The Enugu State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Barr. Ugochukwu Agballah has again come under scrutiny.
This time, Charles-Solo Ako, the State Publicity Secretary of the party is dragging Agballah for leading the APC into a woeful performance during the recently concluded 2023 general elections.
Ako, in his lengthy statement, described Agballah as a midwife that strangled the woman in labour.
Newspot reports that the APC came a distant third in all the elections conducted in the State, including the presidential election. It occupied fourth position in the governorship polls.
According to Ako, “the leadership of Ugochukwu Agballa, the State Chairman of All Progressives Congress APC, Enugu State is marked with gross abuse of our party constitution, impunity, nonchalant attitude, incompetence and high handedness, and all these are drifting our great party to a private company-like status, under a sole administrator in the person of Ugochukwu Agballah.
“Agballa’s leadership is a hallmark of excessive abuse of office, neglect and dereliction of duty, failure to discharge party constitutional responsibilities; and exclusion of State Executive Committee (SEC), State Working Committee (SWC) members, Party stalwarts and leaders from the affairs of the party to the detriment of the image of our party and her chances of making any meaningful positive political impact – the just concluded general elections are good case study.”
He said nobody should “take Ugochukwu Agballah and his delusion and braggadocio serious after leading the party to a disgraceful and shameful 2023 electioneering outing – elections not only that he neither voted nor canvassed for votes for our candidates, but he equally undermined and worked against the victory of our President-Elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other viable APC candidates in the state.”
“In the just concluded Presidential election, a total of 9,352,001 votes that our President-Elect garnered to win the election, Enugu State could only boast of a disdain 4,772 votes translating to 0.05% insignificant contribution to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu victory, and Ugo Agballa is proudly parading himself as a chairman?
“To be sincere, this meagre 0.05% votes were made possible by committed independent people like myself and few others, and never was it from Agballa nor his cohorts because, from ab initio, Ugo Agballa never campaigned for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Ugo Agballa needs to be shown the way out of the APC if he fails to resign honourably. He is a colossal disaster and a serial failure.”
Among other things, Ako said “since the commencement of Agballa’s leadership as the State Chairman till date, the SWC has met only three times as a result of pressure and agitation from members of the SWC or to witness a press briefing on expulsion of one member or the other on the basis of witch hunting. This is a total violation to the provision of the APC Constitution Article 25.3.i which states that the SWC shall meet at least once every month. The SEC has officially/formally met only twice since Agballa’s assumption of office.
“Agballa has been taking unilateral decisions on the affairs of the party and runs the party as a sole administrator without a recourse to either the SWC or the SEC. This is a total contravention to the provision of the APC Constitution, Article 13.8 which specifically states that the State Executive Committee shall administer the party in the state and implement the decisions of the State Congress.
“There is no presence or formation of the State Congress and State Caucus as provided by the APC Constitution Article 12.8 and Article 12.10 respectively.
“The APC Enugu State till this moment since Agballa’s assumption of office has no Secretariat. This deliberate action contravens the provision of APC Constitution Article 8.ii which provides that offices in state capitals shall be determined by the SEC. The absence of a state party secretariat could be adjudged to be deliberate and intentional as its provision would afford some SEC and SWC Members the opportunity to have office space attached to them which could activate steady interaction and possibly raise the consciousness and awareness to interrogate party activities – a situation which Ugo Agballa wouldn’t want to happen.
“The party in the state sold LG Chairmanship and Ward Councillorship Forms in the month of February 2022 to 17 LG Chairmanship Candidates and 260 Ward Councillorship Candidates for the state elections conducted by ENSIEC; the report or the financial statement of account of that exercise remains a secret to both the SEC and SWC till date.
“During the primary elections that brought 2023 candidates on board, Delegate Forms were sold to 10 delegates from each of the 260 Wards in the state at the cost of Five thousand naira (N5000) per form amounting to thirteen million naira (N13,000,000). There is no report or financial statement of account on that exercise till date. Neither the SEC nor SWC was even in the picture during the whole exercise.
“During the sale of Candidates Nomination Forms for the just concluded 2023 elections, the party sold nomination forms to more than 24 State House of Assembly Candidates. Agballa has not given any update on that till date. The party at the National equally promised a certain percentage of the total money realised from the sales of the Forms to states, the position of Enugu State quota is a top secret to members of the SEC and SWC, only Agballa knows everything.
“Most of the SEC and SWC members are more or less like a rubber stamp as Agballa plants whoever he chooses to carry out any official responsibility without a regard from the state officer in question.
“Agballa has put the party in bad image by ensuring that the Gubernatorial candidate and his deputy as officially published by the INEC in her final list of candidates come from one senatorial zone – Enugu East. There is not enough reason whatsoever for allowing the name of the state secretary – Robert Ngwu from Enugu East senatorial zone, same zone with the gubernatorial candidate to appear and remain on the INEC Final List against the name of Barr George Ogara Taagbo of Enugu North who was officially unveiled to the members of the party and the general public up till the date of election.
“This is a big embarrassment to our great party with its devastating effect of ridicule and disrepute. This is a deliberate attempt to cause confusion as the party had enough time as provided by INEC to make any necessary changes and replacements (APC Constitution Article 21.2.x). The truth remains that Ogara’s name was not submitted to INEC; Agballa and Robert have their best reasons why they did that.
“In a bid to undermine the chances of APC winning elections in Nkanu East and Nkanu West Federal Constituency, Agballa deliberately refused to field a House of Representatives Candidate for this constituency to create an opportunity for a landslide victory for Honourable Nnolim Nnaji – the PDP House of Representatives Candidate who is a younger brother to the Chief Uche Nnaji – the APC Gubernatorial Candidate. This is a clear anti-party of the highest order.
“As a last resort against further bastardising the image of our great party and furthering the drift from the goodwill of this party, ensuring its growth and unity and to avoid putting the party into further hatred, contempt and disrepute (Article 21.2.ii) the honourable thing for Ugo Agballa is to willingly resign from being the chairman of the party. He has completed his assignment contracted to him by his pay master in ensuring that APC did not make any headway in the just concluded 2023 general elections.”
The Publicity Secretary submitted that: “I speak as the voice of APC, Enugu State. I represent the voices of members of the SWC and the SEC whose positions have been rendered redundant.
“I represent the voice of the founding fathers and leaders of our great party who have worked hard and made sacrifices in building this party hoping to form the government of the day in Enugu State.
“I dare the Chairman, Ugo Agballah, to respond to the issues I have raised herewith rather than his usual personal attacks and assigning his media mad dogs to copy and paste what he wrote and gave them.
“I call on the leaders of this Party – the founding fathers, members of the SWC, and the SEC, faithful party members at different organs of the party to rise up and join hands to rescue our party from the firm clutches of Ugo Agballah.”
When contacted, Agballah also made counter allegations against Ako.
Speaking through his media aide, Comrade Kenneth Oforma, Agballah said Ako was no longer the publicity secretary of APC in the state.
According to him, “Initially he acted in that capacity when he wrote a petition against the substantive publicity secretary, Chief Michael Ezeanyanwu, to claim that he was a civil servant.
“But Ezeanyanwu later proved Ako wrong and he resumed his position. Besides that, Ako embezzled the money meant for the media coverage of the APC presidential campaign in Enugu which earned him a query and suspension before Ezeanyanwu resumed his position as publicity secretary.
“It is, therefore, understandable his bitterness and malicious write-ups against the party and the state chairman. He should therefore be ignored. There is no single truth in all his claims.
“All the allegations by Ako are unfounded. He is currently under probe for embezzling money (N1 million) meant for the media during the party’s presidential rally in Enugu.”
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