Enugu APC crisis: Police arrest State Chairman, Ben Nwoye

By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Enugu State Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Ben Nwoye, has been arrested by the police.

News Express learnt that he was arrested over an alleged petition by former Senate President, Ken Nnamani.

The party’s crisis took another dimension after its recent ward congress, with parallel exercise conducted in the 260 wards.

The development was replicated in the last Saturday local government congress.

It was gathered that 20 policemen stormed the secretariat of the party in the state shortly after Nwoye held the swearing-in of the 17 local government council chairmen and arrested him.

Nwoye told reporters after he was released: “I was arrested based on the petition from Ken Nnamani. The Police Officer numbering about 20 who stormed the secretariat said that I was needed by the Commissioner of Police.

“They arrested me alongside my executive. Unfortunately, when we got to the police, the Commissioner of Police denied knowledge of the letter and said he never ordered my arrest.

“I was however quizzed on the letter from Nnamani. He accused me of fraud, conspiracy and cybercrime. That I must be aware of the letter being circulated bearing Akpanudoedehe’s name. I know nothing about the letter. They have taken my statement. It is part of the plot going on in the state to wrest the soul of the APC, but they have failed.”

The petition followed a letter that allegedly emanated from the Secretary, Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the party, Sen. James Akpanudoedehe over Saturday’s party congress.

Dated September 3, 2021 and addressed to Nwoye, it had denied “authorizing a certain Deputy Caretaker committee chairman of the party to take over the swearing in of the new executive of the party”, and reaffirming Nwoye as the Caretaker Committee chairman of APC in Enugu State.

The letter copied to Nnamani had dismissed the purported authority of the deputy chairman as “mere figment of naysayers and never existed.”