By CrossRiverWatch admin
The South South Zonal chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC led by the National Vice Chairman for the zone, Prince Hilliard Eta has countered rising insinuations that the Cross River state chapter of the party was in shambles as an aftermath of the just concluded polls in the state.
It also denied strained relationship between the Zonal Chairman, Prince Eta and the Cross River State Chairman of the party, Pastor Usani Usani.
Eta said in a statement signed by his Media Aide, Mr. Bassey Ita on Thursday and made available to newsmen in Calabar said ‘’there is no frosty relationship between the person of the National Vice Chairman, South South, Prince Hilliard Eta and the Cross River state Chairman of our great party, Pastor Usani Usani. For the sake of emphasis, both have maintained a high level of affinity and friendship especially in the political turf of Cross River state.
“Usani has remained a personal friend, political ally and confidant of Prince Eta having also been the governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN during the 2011 polls, a time the National Vice Chairman, South South was the state chairman of the party.”
“However, one thing is clear and certain; just as the state chairman would be held accountable for the trust of responsibility handed him to oversee the affairs of the party in all the 18 local government areas of Cross River state, the same applies in the case of the South South Zonal Chairman who is charged with supervising the party in the six states of the zone; where there are constraints in the discharge of assigned responsibility a superior authority intervenes with a view to saving the soul of the party at that level.’’
The statement continued ‘’what has happened in the case of Cross River state chapter of the party is nothing different from the aforementioned reality. It is a case of the Zonal Chairman intervening in the logjam which has characterized the administration of the party in the state. In fact it was on account of the many allegations of fraud, anti-party activities and sabotage leveled against the state chairman by aggrieved members especially candidates in the just concluded polls and repeated calls for his intervention as a superior authority that he intervened.’’
Eta said he was only intervening as a way of exercising his statutory responsibility as the Zonal Chairman who supervises the zone for which Cross River like other states within the zone is part of adding that ‘’so far he has been fair and just to all the parties involved without any act of favouritism whatsoever.’’
The statement maintained that ‘’the Zonal Chairman summoned a meeting of stakeholders for which all sides of the divide were invited so they explain issues on ground, but incidentally, majority of his exco members refused to attend and gave no cogent reasons for ignoring the meeting. Even though that was an act of insubordination, we looked at the issues dispassionately and decided to handle it the way our party constitution prescribes since the allegations were too serious to be ignored.’’
It said that the Zonal Secretariat of the party has set up a fact finding committee to look into the allegations with a view to recommending what steps to take in addressing the issues raised.
The statement assured that the recommendations of the committee will be religiously implemented in order to save the soul of the party in the state.
“What is important is the soul of the party. The party is bigger and more important than any individual no matter how highly placed and so the recommendations will be given priority attention.” it said.
Pastor Usani is yet to respond to the allegations. He has been refusing to pick his calls in recent times.
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