From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) Anambra State Chapter, Chief Basil Ejidike, has alleged that suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) attacked registration officers and workers, carted away materials meant for the ongoing registration and revalidation exercise in Isseke, Ihiala Local Government Area of the state.
At a stakeholders meeting of the party at Awka, the state capital, to raise funds and review the ongoing registration and revalidation exercise in the state, Ejidike said he had already requested the Ihiala LGA supervisors to furnish the party with details of the IPOB attack.
But IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, denied the allegation and wondered why APC would l always link IPOB with its internal problems.
Powerful described the leadership of the party and Nigeria as a failed people, urging them to address the issue of insecurity across the nation rather than blaming IPOB for what is purely an internal party crisis.
“Why should APC accuse us in every matter; they allege that IPOB attacked their workers and carted away materials, what is our business with APC registration, are we members of APC? They should tackle their internal crisis and leave us alone. Is is IPOB hijacking materials or APC stakeholders? What of the hijack at Orumba and Uga, is IPOB also involved? They should leave us and face the insecurity and internal crisis glaring them at their faces,”Powerful said.
However, aside the alleged hijack of materials by IPOB, Ejidike also decried the shortage of registration materials in the state, saying the state has 4, 907 polling units which supposed to have registers across all polling units, but that only 4,608 materials were supplied to polling units, with a shortage for 299 polling units.
Ejidike also stated that the party in the state received N50 million, comprising N20 million from governors of Imo and Ebonyi states, while the APC national headquarters released N30 million which he said the party had started disbursing to 326 wards units, 21 local government supervisory committees and for the purchase of five Toyota Sienna cars.
“It has come to our notice that some detractors and mischief makers are at it again to tarnish the image of the party by their fictitious reports in the social media platforms. These characters peddled falsehoods, just to create unnecessary rancour and acrimony within our fold.
“In one of the reports, they claimed that I was manhandled. I wish to categorically state here that no such incident occurred, and wish to call on party leaders and members to disregard such reports as it is a figment of the imagination of the peddlers.
“It is pertinent to also observe at this point that there has not been any report of misbehaviour by any of the stakeholders or aspirants with regard to the on-going registration and revalidation exercise in our party,” he said.
He however noted that the party as a beautiful pride in the state had received some notable persons into its fold such as Chief Okelekwe Kodilichukwu; former majority leader in the state, Victor Okoye and his supporters; deputy inspector-general of police (Retd), Chief Celestine Okoye and that the entire UPP state structure collapsed into APC.