The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday organised parallel ward congresses in Abia, as leadership crisis continues to rock the party.
The congresses came barely two days after the party re-affirmed the suspension of its chieftain, Ikechi Emenike.
Mr Emenike is the leader of a faction of the party, challenging the Donatus Nwankpa-led Executive Committee (EXCO).
The EXCO at its expanded caucus meeting on Thursday announced Mr Emenike’s suspension for alleged party misconduct.
The development, however, did not deter Mr Emenike’s camp, as it went ahead to conduct its congresses, supervised by the National Ward Congresses Committee.
Briefing journalists on the situation at the state secretariat of the party in Umuahia, the Chairman, APC Caretaker Committee in the state, Donatus Nwankpa, said the party declared the committee members wanted.
He said the committee members failed to report to the party secretariat in Umuahia upon their arrival in the state.
Mr Nwankpa said the party set up screening and appeal committees for the congress, in line with the party’s constitution.
He said that his EXCO had also taken delivery of all congress documents from its national secretariat.
“The party duly took custody of them, signed them and members, who paid to the national account, not state account, were given forms.
“And by the party regulation, after the sale of forms, the state party chairman is to set up a screening and appeal committee on screening.
“Those forms were duly handed over to the two committees at various locations.
“They have come back and we have screened candidates for the congresses.
“Unfortunately for us, the people who are supposed to receive the document from the screening committee did not appear.
“We are not unaware of some clandestine meetings going on among those claiming to be stakeholders,” Mr Nwankpa said.
A chieftain of the party, Chris Adighije, who expressed disappointment over the development, described the committee members as “impostors.”
“If they had come from our national office in Abuja, I’m sure they would have come to the secretariat of the party in Abia.
“Our communication with the Independent National Electoral Commission is through the same address in Umuahia.
“And the communication with the national headquarters is with the state chairman of the party,” Mr Adighije said.
He said the party followed due process to suspend Mr Emenike, adding that “he stands suspended”.
He expressed happiness over the peaceful conduct of the congress in his ward at Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area (LGA).
Also, a former lawmaker in the state, Chidi Nwosu, said the exercise went peacefully in his Amakama Ward also in Umuahia south.
Mr Nwosu said that candidates emerged through consensus in his ward, adding that offices were distributed to accommodate the interest of all the various segments that make up the ward.
Newsmen reports that similar consensus approach was adopted in the selection of candidates in most of the wards visited.
In a related development, the APC ward congresses in Nsukka LGA of Enugu were quite peaceful.
NAN learnt that materials for the exercise arrived in various wards on time, adding that those presiding over the congresses also followed due process and laid down rules.
At the ward, a party chieftain and former Supervisor of Youths and Sports in the area, Anthony Ozioko, said the exercise was smooth and hitch-free.
Mr Ozioko said that party faithful conducted themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner, adding that only accredited party members were allowed to vote.
“I commend party stakeholders in Nsukka for the arrangement put in place that made the ward congresses peaceful.
NAN reports that the situation was the same at Opi, Obukpa, Aloruno and Edem wards.
At Obimo Ward, the party’s Caretaker Chairman in Nsukka LGA, Joseph Ugwuoke, described the exercise as violence-free.
Mr Ugwuoke attributed the development to good arrangements put in place by stakeholders, which gave all the party chieftains a sense of belonging.
He advised ward executives that would emerge to ensure they carried all party members along in all the party’s programmes and activities.
“I think it is very transparent, democratic and in line with the directives of the party and we look forward to supervising the local government congress and the processes that would follow,” Ugbala said.
Dr Eni-Iduma Chima, chairman of Afikpo South LGA who spoke to newsmen at Ndeoke ward in Ugwuma, Edda after monitoring the exercise, said that those who emerged were the choice of the people.
He described the exercise as transparent, credible and met the requirements of the guidelines stipulated for the conduct of the congress.
“The stakeholders met, harmonised the lists and agreed on consensus which were validated in field as attested by the large number of party faithful that participated in the exercise.
“There was no parallel congress in any part of the LGA and the exercise was violence free,” Chima said.
In a similar vein, Mrs Chinyere Iyioku, chairman of Ohaozara LGA told newsmen at Obiozara, the council headquarters, that the congress was peaceful and witnessed large turnout of party faithful in all 10 wards.
According to her, stakeholders adopted consensus mechanism to determine the new party officials in the various wards which were validated in the field by their votes.
Iyioku however, said that elections were conducted at Obiozara ward 1 to choose ward leaders due to failure of stakeholders to agree on consensus candidates.
“We have the election materials and anywhere there is no consensus, we will do normal election.
“We are not anticipating any crisis because the whole process is very transparent and open for people to see,” she said.
Also, at Onueke, headquarters of Ezza South LGA and zonal senatorial headquarters for the Ebonyi Central zone, Mr Ken Eze described the exercise as transparent, credible, fair and devoid of violence.
He noted that the elected officials in all the wards emerged through consensus arrangements which were however, validated by the people themselves in the field.
“Distribution of materials to the various LGAs for onward transmission to their various wards began early and ended around 1.pm.
“The congress is a family affair and we don’t anticipate any problem but where there is, we have inbuilt mechanism to resolve such.
“The consensus that the party talked about is a consensus where those who will emerge will have to test their popularity in the field,” Eze said.
Meanwhile, collation of results are underway in the exercise which witnessed large turnout of party faithful held on Saturday at the various ward collation centres of the state using.
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