Aggrieved APC Leaders Insist On Resignation Of Cross River Chairman

A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State has drawn a battle line with the state chairman, Alphonsus Eba, calling for his resignation over allegations of corruption and poor treatment of ward and chapter executives.

The executives, comprising chapter and ward chairmen, secretaries, and youth leaders, expressed their dissatisfaction at a meeting in Calabar, Cross River State.

They maintained that they would no longer tolerate the chairman’s alleged misappropriation of party funds and marginalisation of grassroots leaders.

The youth leader of Ward 8 in Calabar, Bassey Ekpenyong, said, “We are not part of the Vote of Confidence passed on the state chairman, and we stand firmly with the Forum of Chapter Chairmen in calling for his resignation”.

They also decried what they described as lopsided allocation of statutory party funds, alleging that the state executive was taking a disproportionate share, leaving local government areas and wards with meagre resources.

Chairman of the Forum of Chapter Chairmen, High Chief Kelvin Njong, said, “We reject the planned meeting with the state chairman until our demands are met.”

Despite this dispute, the executives pledged their support for Governor Bassey Otu’s reelection bid, citing his achievements and commitment to the state’s development.

The call has further deepened the crisis within the APC in Cross River State, with the faction vowing to continue its protest until its demands are met.

The party’s Vice Chairman of Obubra and Chairman of the Vice Chairmen Forum, Elder William Ovat, has also denounced the earlier vote of confidence on the State chairman.

He insisted, “Based on the allegations of corruption we have seen and heard at the state leadership level, we align with the Forum of Chapter Chairmen in adopting the communique calling for the chairman’s resignation.”

Chairman of the chairmen’s forum and chapter chairman of Bok, High Chief Kelvin Njong, said the fight was a collective revolution against the state chairman.

“Local Government Areas and Wards comprising 5,778 Party Officials go with N9.2 million, whereas the State Exco with just 36 members takes over N40million. This is a gross injustice”, he maintained.