A group of All Progressives Congress faithful in Ebonyi State has petitioned the National Caretaker/Convention Committee of the party over what it tagged attempt to deceive, cover up and foist illegality on the APC in the State.
The group said this in a letter dated October 19, 2020 and signed by 23 persons.
It alleged that the Eze Nwachukwu Eze-led State Executive of the party was operating illegally, having been voided by a court in April 2019 following a suit filled by the opposing faction led by Ben Nwobasi.
They noted that the battle for the soul of the party in the State has existed for several years with the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, and former Senator and now a member of the National Assembly Service Commission, Julius Ucha, leading the contending factions.
While Eze is backed by Onu, the Nwobasi faction is supported by Ucha.
According to them, the party leadership in the State was still indeterminate between the Nwobasi and Eze factions.
The petitioners lamented that the battle within the party has left it very fragmented and open to manipulation by external forces, including opposition parties, a development, which, according to them, calls for the need to restore peace in the party.
The petitioners prayed the Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the Party and Governor of Yobe State, Mala Mai Buni, to immediately set up a Caretaker Committee for the party in Ebonyi State.
They also prayed that the planned party registration in the State be handled by the caretaker committee, while genuine peace meeting should be convened by the party inviting all the aggrieved parties
They further asked that those who flouted the presidential and National Executive Council directive on court cases be disciplined accordingly.
Part of the petition read: “We are stakeholders and elders of the party in Ebonyi state who do not belong to any of the two contending camps but interested in restoring peace, order and sanity in the party.
“…the state of the party in Ebonyi state which moved us, as loyal and conscientious party stakeholders and elders neutral in the aforementioned battle, to try to save the soul of the party and steer it to safety and stability.
“That is the standpoint on which we are sending you this letter.”
The petitioners told the National Leadership of the party and other members to discountenance the purported peace meeting convened by Eze on October 15 as well as any document emanating from his faction.
Describing the meeting as a charade, they maintained that it fell short of legality test having emanated from a void leadership as well as failed to integrate other interests and opinion of members of the party.
The petitioners asserted: “In a desperate bid to cover up the truth and hoodwink the party to believe that all is well with the party, Eze called a meeting of some members of the party where he read prepared speeches that was adopted by those present.
“It was not a peace meeting as people in the contending factions were neither present, represented nor had their grievances heard or addressed.
“However, the meeting on its own was illegal as Eze’s executive had been sacked by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“This clearly renders the resolutions, communique and votes of confidence passed in the meeting a non event…”
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