A socio-political group in the fold of All Progressive Congress, Youths for Progressive Alliance (YFPA), has accused a suspended chieftain and Secretary of the APC Convention Committee on Contacts, Strategy and Mobilization, Ikechi Emenike of thwarting the tremendous gains recorded in the development of the party in Abia state.
The APC group also queried the whereabouts of N3 billion presidential campaign funds generated by the APC leadership meant for the last 2015 and 2019 general elections, alleging that the campaign funds were utilized by the suspended party chieftain and his cohorts to acquire houses in Abuja.
In a statement jointly signed by its President, Mazi Emmanuel Nwabuko and the Secretary General, Dr. Nwanevo Okeugo, made available to journalists in Aba, on Sunday, the Youths for Progressive Alliance noted that Emenike had become a clog in the wheels of progress of the APC in Abia state and has commissioned himself to truncate every chance of the party to emerge successful in every electioneering year.
The APC group also noted that the suspended chieftain, Ikechi Emenike has remained ungrateful to the APC having enjoyed enormous goodwill of the party, such as his appointment as Chairman, Governing Council of University of Nigeria (UNN), Secretary, APC National Convention Committee on Contact, Strategy and Mobilization, and as well as the appointment of his wife, Uzoma Ikechi Emenike, as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ireland.
The YFPA frowned at the “unwarranted and senseless media attacks” by Emenike and fifth columnists on the personality of some party leaders, advising him to turn a new leaf in the interest of the party in the state.
According to the YFPA, “we will not be in a hurry to recall how friends begged President Buhari to post the wife to Ireland so that Ikechi won’t kill her. Again, in 2015, he collected billions and used it to buy houses in Aso villa, having thought that Buhari would lose. He is a political gambler, doing political hatchet job and biddings of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in Abia state, instigating crisis in APC and destroying its laudable gains.
“Also, it is an established fact that Ikechi Emenike made away with huge sums of money belonging to the APC gubernatorial candidate in the last election in Anambra state, Senator Andy Uba which Uba has threatened to reveal to the world if Emenike fails to return. He is father of all betrayals. It is equally a well known fact that Ikechi Emenike has continued to pretend that he loves President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC but has failed serially to deliver the president and the party at his polling unit/ward in two consecutive general elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) held in Abia state. Abians and indeed Nigerians knew the destructive role played by Ikechi Emenike prior to the party’s preparation for 2019 election, wherein Emenike and fellow haters of democracy and unity instituted frivolous litigations and distracted and truncated the successful efforts made by the party to form government in Abia state.
“The world also knew the wicked activities carried out by Ikechi Emenike wherein he set up a parallel structure of the APC in Abia state and the hijack of APC Congress committee members sent from the national Secretariat to oversee conduct of Congresses across the state. Now, he has positioned himself of being above the law, defiling order of a court of competence jurisdiction which directed parties in the intra party suit to maintain status quo; which also mandated the Donatus Nwankpa-led Caretaker Executive Committee of the party in Abia state to continue to function pending the hearing and determination of the suit. Emenike and his hirelings had gone ahead to parade themselves as leaders of the party.
“Abians can bear witnesses that Ikechi Emenike has continued to maintain his gangsterism and treacherous character not worthy of a loyal party man. Sometime 2018, he led a group of thugs and burgled the Abia APC party secretariat located by Adelabu street by Azikwe road in Umuahia. Many petitions have been written against him by party members, apart from the billions of naira earmarked for logistics for 2015 presidential campaign he laundered, which he has yet to account for.
The APC group also disclosed that it has concluded arrangement to send volumes of petitions to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to probe the suspended party chieftain and to compel him to explain the whereabouts of the 2015 and 2019 presidential campaign funds he allegedly siphoned.
The Youth for Progressive Alliance (YFPA) further reiterated its calls on the national leadership of the APC to extend their sledge hammer on Emenike and his recruited agents of destabilization to save the APC from another electoral misfortunes, insisting that outright expulsion of Emenike and his group of gangsters has become necessary in order to consolidate on the overwhelming acceptability of APC in Abia and entire southeast zone of Nigeria.
Concluding, the socio-political organization, however, challenged the suspended party chieftain to prove them wrong if above revelation is shrouded on falsehoods, while urging teeming members and supporters of the APC in Abia to remain steadfast, dedicated, united, and as well as supportive to the party in her quest to form next government in Abia come 2023 and to provide dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of Abians.
Meanwhile, as at the time of filing this report, Chief Ikechi Emenike nor the media aide could not be reached for his reaction on the allegations levelled against him by the APC group.
