Skip to main content

APC Expels Former Minister


The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Akwa Ibom State, says it remains resolute in its expulsion of a former minister of statefor the Federal Capital Territory, John Udoedehe, from the party.

Mr. Udoedehe, who is also a former senator,has been in a longstanding feud with other party leaders in the state since he was beaten by Umana Umana at the party’s governorship primaries in 2015.

Mr. Udoedehe is insisting that he was rigged out of the primaries.He has refused to accept a former minister of petroleum, Don Etiebet, as the leader of the party caucus in the state, and has also put up adverts in local papers proclaiming the “dissolution” of the party leadership in the state.


The APC Chairman in the state, Amadu Attai, told journalists, Friday, in Uyo that Mr. Udoedehe stands expelled and excommunicated from the party.


Mr. Attai, surrounded by the 17 members ofthe party Exco in the state, accused Mr. Udoedehe of sponsoring media attacks against the APC and its leaders in the state, so as to hurt the party’S image and put the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in an advantage ahead of the 2019 governorship election.

“As the majority of you here may undoubtedly be aware of, there have been of late attempts by some riff-raffs and characters unknown to our Party to misleadthe general public to think that there is (a) crisis in the Akwa Ibom State chapter of ourgreat Party,” Mr. Attai said.

“The Amadu Attai-led State Executive of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Akwa Ibom State with its secretariat at No.4 Atiku Abubakar Avenue, Uyo, is intact.


Indeed, it remains the one and only Exco of our Party that has been carrying out its official functions.


“We call on all our members and teeming supporters of our great Party in the State, and, indeed, the general public to totally disregard the false reports and the rumourspeddled by some uninformed rascals and disgruntled elements who call themselves ‘forum of state officers, chapter executives and ward executives’.


There is no such body known to the Constitution of the All Progressives Congress, APC.”As the APC press briefing was going on at about 2.30 p.m. at the party secretariat, Atiku Abubakar Avenue, Mr. Udoedehe was being driven in a long convoy into the city from the Akwa Ibom International Airport where he had just landed.


Those who witnessed Mr. Udoedehe’s entryinto the city told PREMIUM TIMES that the atmosphere was similar to that of a politicalrally.Mr. Udoedehe’s expulsion was first carried out at the ward and then the Uyo local government chapter of the APC before it was ratified on January 26 by the state executive of the party.The sins of the former minister, the party says, is that he sponsored some thugs to attack the executive members of the party at the party secretariat.The former senator told PREMIUM TIMES that the APC at his ward, Ward 6, Uyo, did not expel him.


“Those names and signatures are completely fake,” he said.He accused the MD, Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Nsima Ekere, of manipulating the party against himbecause he (Mr. Ekere) wants to contest forthe governorship in 2019.“He (Mr. Ekere) bribed the party members tosign documents against me,” Mr. Udoedehesaid.


“I am not accusing Umana this time around. I’m saying it is Nsima that did it. Lethim come out and defend himself.“My ward chairman’s name is Monday Utuk.My chapter chairman is Emmanuel Andy. Everybody knows that.“I have told the party at the national that ‘it’slike you are tying my hands to allow my enemies to box me’.“If people were in the PDP when we formed the party, and because they have money they throw their morals into the gutter.

Mr. Ekere did not respond to telephone callsand text message from PREMIUM TIMES.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/223234-apc-expels-former-minister.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FG Secures $7.5bn Loan From China For Rail Project

The Federal Government has secured $7.5 billion loan for the construction of standard rail gauge from Lagos to Kano, an official has said. The $7.5 billion is part of the $30 billion loan the Federal Government seeks to take and for which it has sought approval from the National Assembly. The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who disclosed this on Monday at the North Central Town Hall meeting held in Ilorin for the people of Kogi, Niger and Kwara states, urged Nigerians to impress it on the National Assembly to approve the loan request so that the Federal Government can go ahead with the project. But the Senate in a statement by its spokesperson, Aliyu Abdullahi, on Wednesday in Abuja, said that the minister’s claim was not only false but misrepresenting and contradictory to available facts. It insisted that the minister must withdraw the claim. According to Amaechi, the loan was secured from a Chinese bank and the ministry is waiting for approval of the National Asse...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nigeria Army To Recruit 12,000 Soldiers - Buratai

Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai has disclosed that the Nigeria Army would recruit 12,000 men in 2017 to help fight insurgents and other uprisings across the country. Buratai was speaking during a budget defence session with the House of Representatives Committee on Army. According to him, the recruitment exercise would take place after the Army’s 2017 budget proposal of N152.8 billion is approved. He further revealed that the exercise would be in two batches with 6,000 men first and another 6,000 later. The army chief further explained that the Army was currently engaged in different operations in almost all the states of the federation, combating criminalities such as kidnapping, terrorism, pipeline vandalism, cattle rustling, among others. He complained that delay in release of funds was frustrating military operations nationwide, adding that the morale of troops must be boosted regularly. http://www.newshelm.com/2017/02/nigeria-army-to-recrui...
Post a Comment
Read more

Man Dies In Aba Hotel After Telling Wife He Was On A Business Trip To Umuahia

A man in his late 30s, identified as Peter Ibekwe was found dead inside a hotel room in Aba, Abia state, at the weekend. Ibekwe was said to have told his wife he was going on a business trip to Umuahia, the Abia State capital. It was learnt that the deceased who resided in the Ogbor Hill area of the city, instead of travelling to Umuahia, went and lodged in a hotel located on Club 25 road, Abayi Aba in Osisioma Local Government Area of the State. Ibekwe, who was said to have entered the hotel at about 7:30pm the previous night, was however, found dead in his room the following morning when cleaners in the hotel went to tidy his room and initial attempts to open the door proved abortive. “It was after initial efforts failed that some workers at the hotel forced the door open only to see the lifeless body of Mr. Ibekwe. “The hotel management informed the police about the incident. The man’s relations were equally contacted before his body was taken from the hotel to the mortu...
Post a Comment
Read more