Chief Basil Ejidike
Anambra APC suspends chairman, as Ejidike calls it ‘laughable’
Chairman of the Anambra State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Basil Ejidike, who had last week announced the suspension of the party’s Publicity Secretary, Chief Okeluo Madukaife, has himself been suspended.
Madukaife was reportedly suspended for recognizing the victory of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof Charles Soludo, during the just-concluded state governorship election. A decision he has since dismissed as ‘unserious.’
However, in a twist, a stakeholder of the party, Okonkwo Okom, who announced the suspension of the state chairman, Ejidike, at a press conference in Awka, Thursday, explained that Ejidike was suspended because he refused to convene a state congress of the party to tackle pressing and urgent matters, despite repeated demands to do so as stipulated by the party’s constitution.
He said the state chapter of the APC jointly convened by not less than two-thirds of the members of the state executive committee and not less than two-thirds of the 21 Local Government Area Chairmen of the APC with the mandate of the 326 Ward Chairmen in the state decided to suspend Ejidike.
“That Mr Basil Ejidike be and is hereby suspended forthwith from office as the Caretaker Chairman of All Progressives Congress in Anambra State, pending his appearance before a Disciplinary/Fact-Finding Committee of the Party.
“That the next most senior available official of the party in the state is mandated to convene an emergency meeting of the state executive committee in consultation with the leader of the party in Anambra State, Dr Chris Ngige, within the next 14 days from the date hereof to discuss the modalities for strengthening and repositioning the All Progressives Congress and for moving the party forward in Anambra State.
“That Mr Basil Ejidike shall be referred to the Disciplinary/Fact-Finding Committee of the party in the state as prescribed by the APC constitution to answer to charges of abuse of power and office, diversion and conversion of party property, flagrant sabotage, subversion and breach of the party’s constitution, insubordination and disrespect to the Office and person of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, embezzlement and misappropriation of party’s funds, among other charges.
“That as required by the party’s constitution, these resolutions shall be immediately transmitted to the National Caretaker and Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee for immediate implementation,” read the statement of suspension of Ejidike.
On his part, while reacting to his suspension, Ejidike described the claim as ‘laughable.’
“Those people are not members of our party. They are renegades who left the party after our primaries in June. They can’t suspend me.
“As I’m talking to you I’m at the National Secretariat of our party in Abuja. Their claim is laughable. What is the position of the person that convened the meeting that sacked me? They are trying to see if they can instigate a crisis in our party; that is their only interest.”
