Immediate past Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State, Dr. Ben Nwoye, yesterday, said that the purported ban of the Tinubu/Shettima Grassroots Independent Campaign Council (ICC) by the state executive of the party was a ploy to sabotage the presidential ambition of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in Enugu State.

He also alleged that the state leadership has not been campaigning for the party’s presidential candidate, stressing that the majority of the billboards in the state do not bear the campaign pictures of Tinubu and Shettima.

It would be recalled that the Ugo Agballah-led state executive had after its meeting on Wednesday announced the ban on the activities of Tinubu/Shettima Grassroots Independent Campaign Council (ICC) led by former Senate President, Ken Nnamani and Nwoye in the state, accusing them of using the platform to negotiate cabinet positions with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. It warned members of the party to desist from a further relationship with the group.

Secretary of the party, Robert Ngwu, who addressed reporters after the meeting, also said that they had set up a disciplinary committee against Nnamani and two others, adding that it had long expelled Nwoye from the party.

Responding to the issue at the state secretariat of the ICC, Nwoye insisted that Ugochukwu Agballah and those who put him in the office are bent on ensuring that Tinubu failed woefully in the state, adding that they were envious of the inroads the campaign council had made in the state.

“The ICC was formed by our presidential candidate to augment the efforts of the APC presidential council put together by the party. So, both units work hand in hand to ensure the success of our dear presidential candidate, Ahmed Tinubu, and his running mate, Shettima.

“Unfortunately, Enugu State has come to be a state where Ugo Agballah and those who put him in place never wanted our candidate to succeed in the first instance.”

•Jigawa State Governor, Muhammad Abubakar (left); Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu; Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; All Progressives Congress (APC) Vice Presidential Candidate, Kashim Shettima; Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu; President Muhammadu Buhari and APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu at the party’s campaign in Damaturu, Yobe State.

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