Senator Iroegbu in Abuja
The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State seems to be deepening with the National Vice Chairman in charge of the South-south, Mr Hilliard Eta, rejecting the recent party congress.
Eta in a chat with journalists in Abuja wednesday, said the “purported state congress held in Cross Rivers State was illegal and cannot stand.â€
He said group of persons parading one Mr. Etim John as the chairman of the party in the state, are wasting their time.
The party chieftain noted that the members of the group who he said are acting out of ignorance by anchoring their decision on “a purported†state congress held on February 24, 2018.
Eta stressed that as the National Vice Chairman in charge of the zone with the APC constitution backed- supervisory powers over states in the zone, what happened in Cross Rivers on the date in question were a charade.
He said: “I got a report today that one Etim John is going around calling himself the chairman of the APC in Cross Rivers State.
“First of all, I am the National Vice Chairman of the APC in the South-south and Cross Rivers is one of the states under my supervision and I know that, that chapter is headed by Sir. John Ochalla as acting chairman.
“What purportedly happened on February 24, 2018 after some people sat somewhere was not, I repeat, was not a congress of this party.
“It was a charade, it was a disgrace, it was shameful and the APC as a party built on the rule of law cannot be linked to that kind of shenanigans.
“We had made it clear before that charade took place, that the gathering; if it at all it held, would be a charade because among other things.
“They had been served with court processes, they had not given the people of Cross Rivers State 14 days as specified in our constitution, they had not given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the 21 days notice as stipulated in the Electoral Act.
“All the known laws that we as operators of the APC; predicate our conduct on were blatantly violated. This cannot stand because we cannot fold our arms and watch a few individuals plunge this party into anarchy,†he added.
Eta further explained that the crisis in the Cross River State chapter of the party was one out of several the Senator Ahmed Tinubu reconciliation committee was saddled with the responsibility of handling.
The party leader enjoined all party members in the state and in the zone to remain calm and refrain from any action that could cast the party in bad light.
He is confident that the profile of the party which has been on the rise since 2015 will continue to rise because of the purposeful leadership being provided by President Muhammadu Buhari.
