Convention: Amid Protests, S’East APC Passes Confidence Vote on Oyegun, Others

Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu

Amid pockets of opposition from concerned members, the South-east caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday in Enugu passed a vote of confidence on the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC).
The party also expressed support for all its chairmen in the five states of the zone.

This came as the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu and his Labour and Employment counterpart, Dr. Chris Ngige, canvassed the support of Ndigbo for the second term aspiration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The ministers insisted that the reelection of the president would not only guarantee the emergence of an Igbo man as president by 2023 but will also permanently heal the pain of the Nigeria/Biafra civil war.

In a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting of the South-east leaders of APC in Enugu, the party however failed to expressly endorse Oyegun or the NWC members from the zone for a second term.

However, some party members had opposed the confidence vote for Oyegun and others insisting that anybody interested in taking part in the congresses and convention should prepare for election and not to be imposed.
Also, another group led by Hon. Val Ikpa had carried placards at the entrance of the meeting venue, insisting that they were totally opposed to any form of imposition.

“We support the president for making it clear that there should be election and not imposition. We will not accept anything to the contrary, “ Ikpa who is contesting for the party’s chairmanship in Enugu noted.

Nonetheless, the caucus commended the APC governors for unanimously adopting the president for a second term, while urging the South-east governors and the people of the zone to support the president.

The communique signed by the National Vice chairman, South-east, Emma Eneukwu and the Zonal Publicity Secretary, Hycienth Ngwu, expressed appreciation to the president for they described as the massive infrastructure developments going on in the South-east.
Earlier in their opening remarks at the meeting attended by members of the party at the National Assembly, Secretary of the Convention Planning Committee, Senator Ben Uwajumogu, Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, Chief Jim Nwobodo, among others, both Onu and Ngige urged Ndigbo not to repeat the mistake of 2015.

They expressed optimism that the president would be reelected in the 2019 election, insisting that even without supporting the president in 2015, the federal government had embarked on several projects in the zone.

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