Crisis hits Abia APGA, chairman suspended

Crisis has hit the leadership of Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with the State Working Committee (SWC) suspending the party’s state chairman, Rev Austin Ehiemere.
The party anchored its reason on gross misconduct and violation of the party rules.

The party’s secretary, Sunday Onukwubiri, who announced the suspension in Umuahia, said Ehiemere was alleged to be working against the directives of the national chairman of the party.

According to Onukwubiri, the national chairman of the party had directed that aspirants should pay all monies for nomination forms into the party’s National Bank account at Fidelity Bank, but Ehiemere allegedly directed otherwise that the monies should be paid into the party’s state account at FCMB.
“The acts of misconduct include compilation of list of candidates for the local government election in Abia state outside the party secretariat without any SWC member citing the list.

“Abuse of office by deliberately and fraudulent removal of the name of aspirants that passed through all the processes of purchasing the nomination forms, screening out those who won and replacing their names with those who never bought forms.
“Gross violation of party guidelines and hijacking of the processes for the conduct of the primaries, which specifically said that primaries should be conducted by local government party chairmen whose names are with INEC.

“He (allegedly) sold nomination forms from his office and was collecting cash from aspirants without the knowledge of members of the SWC which is against the rules and regulations of the party as enshrined in our constitution”, the secretary alleged.
“Therefore, he will face the consequences of his actions according to the constitution of our party”, he added.