Thugs disrupt Enugu APC EXCO meeting, seize TVC, NTA cameras

By CHARLES IWUOHA

No fewer than 200 political thugs on Tuesday invaded the Enugu State Secretariat of the All Progressive Congress (APC) disrupting the meeting of the State Caretaker Executive Committee.

The party had during the meeting, slammed indefinite suspension on Ex-Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Barr. Eugene Odoh, and three other members of the party in the state over their misconducts after the last ward congresses in the state.

The thugs had during the invasion seized the cameras of TVC and NTA from their cameramen who were covering the event, after which they chased away everybody, including reporters who were present at the meeting presided over by the State Caretaker Committee Chairman Dr. Ben Nwoye.

Nwoye, who was flanked by other Executive Committee members of the State Working Caretaker body, announced the three other suspended members to include Mr. Flavour Eze, the Personal Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, Mr. El- Aja, and Ada Ogbu.

He stated that the suspended members were sanctioned following their anti-democratic conducts during the last APC ward Congresses.

The Chairman explained that the suspension is part of recommendation of a committee set up by the state Caretaker Working Committee to investigate the role of the said suspended members.

According to the Committee which investigated the four erring members, headed by the Enugu East zonal Caretaker Committee Chairman, Chief Anike Nwoga, the former speaker and three others were found to have been vested with responsibility of collecting fictitious names in their respective zones which they filed in as ward executives.

The report according to Nwoye, also uncovered that Odoh, and the three other members allegedly hired some mercenaries whom they used in writing fake results of the Ward congress at the South East zonal office of the APC.

He said that the Committee equally discovered that the former Speaker took the forged result to the INEC office on 3rd of July as directed by the Enugu Ward Congress committee chairman, Dr Ijeoma Arodiogbu, who was part of the masterminds of the alleged electoral fraud.

“The result forging scheme was executed by Eugene Odoh, Flavour Eze, Ada Ogbu and El- Aja, and we must say no to this undemocratic conducts.

“As a country and state, we must say no to this antics and undemocratic acts by some people who do not wish our great party well. We must let them know that power belongs to the people,” Nwoye said.

Nwoye, who received a vote of confidence by the State EXCO, during the meeting, had announced the appointment of Chief Tony Ibekwe as the new Acting Zonal Caretaker Committee Chairman for Enugu West chapter of the party, following the death of its former Chairman, Ikechukwu Omenkukwu few months ago.

Mr. Ejiofor Okoloagu was also named the State Chairman of the party in Igbo Etiti local government Area of the state.

However, reacting to his purported suspension by some members of the party who converged in a hotel in Enugu to say that they have suspended him, Nwoye dismissed the act, insisting that the said members involved had no such powers to convene SEC meeting in the first instance.

He described the purported removal as a ruse and laughable, adding that those involved in the announcement were impostors.

“I will not respond to them because they are impostors. I just concluded a meeting with the real SEC members at the party office,” Nwoye said.

Reacting to his suspension by Nwoye group, former Speaker Odoh said, Nwoye was the former state chairman who has no powers to suspend any member of the party.

“He was suspended by over 40 members of SEC this morning and as such couldn’t have had the power or the required number to suspend anyone,” Odoh said.