Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has said that he is not surprised about the ongoing crisis among the party members in Enugu State.
Recall that some members of the Enugu State executive council of the party had last month suspended the state chairman, Ugochukwu Agballah and three other executive members namely: Augustine Alumonah, Deputy State Chairman; Emeka Eze, State Organizing Sec. and Jude Aniogbo, State Treasurer over allegations of embezzlement and abuse of office.
Speaking to stakeholders of the party over the weekend, Ganduje said the crisis was not new to him and the national leadership of the party because there is a particular group of people that had been benefiting from instigating crisis in the state chapter of the party since inception.
Ganduje, who was represented by the deputy national chairman (South) of the party, Emma Eneukwu, said the party was not taking the crisis seriously because this is not the first time such a development was occuring.
He said if the crisis was serious, the party would have taken quick measures to address it.
He said: “I’m here to tell you that there’s no faction in Enugu APC. I’m the deputy national chairman (South) and nobody becomes a chairman in the Southern part of Nigeria without our authorisation.
“I made sure that the national chairman of our party, Dr. Ganduje spoke with our state chairman before I left Abuja for this meeting. So, even if he did not come, the national chairman, who I’m representing does not know any other chairman but Chief Ugochukwu Agballah.
“I’m a foundation member of APC and have noticed that since the inception of APC, there is a particular group that makes sure that APC does not thrive in Enugu State. They always go to the government house, and work hand in glove with the government house to demean APC in Enugu State and ensure that we don’t prosper well in elections. It has always been their stock in trade.
“So, when this (crisis) started, I was not surprised because it’s not new to me. And I must tell you that the national secretariat (of the APC) is frowning at it.
“If it were to be the first time, we would have taken it seriously. But because it’s a serial character of these people, the party is looking for a way to make sure that we stop it and it will never happen again.
“The national chairman said I should tell you that the APC national secretariat does not know any other chairman in Enugu State except Ugochukwu Agballah. We do not even know that there’s a crisis. It was only when I came to Enugu that I began to hear that there was a crisis.
“It is only the national secretariat of the party that recognises who is the state chairman and who is not. And I stand bold to say here that we recognise Ugochukwu Agballah as the APC chairman of Enugu State.”
