• They are running away from their shadow – State chairman

Ani Bassey

In a strongly worded communique issued at the end of a meeting on Tuesday,  the Forum of All Progressives Congress (APC) chapter chairmen and secretaries in Cross River State demanded the immediate resignation of State Chairman Alphonsus Eba.

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The forum, made up of 18 chapter chairmen and 17 secretaries, was represented by High Chief Kelvin Njong, Chairman of the Boki chapter and head of the chairmen’s caucus.

In the statement read by Njong, the leaders said they have “lost trust and confidence” in Eba, accusing him of “destabilising, destructive and anti‑progressive” conduct.

Some key allegations the forum listed against their state chairman include withholding their stipends saying party officials at chapter and ward levels have not received their stipends for three months – a first in the state’s APC history.

They also accused the chairman of unequal allocation of party funds saying only N9.2 million was allocated to 5,778 chapter and ward officials, while N40 million went to the 36‑member State Executive Committee.

Other allegations include the misappropriation of election‑form proceeds saying the chairman allegedly refused to remit the share due to local government areas and wards from the sale of forms during the 2023 general elections and other remittances from the National Secretariat.

The forum also accused the party chairman of incitement saying he  stirred discord among chapter and ward officials, breaching Section 21:2(ii & v) of the APC Constitution (as amended on 26 March 2022).

The forum demanded that all outstanding stipends be paid immediately, that future payments be deducted at source, and that party funds be divided 70 % to the 5,778 chapter and ward officials and 30 % to the 36 state officials.

However in his response, the state APC  chairman Alphonsus Eba rejected the accusations, telling reporters the forum was “running away from its shadow.”

He said the party now pays the salaries of all 5,778 officials directly and that the 17 chapter chairmen’s salaries are being withheld pending investigations into alleged fraud involving over N60 million.

“We now pay all party executives numbering 5,778 salaries directly into their accounts and we have paid all of them up to date. But the 17 chapter chairmen’s salaries are being held until they clear themselves over the fraud alleged against them,” Eba said.

He added that chapter chairmen collect more than N4 million in LGA dues monthly and “squander” the funds, creating a salary structure that exceeds that of state executive committee members.

Eba warned that no chapter chairman has the authority to call for the resignation of the state chairman; only the State Executive Committee can discipline or sanction them.