Judex Okoro, Calabar
In modern day politicking, political parties are essential institutions of democracy. They compete in elections by offering citizens a choice in governance. But when in opposition they can hold government accountable.
But the Cross River chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) seems to be a direct opposite of what a political party in opposition ought to be. It does not bark, neither does it bite. It does not only appear to be a lame duck, recent events within the party indicate that the party is at war with itself.
Political watchers of events in the state have argued that from the outset, the APC embarked on self –destruct. From the merger stage, to the election of current state party executives, 2015 elections and to the handling of massive defectors from the ruling party in the state, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and few others from the Labour Party (LP), it has been embroiled in one crisis after another.
And the crisis come in form of either an internal squabble within members of the state executive committee over who controls the party structure or the battle over appointments at the national level, leading to factions within the party.
While some analysts further argue that the influx of PDP and LP political heavy weights into APC shortly after the 2015 general election has aggravated the crisis in the party, others contend that the inordinate ambition of some of the founding members has led the party to its knees. But a few still insist that the fact that the party is made up of “strange bed fellows,” is largely responsible for the reoccurring crisis.
Daily Sun investigations however reveal that the crisis in the party started rearing its head at the formative stage when over six aspirants battled for the state chairmanship slot before former Rivers State governor and Transport minister, Rotimi Amechi, wadded into the matter and unilaterally chose Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, who later became a minister too.
Some of his rivals in the chairmanship election including Mr. Hilliard Eta and Cletus Obun were subsequently elected South-South Vice chairman and Vice chairman, Central senatorial zone respectively. But since then the party has not known peace as the heavy-weights have continued to work at cross purposes at the detriment of the party.
The crisis continued when Usani was sworn-in as minister of Niger Delta Affairs. Usani since then too, has refused to let go of the party structure as he is said to have held on tenaciously to it by putting spanner in the works to ensure that the deputy chairman, Mr. John Ochala, who became the acting chairman, is rendered in-active.
It was learnt that the defectors had been having a running battle with Usani as he was alleged to have shut most of them out of the party activities, insisting that they were new comers and as such should wait while those of them who have been there should be “taken care of first.”
The development also pitched him against some senior citizens who joined the party, with the intention of rebuilding the party to the point of been able to face the PDP in next year’s general elections.
But the crisis in the party got to a climax recently following alleged moves by Usani and his team to install the next state chairman.
According to sources, the meeting to torpedo the acting chairman allegedly began at the home of one of the “big” defectors from the PDP, in Abuja and it was called by Usani. Those present at the said meeting included the host, Usani, Eteng and Kate Okon.
At the meeting held on January 13, some speakers had queried the rationale of convening such stakeholders’ meeting without inviting the state chairman and zonal vice chairman, Hillard, Obla, Mary Ekpere and Bassey Otu.
Those present were piqued after Usani’s address and vowed not to be part of it any longer because they knew where he was heading. They also made it known to him that such meeting should not be summoned again without the consent of the chairman.
The second meeting where they surreptitiously selected Mr Etim John as the new party chairman was said to have been held at Senator Bassey Otu’s house in Abuja on Thursday, January 24.
Piqued by this latest onslaught against the party, state working committee moved swiftly and slammed indefinite suspension on Pastor Usani for anti-party activities and the suspension was ratified by an enlarged working committee of the party held at the party secretariat on Saturday, January 27.
It also recommended his expulsion to the national leadership of the party, just as it alleged that the minister of Niger Delta Affairs has been holding illegal meetings contrary to article 21 of the APC constitution. He was also alleged to have been sponsoring a chairmanship aspirant whom he was going to use for the 2019 elections.
Speaking to Daily Sun exclusively on the suspension, the acting state chairman of the party, John Ochala said: “The minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani Uguru, has been calling illegal meetings. Of recent, he sponsored a meeting in Obubra to purportedly handpick a so called chairman for the party.
