The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Enugu State, Dr. Ben Nwoye has blamed Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama over a near violent clash at the party’s Secretariat on Tuesday.
This came after the police averted what would have resulted to a bloodbath at Secretariat.
DAILY POST reports that trouble started when a faction of the party led by Deacon Okey Ogbodo attempted to gain entrance into the secretariat.
A source hinted our reporter that Ogbodo had convened a meeting of stakeholders and aspirants loyal to his leadership at the Secretariat hitherto being controlled by the Dr. Ben Nwoye led APC in the State.
It was learnt that some youths were holding prayers for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari before the Ogbodo faction, loyal to the foreign affairs minister, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, arrived for the meeting slated for 11 a.m at the same venue.
The situation nearly led to chaos save for the swift intervention of the commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Mr Mohammed Danmallam.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after containing the situation, Danmallam denied claims that there was fracas at the secretariat.
He said, “Enugu is a very peaceful state. The earlier they (contending groups) go to their national secretariat to sort out their issues the better for them.
“We are not sealing the secretariat, we are just trying to prevent breakdown of law and order. It is simple, Enugu is the most peaceful state in Nigeria and we make great effort on daily basis to sustain it.
“They wanted to fight but the presence of police stopped them. Police were deployed to the secretariat as early as 6am. We didn’t take over the secretariat, we are providing security.”
Meanwhile, Nwoye alleged that those who attempted to take over the Secretariat forcefully were sponsored by the minister, Onyeama.
He disclosed that APC youths for Buhari and Buhari Volunteers were praying for the re-election of Buhari in 2019 when the group invaded the secretariat to disrupt them.
He alleged that aside sponsoring the invasion of the party secretariat, destruction of furniture and vital documents, and destabilization of the party, the minister had masterminded the filing of seven lawsuits against his leadership all in a bid to remove him as chairman, but all to no avail.
But in a reaction, Deacon Okey Ogbodo, who is insisting to be the “authentic” chairman of the party in the state after the May 19 state congress of the party, alleged that it was Nwoye’s supporters and thugs that blocked him and his group from holding a widely advertised meeting of the party to discuss the coming primaries.
He claimed that he was the elected chairman of the party but that the former National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun defied court order to inaugurate Nwoye-led executive instead of his own.
When asked why the Comrade Adams Oghiomhole leadership invited Dr. Nwoye in the last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party in Abuja and not him, Ogbodo said that it was done in error because the new national working committee of the party saw a record in office and that they were deceived by Nwoye.
As of the time of this report, the Commissioner of police had directed the contending groups to leave the secretariat to diffuse the tension.
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