Ebonyi APC crisis deepens

The crisis rocking the Ebonyi State Chapter of the All Progressive Congress, APC, has deepened, as a group under the aegis of Dozie Ebonyi Support Group has accused the state chairman, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu of compromise.

The group made this known in a press statement signed by the State Director, Godwin Igboke and the State Secretary Hon. Elijah Nwamini and made available to DAILY POST in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State.

The statement reads in part: “the State Chairman of the Party, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu Eze may be under duress to please some ‘powerful stakeholders’ and elders of our dear Progressive platform with the Gubernatorial ticket of the Party in the September 29th, 2018 primaries.

“This, we learnt he muted at a recent meeting with some stakeholders of the Party from the Abakaliki bloc in the State.

“This is a sharp contradiction to the position of the Party’s National Executive Committee and indeed, the national leadership of our great Party who insist that the APC would adopt direct primaries to elect Flag-bearers for each elective office in the 2019 elections the scheduled September primaries.”

The group alleged that the chairman of the party in the state was attempting to connive with the minister of science and technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu to stop aspirants seeking to contest for governorship, especially those who hails from Ebonyi north and Ebonyi central zones, from participating.

“We wish to state that this machination which is orchestrated to edge out particularly Umuekumenyi (Abakaliki bloc) aspirants seeking to fly the flag of the Party in the 2019 Governorship elections is capable of denying the Party the much-anticipated victory in the 2019 elections if not redressed and the right thing done which is to abide by the decision of the Party’s national leadership.

“It is, therefore, imperative to inform the national leadership of the Party, the leader of the Party, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and indeed, all progressives of these surreptitious moves to scuttle the decision of the Party to return power to the people which is actually the true essence of democracy through the use of direct primaries.

“Many lovers of ideal democracy in our nation are already massively registering as members of our great Party due to the resolve of the Party to adopt direct primaries in the selection of its flag-bearers. It will therefore spell doom for the APC in Ebonyi if some persons in any guise would want to frustrate this massive majority who are willing to join APC.

“The essence of the plot to thwart the direct primaries which is allegedly being sponsored by a minister in President Buhari’s cabinet was to pave way for one of his kinsmen who is very unpopular to emerge as a Party’s Governorship flag-bearer ahead of 2019 in order to work for his 2023 Presidential ambition.

“This to us, is unhealthy for our party especially since the Minister as an elder should and therefore MUST insist in ensuring that the use of direct primaries should be adopted in order to guarantee the emergence of a popular candidate as the Party’s flag-bearer,” it stated.