By Nnamdi Akpa
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Ebonyi State chapter crisis worsen on Monday following the resignation from the party by Deputy Chairman Comrade Okey Idenyi, the Secretary Barr. Chinedu Adum, Welfare Officer Mr. Cyril Ajah and the Youth Leader, Anthony Nwofe and others citing corruption, financial fraud, lack of equity and justice and controversy that marred just concluded primaries of the party in the state as their reasons of dumping the party.
Briefing journaliststs in Abakaliki they maintained that with this mass exodus the party cannot win even one House of Assembly seat in forth coming general election adding that the party is empty.
Speaking, the former state Deputy Chairman of the party Comrade Okey Idenyi lamented that the structure they had laid in Ebonyi State, even before Peter Obi joined the party have been hijacked by corrupt politicians who emerged from the back door shutting out those who laid the foundation of the party.
He further expressed total disappointment to the deceit which played out during the primaries of the Party, accusing the party of acting contrary to its resolve of announcing a consensus candidate by allowing all aspirants to contest the primaries, which he said ended up in shambles and shame.
He said that immediately we finished all the congresses and the National Convention, those politicians from other political parties invaded the party, came in with almost everything in hell to take over and hijack the party adding that they will not remain in a political party that lacks transparency and accountability, narrating how aspirants were defrauded.
According to him they said that we were going to do consensus and it is going to be one person per position but little did we know they were playing another script.
“They asked all the aspirants to go for primary elections. And then, on the day of the primaries, we were disappointed. What we saw that day was a shamble, a disgrace, a shame to anyone claiming to be obedient.
“You know, there are other political parties where they would have shown that kind of awful behaviour. So, the State Party Chairman, at that day, was nowhere to be found. The stakeholders of the party were nowhere to be found”, he recalled.
He accused the Chairman of the Party Alum Enyinnaya of organizing a fund-raising meeting, where he demanded that all the aspirants of House of Assembly should pay the sum of 100,000 Naira, those going for House of Rep to pay 300,000 Naira, those for Senate 500,000 Naira and Gubernatorial aspirants, 750,000 Naira adding that he disappeared with the funds.
“So I cannot continue deceiving myself that we are in a different political party that is meant to better the life of Nigerians. Because they are all the same people. Because they came from other political parties and then took over the leadership and hijacked the whole process”, he said.
In the same vein, the Secretary of the party Barr. Chinedu Adum said that he can no longer tolerate or endure the malady rocking the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) where the party completely denied foundation members opportunity to run for various elective positions as provided by law.
He added that all efforts for them to enthrone peace in the party was jettisoned by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, that also refused to act when it was reported that the party in the state has been hijacked by corrupt politicians.
He hinged his reason for resigning from the party on the claims that the NDC has no plan both at the national and at the state levels, saying if it had plan, it would have reacted to the letter that was written to it, even as he lamented the inept corruption rocking the party, describing the party as a party that, “robs Peter to pay Paul”.
“After reading to them our demand by the state chapter of the party about the state NDC, which I signed, the deputy chairman signed, because the deputy became acting chairman based on the vote of no confidence passed on the state party chairman, Prince Alumu E. Nayib Desi, for compromising during the time of primary that the primary could not hold again” he stated.
According to him, NDC is a scam. Recalling a situation where aspirants after purchase of nomination and expression of interest forms for three million and above to contest for elective positions the party asked the aspirants to go and pay twenty millions naira in another account before they were screened, arguing that they would have done that after screening, if it were not targeted to defraud members of the party.
He regretted that most of the aspirants who paid the twenty million and ten million naira for senate and house of representatives primaries respectively were eventually dropped because they have no godfather in the Party, describing such action by the party as a scam.
He further accused former governor Dr. Sam Egwu or using the party as his own personal property stating that the way he drives it is the way the vehicle moves and some of us are no more comfortable so we don’t want to remain in the party”, Adum declared.
Also speaking the youth leader Anthony Nwofe argued that the primaries conducted by the NDC could be rated worst among other political parties like the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), saying that even when the Ebonyi NDC petitioned the outcome of the primaries, rather than the national working committee to address it, the same leader who sabotaged the party was mandated to come and reconcile aggrieved party members.
Anthony Nwofe said, “I am here to make the world know that I am no longer interested in the party. I have resigned and for me to announce it to the whole Nigeria, that is why I am here . The activities going on in NDC do not align with my own ideal”.
He explained that the kangaroo manner the NDC primaries were conducted in Ebonyi State warranted him to resign from the party, saying that the outcome of the primaries by NDC did not reflect the party’s yearnings for a new Nigeria, because the primaries were not free and fair.
The Welfare Officer, Mr. Cyril Ajah stated that he has resigned from his position and withdrew his support from Peter Obi.
“I don’t want to participate in anything they are doing in that party because what they are doing now is not the way the party is being handled. If you want to hijack the party, you have to find another man. I have resigned from the party. I have withdrawn my support from Obedient”, he said.