The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has said that the national leadership of the party was not surprised about the resurgence of crisis within the Enugu State chapter of the party.

Some members of the Enugu State executive council of the party had last month suspended the state chairman, Ugochukwu Agballah and three other executive members namely: Chief Augustine Alumonah, Deputy State Chairman; Emeka Eze, State Organizing Secretary and Mr Jude Aniogbo, State Treasurer over allegations of embezzlement and abuse of office.

They also appointed the party’s zonal vice chairman in charge of Enugu West Senatorial District, Alphonsus Nwafor, as its acting state chairman, while ratifying the appointments of Sunday Onah as acting state deputy chairperson, David Nwobodo as the acting organising secretary and Callistus Ngwu as the acting state treasurer.

However, addressing the stakeholders of the party in the state at the party’s state secretariat, in Enugu at the weekend, Ganduje, who spoke through the deputy national chairman (South) of the party, Chief Emma Eneukwu, said the crisis was not new to him and the national leadership of the party because there is a particular group of people that had been benefiting from instigating crisis in the state chapter of the party since inception.

According to him, if the crisis was serious, the party would have taken quick measures to address it.

He said: “I’m here to tell you that there’s no faction in Enugu APC. I’m the deputy national chairman (South) and nobody becomes a chairman in the Southern part of Nigeria without our authorisation.

“I made sure that the national chairman of our party, Dr. Ganduje spoke with our state chairman before I left Abuja for this meeting. So, even if he did not come, the national chairman, who I’m representing, does not know any other chairman but Chief Ugochukwu Agballah.

“I’m a foundation member of APC and have noticed that since the inception of APC, there is a particular group that makes sure that APC does not thrive in Enugu State. They always go to the government house, and work hand in glove with the government house to demean APC in Enugu State and ensure that we don’t prosper well in elections. It has always been their stock in trade.

“So, when this (crisis) started, I was not surprised because it’s not new to me. And I must tell you that the national secretariat (of the APC) is frowning at it.

“If it were to be the first time, we would have taken it seriously. But because it’s a serial character of these people, the party is looking for a way to make sure that we stop it and it will never happen again.

“The national chairman said I should tell you that the APC national secretariat does not know any other chairman in Enugu State except Ugochukwu Agballah. We do not even know that there’s a crisis. It was only when I came to Enugu that I began to hear that there was a crisis.

“It is only the national secretariat of the party that recognises who is the state chairman and who is not. And I stand bold to say here that we recognise Ugochukwu Agballah as the APC chairman of Enugu State,” he added.

The national chairman used the opportunity to advise aggrieved members of the party to always follow constitutional ways to draw the attention of the national leadership of the party to address their grievances against their chairman.

While commending the state chairman, Agballah, for his steadfastness, he also enjoined party members in Enugu State not to be distracted because, according to him, that was the main target.

Meanwhile, in a communiqué read to newsmen by Senator Chuka Utazi at the end of the expanded meeting of the party, the party announced the suspension of 20 leaders of the party from office for gross misconduct following their failure to appear before the Disciplinary Committee to state their position.

In the communiqué signed by Chief Emma Eneukwu Deputy National Chairman South (Rep. APC National Chairman); Chief Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology; The Hon Ugochukwu H. Agballah, State chairman; Chief Augustine Alumonah, Deputy State Chairman, and others, the party listed the suspended members to include: Publicity Secretary, Michael Ezeanyanwu; Zonal Chairman, West, Alphonsus Nwafor; State Asst. Organising Secretary, David Nwobodo; State Asst Auditor, Sunday Onah; State Youth Leader: Peter Chime among others. (The Nation)