the fold the state executive issued a directive banning the meeting. However, the state exco turns a blind eye to factionalization of the APC in Yakurr by a group known as Yakurr Embassy but was quick to (stop) my well- meaning initiative to settle amicably the rumbles in Yakurr caused by anxiety to know the community the next council chairman would come from.

“This so called Yakurr Embassy has been coercing and compelling all aspirants for Yakurr chairmanship position to be parting with various sums of money under the guise of consultation. You know early there was rumpus in the party when a group disguised with what is happening attempted to sack the state chairman. But I was one of the senior members that truncated this move because I felt it was wrong and undemocratic.

“However some of the things that the group alleged against the leadership such as failure to activate certain critical organs of the Party in the State has not been addressed until now. It is against the grain of Article 21.2 (iv) of the APC 2022 for any member of the Party to maintain an illegal secretariat of the party. It is also against Article 21.2 (vi) of the Party Constitution to factionalized the Party or to create a parallel organ of the Party. Yakurr Embassy to all intents and purposes is a parallel organ of Yakurr APC.”

But the state party chairman told TNN, when contacted, that it was not true that the minister sent 10,000 bags of rice. Rather, the chairman said 732 bags of 25kg rice were sent to the state chapter, with an instruction on how they should be shared.

The chairman said the minister has since been informed in writing, of the sharing which he said was done in line with the directive of the minister.  

According to him, 50 bags were meant for the state exco and the zonal leaders, 27 bags for the chapter exco, while the remaining bags went to all the ward chairmen in the state. He said the allegation of 10,000 bags of rice was laughable.

Eba also said he would have expected Obla to reach out to the party if he noticed any attempt to balkanize the party in his local government, but added that there was nothing wrong if party members floated support groups with which worked for the party, there was no cause for alarm.

He said the APC under him was intact in all parts of the state, adding that Obla was an elder of the party that he respected and would not want to speak about in derogatory ways in the public, no matter the weight of false allegations from him.