C’River guber polls: ACN passes vote of no confidence on state exco

Posted by admin Cross River, State News Thursday, September 29th, 2011

Barely seven months to the April 2012 governorship election, crisis has sparked off in the Cross River State chapter of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), as the state leader of the party, Dr. Lawrence Henshaw and other party chieftains have called for the dissolution of the State Executive Council of the party, alleging brazen corruption and lack of focus.

In a petition written to National Chairman of the party, Bisi Akande, Henshaw said there was need to dissolve the exco to set up a caretaker committee with a mandate to conduct elections in the next three months for new officials to be elected, alleging that the Cletus Obun-led executive had become an illegality since his tenure had expired.

Insisting that democratic process must be followed in selecting those who would pilot the affairs of the party for the next four years, he said the incumbent chairman was allegedly scheming to perpetuate himself in office as he had failed to convene routine party meetings since the past three years.
While the party members called for congresses, he lamented that Obun had opted for affirmation of candidate to enable him maneuver and perpetuate himself in office.

Commenting on the situation, he alleged that decisions affecting the party were no longer taken during meetings at the party secretariat, but rather from the private residence of the chairman, who was accused of sidelining all party chieftains and other key members in running the affairs of the party.

In a petition addressed to the national chairman of the party, the ACN members accused Obun of gross misconduct, ineptitude, financial impropriety and highhandedness, saying there was need for congresses for them to elect leaders who would show respect for the tenets of democracy.

Besides, they said the former House of Assembly member who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2003, had been involved in anti-party activities as he was alleged to have started romancing with his former party seeking to curry favour from the ruling party. They stressed that they were not ready to condone any chairman with dual membership.

Henshaw further warned those wishing to contest the 2012 governorship election on the platform of ACN not to obtain any expression-of-interest form from the Obun-led exco, alleging such forms would not be honoured by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the party.

-Sunwp_posts