At Last, Gov Otu Wades Into C’River APC Leadership Crisis, May Set Up Investigative Committee
By Judex OKORO
Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has finally intervened in the leadership crisis threatening to tear apart the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), assuring aggrieved party officers that their concerns will be thoroughly investigated.
THE BEAGLE NEWS reliably gathered that the Governor on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with the 35 chapter chairmen and secretaries across the 18 local government areas, many of whom staged a protest at the APC Secretariat on Tuesday.
The marathon meeting, which went on for several hours, was attended by the Deputy Governor, Dr Peter Odey, and the Chief of Staff, Mr Emmanuel Ironbar. According to inside sources, the session provided the aggrieved officers an opportunity to present their grievances directly to the governor.
A top Government House source, who spoke in confidence, disclosed that a number of immediate decisions were reached; chief among them being the prompt and consistent payment of monthly stipends to local government party executives.
The source further revealed that Governor Otu expressed surprise at some of the issues raised and assured the delegation of his readiness to set up an investigative committee to examine the more contentious allegations and recommend appropriate action.
“The governor acted like a father and helped us address long-standing concerns,” the source said. “He commended us for maintaining peace and maturity throughout the situation and reassured us of his commitment to keeping the APC united before, during, and after the 2027 general elections.”
He added that the chapter chairmen, in turn, pledged their loyalty to the governor and reaffirmed their readiness to work with him to strengthen the party’s internal cohesion.
It would be recalled that the Forum of APC Chapter Chairmen and Secretaries, after a meeting on Tuesday, issued a communique calling for the resignation of the State Chairman, Mr Alphonsus Ogar Eba.
In the communique read by Forum Chairman, Chief Kelvin Njong, the group accused Eba of “high-handedness, insolence, and a transactional approach to party administration,” as well as “destabilizing and anti-progressive tendencies.”
They further alleged that the chairman failed to remit due percentages from sales of nomination forms during the 2023 general elections, claiming that while only ₦9.2 million was released to the 5,778 ward and LGA officials, the 36-member State Executive Committee took ₦40 million.
“This is gross injustice and typical of the chairman,” the communiqué stated. “Other remittances from the national secretariat remain unaccounted for.”
Eba has since dismissed the allegations as mischievous and baseless, accusing the chairmen themselves of misappropriating ₦60 million meant for ward and chapter executives in 2023.
The crisis escalated on Tuesday when the aggrieved chairmen and secretaries barricaded the APC Secretariat, locking out staff and officials while chanting solidarity songs. Armed with placards that read “Eba Must Go,” “APC Needs Fresh Air,” “We Are Tired of Your Insolence,” the protesters demanded Eba’s immediate resignation.
Governor Otu’s intervention, party insiders say, may be the first decisive step toward restoring calm and repositioning the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
