Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River state have accused the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani of being responsible for the crisis rocking the party in the state. Speaking on behalf of the group while addressing a press conference in Calabar on Sunday, the former member of the House of Representative Chief (Hon) Ernest Irek accused Usani of conniving with the Organizing Secretary of the party to organize an illegal congress on February 24, 2018.
He called on the President to immediately investigate the activities of the Minister and call him to order.
“If Pastor Usani was not called to order, the party may not win the 2019 election. We the stakeholders are calliing on the Presidency to review the activities of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Pastor Usani Uguru Usani with a view to calling him to order.”
If this trend is not checked, the party might lose the 2019 elections. Agreed, we have crisis in our party, but the one caused by the Minister and the Organizing Secretary may deny us many things, including victory in elections.
The conduct of February 24th congress has aggravated serious crisis in the party. If it is a party that respects hierarchy, having done what they have done, they would have allowed the National Publicity Secretary to address the press but the Organizing Secretary did the work of the National Publicity Secretary.
Now our quarrels with the congress of 24th Feb 2018, first and foremost, the National Working Committee (NWC) did not approve any congress for any particular state. No State was told to conduct any congress.
Actually, what happened was that National Executive Committee (NEC) directed the State Working Committee (SEC) to hold a meeting and to see how they could sort out the differences that are plaguing the party. We were called to Abuja for a meeting just to set that process going and in the process, before we knew it, there was announcement that congress was going to take place on Saturday of that week, our party’s constitution is very clear on that.
We tried to question the proposed conduct of the congress but we were shouted down hence some persons went to court. After receiving the court processes, the National Deputy Chairman South having realised some of these things now called the Committee to come back but they refused through the order of the Organizing Secretary.
If they want this party to move forward, we need to put our head down and talk to ourselves. Congress is coming and our party time table is out and in the next one month, there will be congress.”
