A fresh round of crisis is brewing in the Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, following the appointment of Dr Ben Nwoye as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy National Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Ali Dalori.
This is as the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji has described the appointment as a very big mistake.
Nnaji spoke through his Special Assistant on Media, Engr Jekwu Nnaji, in apparent response to a group which had asked him to focus on his job as minister.
Nnaji and Nwoye are both from Enugu State where Nwoye served two terms as the APC Chairman.
But alleging that Nwoye supported the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, now Governor Peter Mbah during the 2023 general elections, Nnaji insisted that the appointment would have grave consequences for the party.
He said the appointment “is akin to hiring an undertaker to bury APC in Enugu State. We see this arrangement as a deliberate act by the APC Deputy National Chairman, North, because Ben Nwoye never hid his anti-party activities and determination to destroy APC in Enugu State in particular and Nigeria in general.
“His anti-party activities were publicised, as he worked assiduously to sabotage and thwart the programs and affairs of APC in Enugu State during the last general elections.
“He could be seen and heard at different fora castigating and denigrating APC candidates while campaigning for PDP.
“Ben Nwoye cannot work at the coal corporation and go to the railway for his salary. So, his appointment as Chief of Staff to the APC Deputy National Chairman North is not acceptable to APC faithful in Enugu State.”
“It is pertinent to note that the APC leader in Enugu State is the Honourable Minister of Innovation Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji.
“So, in line with international best practices and due process, it is expected that the Deputy National Chairman North would run such a decision through him.
“I am not saying that the Deputy Chairman has no right to appoint any person of his choice from any part of the country as aide. He has the right, and therefore responsible for the consequences of the decision. This is the reason I opened my submission with the postulation that the decision to hire Ben Nwoye is a deliberate act, aimed at destroying APC.
“The APC leader in Enugu State, Chief Uche Nnaji has every right as a concerned party man to raise objections to the appointment.
“Rabble rousers and misguided supporters of Ben Nwoye are hailing the appointment as deserved. Is it a deserving appointment to compensate a mole who openly campaigned for PDP as could be seen in the attached video?” He queried.
Meanwhile, both Nnaji and the APC chairman in Enugu State, Barr Ugochukwu Agballa co-signed a protest letter written to Dalori, wherein they expressed their displeasure over the appointment given to Nwoye.
Nwoye an undertaker hired to bury APC – Tinubu’s minister, Nnaji fires back
