Why Anambra APC congress was violent, by Ngige

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has broken his silence on the violence that marred last weekend’s ward congresses in Anambra State.

In a statement in Abuja, Ngige said the violence was a well-planned action aimed at discrediting the party as a violent party.

In the statement, which was signed by the Head of the Senator Chris Ngige Media Office, Chikwelugo  Obidiwe, the minister said those who perpetrated the violence displayed a well rehearse “rogue ideology”.

He condemned the violence, saying his only interest as the leader of the party was to ensure the peaceful conduct of the congresses and to appeal to all party members to remain calm and resolute.

The statement reads: “We have carefully reviewed all that took place at the last weekend’s All Progressives Congress (APC) ward congresses in Anambra State and wish to clearly state that the interest of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, in the entire process as the leader of the party in the state was to ensure that members were not disenfranchised and that people freely elected their leaders.

“Therefore, the subsequent violence that marred the stakeholders meeting in Awka on Sunday is not only condemnable, but a weird and dangerous phenomenon, completely unknown to opposition politics in Anambra State.

“We wish to put on record that Sen. Ngige has been in the opposition politics since 2004 when he left the PDP and so are some other members of the APC in the state. He in fact started from ACD, AC to ACN and now the APC. We must add that thuggery, violence, wanton destruction of property and general threat to life are alien in their fold.”

Ngige said what transpired in Awka last Sunday was deliberate and well-planned to discredit the APC in Anambra. He said: “It was a desperate determination by Hon. Tony Nwoye to rebrand the Anambra APC the violent way. It was a rehash of a rogue ideology which has been a trademark of his former party.

“Many were shocked by the swam of cultists, arsonists and deadly thugs that accompanied him to the venue of the meeting, because they thought  the aphorism of ‘behaving like the Romans while in Rome’ had impacted some lessons on this political proselytes in the opposition fold.  How erroneous they were!

“What happened? Four out of six members of the Anambra State Ward Congress Electoral Committee were swapped with another four from Imo State as a result of the problem in the Imo State chapter.

“Before the swap however, by Friday evening the sale of forms had commenced and congress progressed effectively in 285 out of 326 electoral wards in the state by night of Saturday, even though the four persons billed to come from Imo that morning did not turn up; hence  leaving the two men from the previous committee to supervise.”

The statement added that when the four officials expected from Imo eventually arrived, the party leadership reasoned that they should join the two remaining members of the former committee to bring their assignment to a fruitful conclusion; since the exercise had advanced in most of the electoral wards, it reasoned that there was no need to abort a peacefully progressing process.

It continued: “Hence, the four new persons, including the Acting Chairman, took brief from the State Chairman, as well as from the two persons still left of the previous committee – that is, Engr. Musa Yunusa and Engineer Aloma Nzeocha.

“However, a quick stakeholders meeting was requested  by Hon. Nwoye and the party leadership obliged him for reasons. One was in the spirit of openness which democracy entails. The next was to avoid unbalancing his sense of self or offend his vanity.

“However, little did it occur to any that the forum was to afford him the much-needed opportunity to unleash his brigand hordes and cause mayhem.

“A simple explanation by the Minister of Labour that congresses had successfully held in most wards before the arrival of the new team was all that provided Nwoye and his gang a trigger. That innocuous explanation was all that flipped the lid.”

But, Nwoye maintained that there was no congress in his wards; that he was waiting for the new congress committee members to start the process afresh. The minister, however, believed that Nwoye’s excuse was an alibi, to call for a fresh start to give him enough latitude to hijack the process.

But, before Nwoye could finish his statement, the minister said, the lawmaker’s band of thugs descended on the high table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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