Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki
The Ebonyi State Executive Committee (SEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended indefinitely the acting chairman of the party in the state, Mr. Eze Nwachukwu Eze, for conniving with some party leaders to tamper with the 2014 zonal arrangement of the party.
SEC said the suspension of Nwachukwu became unavoidable in order to bring lasting peace to the party. They warned the public to henceforth, be mindful of their dealings with him.
Nwachukwu and some state working committee (NWC) members had on Monday adopted as a working document a report presented to it by a three-man committee led by the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, which proposed a new zoning arrangement for last Saturday’s state congress of the party.
The other two members of the committee are former governor, Martin Elechi (representing Ebonyi Central) and an ex-Senator Chris Nwankwo (representing Ebonyi North), who is also Elechi’s in-law.
According to the new zoning formula, the chairmanship position of the party is zoned to Nwachukwu’s Ebonyi North zone and even narrowed it down to his Ohaukwu Local Government.
But briefing journalists after the 54th SEC meeting of the party on Thursday, the state publicity secretary of APC, Mr Ngaji Nwodo, who read the resolution of SEC, said the adoption of the said new zoning formula presented by Onu’s committee by the acting chairman was a clear violation of the party’s constitution.
It maintained that the new zoning formula adopted by Nwachukwu and his cohort was an anti-party activity and indiscipline, noting that is was unfortunate that Onu, who is a serving minister in the government of APC, is championing it.
“The SEC condemns the nocturnal and anti-party action of Mr Eze Nwachukwu Eze, Chief Martin Elechi, Ogbonnaya Onu and Chris Nwankwo, to tamper with the 2014 APC guidelines which is still in force,” SEC said.
It also noted that the new zoning formula was not only done with disregard to the constitutional rights of members of the state executive committee of the party in the state, but anti progressive in its entirety.
The committee added that the proposed zoning formula adopted by Nwachukwu and his cohort was anti progressive and must be dealt with decisively.
SEC further directed Onu, Elechi and Chris Nwankwo to withdraw the purported new zoning arrangement within 24hrs or they would be constrained to invoke in full the party’s constitution to discipline them.
It further called on members of the party especially interested aspirants in the state’s congress to discountenance the purported new zoning formula by the Onu-led committee.
