Akwa Ibom APC Protests Alleged Plot To Hijack Structure By PDP Defectors

Some aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Mkpat Enin local government area of Akwa Ibom State have protested an alleged clandestine move by party bigwigs to dissolve the ward and chapter structures ahead of the party’s congresses scheduled for February 18 and 21.

The protesters drawn from the ward and chapter executives stormed the council secretariat to register their grievances over alleged plans to impose new lists of ward and chapter officers to replace the current leadership, following the defection of former People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members into the APC with Governor Umo Eno.

They disclosed that the surreptitious move followed the recent defection of key figures from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the APC and warned that such actions could spark internal crisis and undermine the unity of the party.

Speaking during the protest, one of the demonstrators, Comrade Silas, accused the new entrants into the party of attempting to hijack its structure.

“We are the goose that laid the golden egg,” Silas declared. “We suffered, laboured and built this party here, but barely six months after the PDP bigwigs defected into APC, they are now plotting to evict us from the same party we struggled to grow.”

He added that if the defectors were dissatisfied with their present political offices, they should consider exchanging positions rather than forcefully taking over party structures.

“If the PDP bigwigs who defected six months ago now feel that their positions as commissioners, special advisers, local government chairmen, House of Assembly members, councillors, supervisors and ward personal assistants are not useful to them, they should relinquish those offices and come for the ward and chapter positions. Let us swap places so they can be comfortable,” he said.

Another protester, Mr. Ubong Inyang, lamented that the “bigwigs have ambushed the APC” in Mkpat Enin LGA, and warned that if not checked, it could snowball into a major embarrassment for the party in the area at the polls.

“These bigwigs are the problem. If this is not nipped in the bud, it will cause disaffection and crisis. We have worked tirelessly to raise this party. We cannot now be pushed aside with ignominy,” he warned.

The protesters noted that despite their loyalty and sacrifices, they had not benefited from appointments since the party’s rising influence in the area.

“We have not benefited anything after our struggle and steadfastness. All the PAs, SAs to the Governor, appointments in the local government councils to commissioners came from the PDP. What is our own?” one of them queried.

They, therefore, called on Governor Eno, to urgently intervene and halt what they described as the “power-drunk attempt to destabilise the party in Mkpat Enin.”

At the end of the protest, the group issued a communique reaffirming their loyalty to the APC leadership at the state and national levels.

“We, the ward and chapter officers of the party in Mkpat Enin LGA, declare our total support for His Excellency, Pastor Umo Eno, and his development initiatives under the ARISE Agenda.

“As the political leader of the party in the State, we pledge our unalloyed support to all his policies, programmes and initiatives.

“Our support for President Bola Tinubu; Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Governor Umo Eno, for a second term is total, and we do not need anything that will distract us,” the communique stressed

The protesters further advised that for peace to reign, the existing party structures in Mkpat Enin—from the ward to the chapter level—should be allowed to remain intact, while political appointees and elected office holders in the local government should maintain the status quo

They warned that any attempt to impose new executives could fracture the party and weaken its chances in future elections.