The All Progressives Congress (APC) structure in Ebonyi State is split down the middle even as South East chairmen of the party, yesterday, affirmed Ben Nwaobasi as the state chairman.
Nwaobasi is loyal to a faction of the party led by Senator Julius Ucha while another faction is loyal to Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.
It was gathered that there has been intractable crisis in Ebonyi State chapter of the party over who controls the structure with the minister leading a faction while Senator Ucha controls the other faction.
While one faction is loyal to the governorship candidate of the party in the 2015 general elections, Senator Ucha and has Nwaobasi as the chairman, the other has the support of the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and has Pastor Eze Nwachukwu as its own chairman.
The Nwaobasi faction had suspended some members of the executives including Eze Nwachukwu, the deputy chairman and Ngaji Nwaodoh, the publicity secretary of the party and BoT member of the party Chief Austine Igwe Edeze for anti-party activities.
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The Nwachukwu faction, also, in a swift reaction, suspended Nwaobasi and some members of the executives for gross misconduct and embezzlement of funds and elected Nwachukwu as the chairman.
Speaking during the meeting in Abakaliki over the matter, South East chairmen of the party led by the Imo State chairman, Dr. Hilary Eke said Nwaobasi remains Ebonyi State chairman of the party, Today.ng reports.
“All we know is that Nwaobasi is Ebonyi APC chairman. He has his identity card as the chairman of APC. He has a Certificate of Return. The national chairman of the party has not told us that he has been removed or changed and that is why we are here.’’
He noted that they were in the state to strengthen the party in order to take over the state in 2019 and called on Nwaobasi to carry everybody along in the scheme of things.
