Members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Akwa Ibom State have embarked on a protest over an alleged plot to dismantle the party’s structures during the forthcoming congresses.
The APC members took to the streets in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area on on Wednesday over what they described as a clandestine attempt by party “bigwigs” to dissolve the existing ward and chapter structures ahead of the party’s congresses slated for February 18 and 21.
The protesters displayed placards with inscriptions such as ‘Governor Umo Eno, it is you we know, please help and call your appointees to order’, ‘They are causing crisis in APC with PDP tendencies’, ‘We built the party, save us from illegal dissolution”, and ‘Gov Eno, a man of peace, our support for you, Senate President Akpabio and President Tinubu for second term is not negotiable’.
The protesters, mainly serving ward and chapter executives, converged at Mkpat Enin Local Government Secretariat denouncing plans to impose new lists of officers to replace the current leadership.
Recall that following the defection of Governor Umo Eno from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the APC, many influential politicians in different local governments have joined him to the new party, and the new entrants intend to still control their wards.
Speaking during the protest, Mr. Clement Okon Silas, an APC vice-chairmanship candidate in the October 2024 local government elections, accused the defectors of attempting to hijack the party’s structure, saying that such actions could trigger internal crisis and weaken the party.
He said, “We are the goose that laid the golden egg. We suffered, laboured and built this party in Mkpat Enin. But barely six months after PDP bigwigs defected into APC, they are now plotting to evict us from the same party we struggled to grow.”
Silas said if the defectors were dissatisfied with their current political offices, they should relinquish them rather than forcibly taken over party structures..
Another protester, Ubong Inyang, described the alleged plot as “an ambush on APC structures” in Mkpat Enin, warning that it could escalate into a major embarrassment for the party.
The protesters also lamented that, despite their loyalty and sacrifices, they had not benefited from any appointments since the party’s rise in the state, claiming that most positions were now dominated by former PDP members.
One of the protesters added, “We have not benefited anything after our struggle and steadfastness. All the PAs, SAs, local government and commissioner appointments came from PDP. What is our own?”
At the end of the demonstration, the protesters issued a communiqué reaffirming their loyalty to the Akwa Ibom State APC led by Obong Stephen Ntokekpo, Mkpat Enin chapter chairman, Utitofon Jeremiah, and the leadership of the party at the national level.
“As the political leader of the party in the state, we pledge our unalloyed support to all your policies, programmes and initiatives.
“Our support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Governor Umo Eno for a second term is total, and we do not need anything that will distract us from defending this mandate to logical conclusion,” the protesters said in the communique.
They appealed to Governor Eno, Senate President Akpabio and President Bola Tinubu to intervene and halt what they termed an “unprogressive plot” to destabilise the party.
The protesters advised that, for peace to reign, the existing party structures in Mkpat Enin from ward to chapter levels should remain intact, warning that any attempt to impose new executives could fracture the party and weaken its electoral fortunes.
