The centre can no longer hold in the Enugu chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as both the State Executive Committee and State Working Committee of the party are at daggers drawn on how the money sent by their Presidential Candidate will be utilised to prosecute the election.
The State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Charles-Solo Ako in a memo titled “ECHOES OF RUMBLES: TINUBU ELECTION FUNDS AND ITS ‘PROSPECTS’” alleged that “Asiwaju election funds sent to Enugu state would eventually end up into private pockets and used against his electoral victory and equally scuttle the chances of other viable candidates of our great party in the state who are very likely to win their elections.”
Charles-Solo Ako in the memo made available to JOURNALIST101 accused their state chairman, Barr Ugochukwu Agballah just called them for a meeting and gave them on my one instruction while maintaining grave silence on the amount provided by the presidential candidate.
“We are counting in hours to hold the Presidential and National Assemblies elections with a lot of uncertainties and gimmicks. There are enormous negative feelings and impulses from members of the State Working Committee (SWC), State Executive Committee (SEC), leaders and members of our party on the election funds being provided for Enugu state to run the election on Saturday 25th February 2023 by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu – the president hopeful.
“The SWC and the SEC members in a notice of meeting signed by the State Secretary – Mr Robert Ngwu around 10.03pm Wednesday night 22 February were invited for a crucial meeting summoned by the leader of the Party – Chief Uche Nnaji Nwakaibie on the following day 23rd February by 8.00am.
“The said meeting was massively attended only to take one instruction from the State Chairman – Barr Ugochukwu Agballa. Neither the SWC nor the SEC sat to be briefed or informed on the amount of money being provided by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu nor made suggestions on the objects and mode of expending the funds.”
Mr. Charles-Solo Ako continued: “I have the right to know how much fund we got from Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his election; and I also have the right to sit in an SWC and SEC formally constituted meetings to deliberate on how the funds should be expended and equally take part in the administration of the funds as it may relate to publicity. But none of these meetings hold. Political party is NOT a private estate and shouldn’t be run as such.”
He lamented that the development will impact on the electoral fortunes of the party negatively of Agballah and his co-travelers aren’t stopped.
“It is a pity that the vigor and vibrancy I personally brought to the party endearing the general public under serious operational pressure to love and admire the City Boy – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and our great party – the APC might no longer yield the needed result as I cherished but what comes out from March 11 election could equally be contemplated if the next few days to the exercise is not given serious recourse to fence mending and building bridges.
“At present, the little oyster that provides what the outsiders could term as aquatic sustainability has been badly devastated by the State Chairman. The oyster reefs are fast diminishing. The party is loosing her members on daily basis and this doesn’t bother Barr Ugochukwu Agballa.
“We need people for elections but the few ones that are patiently with us are being regularly insulted without recourse.
In the memo, he further accused Ugochukwu Agballah of usurping the functions of the members of the state executives of the party.
“Many State officers of this great party were never allowed to do their party constitutional enabled roles. The office of the State Publicity Secretary has been greatly undermined, scuttled and monopolized by the State Chairman who acts the functions of the Publicity Secretary in different fora.
“My two major APC constitutional roles as the State Publicity Secretary of the party:
1.to be the official spokesperson of the party
2. to be responsible for dissemination of the party information and promotional activities of the party; were scuttled by Agballa with enormous impunity.
“I have the responsibility of giving my fellow party members information and updates on the progress and challenges of our great party.
“I have registered my displeasure severally on this usurpation of powers and responsibilities, anomalies, disregard and abuse to the provisions of our party constitution to him privately – one-on-one and during the few meetings we had but they all fell on deaf ears.
“I love APC and APC loves me. I want the best for the party.”
