…Onyeama, Okechukwu emerge national delegates

■ Appeal Panel recognises Okechukwu group’s result

Magnus Eze and Raphael Ede, Enugu

The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State, deepened yesterday, as two factions of the party held parallel local government congresses.

This came as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Judiciary Reforms, Juliet Ibekaku and Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu emerged national delegates in the respective congresses.

In Udi Local Government Area, where the party boasts of chieftains like former governor Sullivan Chime and National Vice Chairman, South East, Chief Emma Eneukwu, Sunday Sun gathered that a faction loyal to

Onyeama and Ibekaku held its congress at Comprehensive High School, Udi-Abia.
In another venue, the faction loyal to Eneukwu and Okechukwu assembled at the local government party office, Ninth Mile, and elected party leadership for the local government.

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Onyeama’s faction produced Osita Igwe as its Chairman, while the other faction returned the incumbent Chairman, Jude Anyadibe.

The situation was the same in Awgu and other councils monitored by Sunday Sun.
The two groups last Saturday held contentious congresses at the ward level.

Explaining why the Congress Committee led by Dr. Ikechukwu Odikpo was not at the venue of his faction’s congress, Minister of Foreign Affairs said Odikpo told them that the National Working Committee directed them to work with the party leadership in the states. In a related development, the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, VON, has disclosed that the Appeal Panel for the Congress of All Progressive Congress in Enugu State has upheld the result of the 260 Wards Congress held last Saturday.

Recall that the Appeal Panel led by Charles Babagbale had on Wednesday last week told newsmen at a media briefing that the panel had commenced sitting to look into the petitions and complaints by aggrieved members of the party. Babagbale however, noted that the panel only received one petition as of that day.

However, speaking with Sunday Sun on phone yesterday Okechukwu stated thus: “The electoral panel has told us that today’s local government congress election will be dependent on the result of last week ward congress election and luckily for us the appeal panel didn’t drop any of our ward congress election result.

“They approved all of them. The ward congress election conducted by our electoral panel observed by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, State Security Service, and police they are all valid. ”