An Enugu-based political pressure group, the Enugu West Peoples Forum has come hard on the National Vice Chairman (South-East) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Emma Eneukwu for misrepresenting the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s comment on his re-election.
The group wondered why “Eneukwu would engage in clear mischief rather than deal with the many crises rocking the Enugu State Chapter of the APC under his nose”.
In a statement signed by the National Coordinator of the group, Hon. Paul Anikwe, the Forum observed: “The state of confusion in the Enugu State chapter of the APC in particular clearly shows in their discordant responses because while its zonal Spokesman, Mr. Osita Okechukwu attacked Senator Ekweremadu for accusing APC of marginalising the South East and South-South in the composition of the first seven positions in the Federal Government, Mr. Eneukwu claimed on the other hand that Ekweremadu said his emergence had settled the South-East in the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
“Ekweremadu’s reasons for contesting and retaining the Office of the Deputy President of the Senate and his insistence that every part of the country be carried along cannot be faulted because the APC had already zoned the Office of the President to the North West, Vice President to South West, Senate President to North East, Deputy President of Senate to North Central, Speaker of the House of Representatives to the South West, and Deputy Speaker to North East, while the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and Federal High Court are already headed by the North-East”.
The group maintained that “it was clear that but for the feat pulled by the PDP Senators, the South-East would have been missing in the first seven positions in the Federal Government”.
It added: “We are, however, happy that Mr. Eneukwu acknowledged that the Office of the Deputy President of the Senate, which the South East now occupies is a product of PDP’s political sagacity. It is therefore up to the Eneukwu-led South East APC to stop the infighting over the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and speak with one voice in the interest of the South East or be held liable should the office elude the zone, for as far we are concerned, the APC has not given the South East any position in the Federal Government. Ministerial appointments alone will not do because they and others like them are normal constitutional rights of every state in line with Sections 147, 302 and 14 of the 1999 Constitution as amended”.
The Forum, however, advised Mr. Eneukwu to quickly address the many crises ripping APC apart in his home state of Enugu.
“We believe that the N400 million campaign fund embezzlement allegation rocking the State chapter of the APC and the widely published allegation by its governorship candidate, Mr. Okey Ezea, that he was slapped by Mr. Eneukwu during a spat over Enugu’s ministerial slot are enough trouble for Eneukwu to worry about”.
Mr. Ezea had in May this year accused the National Chairman of the APC (South East) of slapping him during a meeting of the South East caucus of the party.
A widely published SMS, which Mr. Ezea personally circulated to journalists read: “Emma Eneukwu slapped me today because I told South-East leaders (of APC) that Nsukka has not been minister since 1999. He did this before Rochas, Ngige, Izunaso, J. O. J, Gen. Eze, Ucha etc. I just said the truth and requested justice and equity in the affairs of our party and Enugu State. Emma wants to be minister by violence”.
The media also last week reported the arrest of the party’s zonal Vice Chairman for Enugu-East, Chief Anike Nwoga following a petition to the state Police Command over the N400 million campaign fund scandal rocking the state chapter of APC.
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