“A committee was set up and all those involved were tried including him. He appeared before the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party twice and made us to understand that there was a misunderstanding and that he did not mean evil for the party and that he meant well for the party.
“While others were suspended, because of his high office and with him showing some remorse, we kept the matter in view only for him within the last two weeks to resurrect such illegalities again by calling a meeting of the party in Abuja and using the name of the national chairman of the party claiming that he (Oyegun) gave him such privilege to call the meeting.
“Not only that, he went ahead to form a committee and I think a week after that the so called committee came out and announced that they have handpicked somebody to be the state chairman. Now we have a constitution which spells out clearly how proceedings and processes are followed. We have recommended to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party for his expulsion. The State Executive Committee (SEC) of the party does not have the power to expel him but he has been recommended for expulsion to the national.”
He insisted that the decision of the party to suspend the minister was very timely, saying “if we had not taken the step we have taken now, the party would be in a worse shape than it is now. We should be able to look at ourselves in the face and tell ourselves the truth so that before 2019, we will be more prepared to go into the elections as one united family.
“If you condone impunity, then the impunity will consume you. One man cannot have the prerogative of handpicking who becomes the party chairman. The party chairman will be picked at the congress that will be organised by the national leadership. And that congress has delegates that will come, attend the congress and pick who their next chairman will be. It is not the prerogative of one man because of his exalted office to handpick or dictate the pace of the party. Long before now, we knew who he wanted or who he wants so that that, that one will give him the governorship ticket because of his inordinate ambition and that was the card that played out and it is the same person that was produced which is absolutely wrong.”
Also speaking on the crisis in the party, the vice chairman, Central senatorial district, Cletus Obun, described the attempt by Usani and his group to install a chairman through the back door as a nullity, adding that “it is an offence against the APC constitution for anybody to want to usurp the function of SEC and the National Working Committee (NWC).
“I am surprised that such a calibre of people could be hoodwinked by the minister to take such irrational decision and this is what killed PDP. We are also aware that some people are working very hard to ensure that APC has no strong footing in the state, so they can jump ship and possibly cooperate with the opposition PDP. I wonder how about 15 persons out of at least 90 persons that are supposed to elect officers will just usurp the function. We are watching what the NWC would do in this instance.
“There are constitutional means through which a replacement can be made. The party organs are: polling unit exco, ward exco, senatorial exco, chapter exco, state and zonal excos, NWC, SWC and the state caucus. So ask them what organ took the decision to select the new chairman in Abuja. The minister is not even a delegate to the congress because our constitution makes him an observer.
“Therefore, to now convene a meeting and arrogate to himself the power of a state chairman and presides over such illegal meeting is unpardonable. He has at some point had such meetings and even authored the minutes, signed by him and then sends it to the national chairman on behalf of the party leadership informing the national leadership that he is about to convoke a congress of his own with five delegates each from each zone and all these delegates were chosen by him. He does not fund the party.”
He listed those Usani had earlier unilaterally nominated to be part of the college that met in Abuja to select Etim John as chairman to include Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo, Obanliku, Lazarus, Legal Adviser, Odey Ocicha, Bekwarra, Wabili, Ogoja, Ogenyi, Yala to represent the northern zone, while Victor Ndoma-Egba, Mary Ekpere, Mrs Ita, Owan and Usani, Obono Obla, represented the central zone. For the southern zone, he nominated Kate Okon, Ita Giwa, Otu, Eta and Ntete Basey Duke.
He further disclosed that this was the ninth time Usani is presenting Etim John for the party’s chairmanship. He wondered why the SEC made up of 32 persons and 18 chapter chairmen are not qualified to elect chairman but 15 are qualified.
“Usani has done everything within his powers to undermine the party and ensure there are parallel executives. I can say he is totally out to destroy the party so we won’t win election in the state. His agenda with Etim John is to destroy the party for PDP to win governorship in 2019 where he would run as a senator and then run for governor in 2023,” Obun stated.
