By Ushang Ewa
The crisis rocking the Cross River chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday took a new dimension when the acting Chairman of the party in the state, Mr. John Ochalla rejected the reinstatement of Niger Delta Affairs minister, Mr. Usani Usani and others suspended by the State Working Committee last month.
Mr. Usani was suspended by the state working committee led by Mr. Ochalla last month and former Ekiti state Governor, Mr. Segun Oni reinstated him and several others on Monday night in Abuja after a meeting at the national secretariat of the party and fixed next week Wednesday as date for congress to elect a substantive chairman.
But, Mr. Ochalla condemned the actions pointing out that only former Lagos state Governor, Mr. Ahmed Tinubu has been empowered to reconcile aggrieved party members and maintained that Mr. Oni must have been compromised to preside over the meeting as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party never authorised him to hold such a meeting.
“The Minister of Niger Delta, Usani Usani, is still under suspension. Oni is acting illegally and may have been compromised by Usani who is desperately looking to pick the APC gubernatorial ticket in 2019. This is the reason he is busy scheming to fictionalise the party and plant his cronies.
“The Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu reconciliation committee would likely visit Cross River State on March 9, to resolve all crises ahead of the 2019 general elections.
“So I cannot understand why Chief Oni could be taking particular interest in Cross River whereas there are also 12 other APC states having acting chairmen at a time the NWC is working hard to conduct congresses to elect new chairmen,”