From Chidi Nnadi, Enugu

The State Working Committee (SWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Enugu State chapter, has passed a vote of confidence in Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama.

This followed a call by factional chairman, Dr. Ben Nwoye, that President Muhammadu Buhari should sack Onyeama, who he claimed has performed abysmally in office.

But, the party’s SWC, at a press conference, yesterday,  addressed by the state factional chairman, Mr. Adolphus C. Ude, distanced members from Nwoye’s call and said “those calling for the sack of the oreign affairs minister are political fugitives with deformed minds.”

The SWC said Nwoye and some stalwarts of the party who took the illegal decision were on their own.

“We wish to state that the APC in Enugustate neither took such decision nor asked Nwoye, who is no longer in office, to address a press conference on its behalf, after his suspension for diversion of party funds and anti-party activities. 

“The party celebrates president Buhari and his entire cabinet, for the numerous achievements this government has made.           

“For the records, in 2015, the image of Nigeria, internationally, was in a deplorable state with high records of institutionalised corruption and impunity.

“The foreign affairs minister took conscious steps to change that perception and, within a short period, he restored the country to its pride of place, among the comity of nations.” The party organ noted that “today, the foreign affairs ministry, headed by Onyeama, has removed the country from the previous shocking levels of impunity, arrogance of power and corruption that have dented Nigeria’s image before the coming of the APC administration.

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“In 2015, foreign investors were fleeing the country because the economy, which, after rebasing, was rated the largest in Africa, had suffered serious damage and was almost prostrate. However, through strategic efforts and alliances forged for Nigeria by the foreign affairs minister, Foreign Direct Investors are beginning to return to the country with renewed faith in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

which is a three-year plan designed to reflate and redirect the economy on the path of growth. This has resulted in massive foreign capital investment in the country.

“The economy has started responding to the initiatives to re-attract foreign investors into the country inspired by the minister as evidenced in the recent announcement by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that the country has officially come out of recession,” SWC pointed out.

They reminded those calling for the minister’s sack that he had, under the instruction of President Buhari mobilised other African leaders to force erstwhile President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia to relinquish power in Gambia.

They also argued that under Onyeama, the country and President Buhari have enjoyed massive international goodwill and support as could be seen in the volume of high-tech defence equipment the United States of America (USA) and other super powers have agreed to make available to the country at little or no cost.

“As we speak, the foreign affairs minister is busy with ensuring that Nigeria appends its national signature to the anti-nuclear weapon treaty.

“Hence, we make bold to say that Enugu APC is proud of the foreign affairs minister and his legacies which we hope will be immortalised in the anal of Nigerian history,” they said.

They said the call by the factional chairman of the party for “the sack of the minister on the basis that he under performed at the recently concluded UNGA is laughable, as Nigerians and even the opposition party applauded him and the president for making the country proud. Such sack call can only come from an agent of destabilisation.”