APC congress: Oyegun plotting civilian coup against APC, Buhari – Senator Ucha

Not satisfied with the outcome of last Saturday’s ward congress, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Senator who represented Ebonyi Central zone, Senator Julius Ucha has alleged that the activities of the National Working Committee of the party led by its national Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun which fueled up crises during the concluded ward congress were tantamount to a civilian coup against the teeming supporters of the party and its leader, President Muhammadu Buhari.

Briefing journalists in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital, the 2015 APC governorship candidate in the state alleged that the crises and violence that engulfed the last Saturday ward congress across the country were “illegal and unethical” actions of NWC members which have endangered the democratic process.

He said that the actions have thrown the party into anarchy, resulting to violence and lawlessness all over the place because people were not given the freedom to choose who would be their party leaders.

The senator said that the crisis in the party was perpetrated by the Oyegun’s led NWC as they were bent in destroying the party since they were no longer wanted instead of leaving the party, just to satisfy their own interest.

Ucha accused Oyegun for orchestrating the crisis in the party in all the states of the federation especially Ebonyi state, where factional executives had emerged since the congresses in 2014 which the national chairman reportedly adopted as the best congress in the state.

He further described the Congress Committee as illegal and in contravention of the electoral act, party constitution and constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as it was like being a judge in their own courts since most of them that put of the congress structure are also interested contestants.

The Senator said: “Our great party, the APC slated our party ward congress all over the country. This is what we had expected over the years and it came eventually.

Last Saturday in Ebonyi state, we were expecting an unbiased state congress committee. Fundamentally, congressional election is anchored on quick sand. I say this because when you give your trust on illegality, there is a tendency that any trust founded on illegality will eventually collapse”.

“When is happening today, is like a civilian coup against the teeming supporters of APC in Nigeria and also against the leader of the party, President Muhamammdu Buhari.

I say this and am serious about it. We have a NWC that will expire in June, 2018 and these members of NWC want to contest. The National convention committee was put in place and members of NWC who are also going to contest for their various offices are now driving the process, to jettison the convention.

That is why I called it a civilian coup against the system. These party officials at the national secretariat are now judges in their own courts. They are the people who have put in place the structures that are called congress committees that elect delegates that will elect them”, he said.

He noted that the Ajayi Nicholas led seven-man congress committee had not conducted any congress in the state as the committee had not put the structure in place to conduct the ward congresses, stressing that the inclusion of a staff of the National secretariat of the party, Mr Anyagh Memorial, as secretary of Ebonyi state ward congress committee was also illegal.

He alleged that instead of the committee to conduct the congresses, they relocated to one factional office of the party to allocate wards indiscriminately to some stakeholders.

According to Ucha, “that’s why on our own seeing that the committee was not here to conduct congresses, but to call some people to say look I allocate four wards to you, I allocate three wards for you, I said look, this is to disenfranchise the teeming supporters of APC and create an impression that these our supporters are idiot who have no rights to vote.

So what we did was that we have the three people we nominated as congress committee. We used them to conduct congresses all over the wards in the state. INEC visited them and saw our men conducting congresses. They monitored it. We are going to present our results to the national leadership of our part”.