APC Congresses: Akpanudoedehe Aiding Parallel Exercises In Abia — BoT Member, Apugo

Benjamin Apugo, a member of the Board of Trustees and national caucus of the governing All Progressive Congress (APC), has accused the Secretary of the National Caretaker Executive and Extra Ordinary Convention Committee of the party, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, of aiding anti-party activities by some chieftains which he claimed manifested at the last ward congress of the party.

Apugo’s accusation was coming on the heels of the controversies that trailed the July 29 ward congress of the party in the Abia chapter of the APC.

The elder statesman and foundation member of the party made his feelings known at a press conference held in his Nkata Ibeku Umuahia residence during the weekend.

He expressed dismay that the continued anti-party activities displayed during the party’s exercise has become a clog in the wheel of progress, and as well, has posed a negative threat to the gains greatly recorded in the development and overwhelming acceptability of the party in the state.

Apugo told the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led National Caretaker and Extra Ordinary Convention Executive Committee (CECEC) of the party, that its Secretary of the committee on contacts and mobilization of the national convention lacked electoral values as his continued penchants in truncating the APC internal mechanisms in crisis conflicting, and as well as his obvious inability to deliver the party at his ward in the past general elections are no longer accepted.

He further maintained that Ikechi Emenike was expelled from the party by the ward executive committee, ratified by the state leadership and affirmed by the past National Executive Committee of the APC led by Comrade Adams Oshomohole, and regretted that the national career Secretary, Senator John Akpanudoedehe had continued to deceive the committee into believing that he was still part of the party mainstream.

The BoT member claimed that the national committee on APC ward congress compromised the process, wherein its allowed a faction of the party led by Emenike to lured them to his residence and falsified results without any whatever guise conduct of the ward congresses across the 184 wards in the 17 local government areas of Abia state.

Reacting earlier after the members of the Abia caucus of the party led by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu represented by the Honorable Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uche Ogah, at its enlarged meeting in Ikwuano local government residence of a former federal lawmaker, Hon Emeka Atuma reaffirmed the Party chieftain’s suspension as member of the party, described them as drowning men as the pendulum had just swung against them, the Secretary of the APC national convention Committee in Strategy, Contact and Mobilization, Chief Ikechi Emenike, described members of the caucus of the state APC as drowning men as the pendulum had just swung against them.

The APC chieftain disclosed that the party’s national leadership had invalidated and put paid to the rumored suspension of Chief Emenike, and urged party members and teeming supporters to disregard the rantings of the drowning men without electoral values.

But continuing, Apugo, however lauded the development of the party in Abia and boasted that the party now had every arsenal to win the 2023 general elections in the state.

He advised true lovers of democracy and genuine members of the party in the state to remain steadfast and continue to work assiduously towards ensuring the successes of the party now the 2023 polls are fast approaching.

Apugo partly stated, “I registered Ikechi Emenike in APC. After registering him, he sued the party in this state in five courts. He sued PDP, he sued ANPP and APGA too, so, he is Mr. Suit, but he never won any. Remember that this same Governor Mai Mala Buni was the national secretary before, he still gave Ikechi Emenike a parallel line when Adams Oshiomhole was the national chairman. Ikechi Emenike has formed parallel lines more than four times, but has not succeeded in any.

“In this particular case, he shot himself completely because he was expelled from the party, after the state rectified it, Oshiomhole announced his explosion and he has not been recalled. Even at that if he were recalled, the people that came for the Ward Congress are robbers. They didn’t report to the party state secretariat, Commissioner of Police was waiting for them because they were supposed to have submitted their letters to the police, DSS and INEC, but they didn’t do that, nobody saw them. They went straight to Ikechi’s house and faked the result. It was the caretaker local government chairmen that were supposed to have conducted the Ward Congress, with the people from Abuja witnessing.

“So, the LG Caretaker Committee chairmen from the 17 local governments were all at the party secretariat, but they didn’t see anybody from Abuja. Ikechi Emenike has been like that. Even if there is nobody in the state, what he is doing cannot work. Apart from the fact that the state caretaker committee went to court, what Ikechi is doing cannot work, so forget about Ikechi Emenike.

“The nation knows that everything wrong was done by them, so, they are looking for a way to remedy it, knowing full well what Ikechi Emenike did is nonsense. The National Caretaker Committee never made a mistake. They did it willingly. It was John James Akpanudoedehe, the so-called national caretaker committee secretary that did it. I don’t believe it was Mala Buni that did it, even though it was him who was secretary when Ikechi did the first one”.