“It is on record that on July 27, 2017, the SWC suspended Ikom, Etung, Yakurr and Boki chapter chairmen and Mr Etim John. He gave out hampers for chapter excos through the suspended chairmen without recourse to state executive. They have been recommended for expulsion. On the same day, he sponsored a meeting at Obubra with non-delegates and the four chapter chairmen out of 18 to nominate the same Etim John as the state chairman,” Obun explained further.
Lashing out at party members for the festering crisis, Utum Eteng, a member of Sen Ken Nnamani-led Constitution and Electoral Review Panel, said the crisis is not good enough for the party considering the”calibre” of politicians who have crossed over to the party.
Eteng said a good number of big time politicians are sitting on the fence and waiting for a resolution to the crisis, adding that it was selfish for some politicians to think that a particular person must be the chairman of his ward before he can produce the chairman or councillor. So it has to be Mr. B and this has led to suspicion since 2015.
He, however, blamed the national leadership of the APC for their inability to solve what he described as a “simple problem” of the party in the state.
“I blame them because they have not shown that they have studied the constitution well enough to know that at times like this, that Article 12 of the constitution of the APC, where it says the party is supreme, means that every other interest is subservient and subsumed under the APC because it is meant by the constitution to be a cooperate bonding in perpetuity.
“There is a very civil way of solving this problem. If the constitution says the party is supreme, then every decision of the party is final especially at the national level. I expect the leadership of the APC to apply the doctrine of necessity to solve this problem if the party is determined to win the next general elections in Cross River,” he suggested.
But Usani’s loyalists are not letting the matter lying low as they have responded by summarily suspending the acting chairman and the vice chairman, South-South, Hilliard Eta from the party.
The loyalists, made up of four members of the executive out 14 and 20 others kicked against the recent suspension of the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, and declared the purported suspension a nullity and an attempt to rock the boat ahead of 2019 elections.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Calabar on Sunday, January 28, and signed by Messers Ekpe Owan Ayang, the state Organising secretary, Lazarus Undie, Legal adviser, Ekum Ekok Ojogu, State Financial Secretary, Statulus Ikenga, State Welfare Secretary, and 21 others, the stakeholders described the purported suspension as a nullity and called for disciplinary action to be taken against the national vice chairman, South-South, Prince Hiliard Etagbo Eta, and the deputy chairman, John Ochala.
According to them, the purported suspension of the minister is a nullity because he was never validly accused of any wrong doing against the party in Cross River State or anywhere else.
“The purported suspension of all state officers of the party predicated on the processes pursuant to the appointment of acting State chairman is null and avoid, as none of the said suspensions were presented to the SEC of the party for ratification.
“Prince Hiliard Etagbor having fully participated in the proceedings at the SEC meeting and attacked the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, wherein, he described the meeting of the Elders committee as illegal and the decision in the said meeting appointing acting state chairman as nullity, is disqualified from participating in the consideration of the issues arising there from either at the zone or at the NEC of this party as he has pre-judged issues yet to be submitted before his office.
“That the conduct of the deputy state chairman, John Ochala and National vice chairman, South-South, Prince Hiliard Etagbor Eta, is antithetical to the provision of the Oath of office which they subscribed to, to protect the party constitution, nay, the future prospect of the party in the state.
“In this light the duo of Prince Hiliard Eta and John Ochala are accordingly suspended from the party forthwith,” the Usani’s loyalists declared.
Expressing worry at the turn of events within the party, an analyst, Comrade George Agbor, said what is happening in APC in the state is an indication that the party is heading for disintegration.
Hear him “we are all disappointed at the in-fighting within the party that we had expected so much from. Since 2015 we have watched with keen interest how the old members are fighting one another. There is also silent war between the old APC members and the new APC, those who defected after r their electoral misfortunes.
“We had hoped that they will all join hands and give a credible alternative, but they are fighting for crumbs from Abuja and running a closed system all because of 2019. I can assure you that with what is playing out, the party is as good as dead except a miracle happens because all the gladiators want to contest election.”