By Chinelo Ogbodo (Enugu State Correspondent)
Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Enugu State Chapter, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah and some members of his State Executive Committee (SEC), are currently on the firing line over their purported plot to expel or suspend some key elders and leaders of the party in the state, insisting that such move will finally destroy the party in Enugu state.
Eminent Stateman and a former Senate President of Nigeria, Chief Ken Nnamani, the current leader of the APC in Enugu state and two others, namely: Ozor Joe Mamel and Nelson Maduka Arum, were among party leaders so targeted for expulsion, based on allegations of anti-party conducts which was dismissed by Nnamani's Ward, at the weekend, as purely orchestrated and trumped up, just to achieve a pre-determined purpose.
The Ward party members of Amechi Uwani Awkunanaw Enugu, which is the home ward of Senator Ken Nnamani, however, passed a complete vote of confidence on the Nigeria's former number three citizen and also re-affirmed their total support for his leadership of the ruling APC in Enugu State. They warned the leadership of the party in the state against acts of disrespect to Nnamani and other leaders and key stakeholders of the party in Enugu.
Besides, the entire APC, Ward 2, Enugu South Local Government Area, has also thrown its weight behind Senator Nnamani, urging him not be distracted or despair in continuously providing leadership and direction to the party in the state.
The expression of confidence and support to Nnamani's leadership in Enugu APC were contained in a statement to newsmen on Saturday January 28, 2023, entitled “Vote of Confidence and Message of Solidarity on His Excellency, Senator Ken Nnamani, GCON”, and signed by the Ward executives and stakeholders.
The statement jointly signed by 28 party stakeholders and executives, including the Ward Chairman, Comrade Christopher Okenwa; Ward Secretary, Engr. Sunday Nnamani; former Enugu South Council Chairman and Federal Board Chairman, Prince Uche Edeh; and a party leader, Prince Joe Agbo, Nnamani’s kinsmen, dismissed the allegation as “mere hot air”. They urged leaders of the party and members of the public to disregard it.
The statement reads thus: “The APC, Ward 2 (Amechi Uwani Awkunanaw), at an emergency meeting of the party held at the party’s secretariat/Ward office today, Friday, 27 January, 2023 by 5pm, resolved to state as follows, that:
"His Excellency, Sen. Ken Nnamani is a bona fide member of the APC in this Ward.
“As a member of this Ward, he has been found very worthy, financially supportive, strong by character, and has always shown strength whenever and wherever it comes to party values and matters. We have no reason whatsoever to doubt his judgments or capacity and capability in ways of reasoning or decisions.
"We therefore endorse all his decisions and actions as it relates to party matters and stand by him completely.
“Any issues purportedly emanating from this Ward or elsewhere with a view to malign his character or personality should be disregarded as mere hot air and sentiments without facts, as all disciplinary issues or actions against any erring member must emanate from the relevant or concerned Ward as clearly stated in the party’s constitution.
"We frown at any form of disrespect to Sen. Ken Nnamani or any of our party leaders in Enugu State for that matter”.
Recall, however, that the Enugu State Chairman of the APC, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, and the governorship candidate of the party, Chief Uche Nnaji, have been having a running battle with a section of members and the leaders of the party over the state chairman’s emergence, which is currently a subject of litigation.
There have also been agitations over alleged impunity and alleged embezzlement of funds to the tune of well over N1.3 billion leveled against the duo.
These have resulted in a recent protest against Agballah and Nnaji at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja, as well as the boycott of APC’s presidential rally in Enugu by major party leaders such as Senator Nnamani; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; former governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime; former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Eugene Odoh, among a host of others.
But in what looks like a curious twist to this development, the State Secretary of the Party, Dr Robert Ngwu, acting on the mandate of the State Executive Committee (SEC), announced that the party's SEC had resolved to set up a disciplinary committee headed by the State Assistant Legal Adviser, Vincent Chieyina, to invite Nnamani as well as a former Commissioner in Enugu State, Ozor Mmamel, and Mr Nelson Arum, to answer to charges of alleged anti-party activities levelled against them. NNL.
