By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
A group within the Cross River State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, led by one of the party’s stakeholders from the Cross River North senatorial district of the state, Chief Henry Onwe, on Friday called for the resignation state chairman of the party, Barr Alphonsus Ogar over allegations of betrayal of the party during the just concluded governorship elections.
Speaking on the issue, in Calabar, the leader of the agitators, who doubles as the coordinator of governorship campaign in Yala Local Government Are of Cross River State, Onwe, stated that with Ogar at the helms of affairs, the APC on Cross River State would be thrown in disarray and confusion.
Onwe stated that what he expected Ogar to do was to tender his resignation letter and quit with honour, rather than dragging his feet for party men like him to tell him to quit.
Onwe said, “Ogar did not only betray the state governor, Prof Benedict Ayade, who contested the senatorial position for the district by shamefully losing many polling units in his area to the PDP.
“He lost out in several wards, local governments and the senatorial district, which is unacceptable for a state chairman of a ruling party like the APC.”
Stressing that if there was anything that was painful, it was the loss of the senatorial bid of the state governor, Prof Ayade, who had work very tirelessly to ensure that all party men have food on their table.
He described the situation as unfortunate, insisting that party men had been working tirelessly with the hope to produce a senator that would have contested the position of the Senate President, only fort state chairman of the party to lose the election, by his abysmally below expectation performance.
Giving an insight to Ogar’s scorecard as the state party chairman’s, especially in Cross River North senatorial district, which ought to be an APC stronghold of the chairman, Onwe stressed that in Echemofana ward, where the state chairman comes, he woefully failed, notwithstanding the huge resources that was in his possession.
He said, “Going by results of Ogar’s polling unit in the presidential and National Assembly elections, one is left in no doubt that the governor and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC presidential flag bearer were betrayed by Ogar, who ridiculously scored low figures for them in the election.”
Onwe averred that Ogar’s scorecard in his immediate catchment area showed that he woeful lost out to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, because he wasn’t on ground; all he knows is to intimidate people with out really extending hand of fellowship to kinsmen in times of need.
Onwe burtressed his assertion with the claim that in the presidential election at Igbeku Comprehensive Secondary School, Unit 013, APC got 115 votes, while the Labour Party, LP, scored a whooping 178 votes.
He added, “At Akreha Health Centre, Unit 015, APC polled 49 votes, while the LP scored 128 votes. It was same story at the third polling unit, Playground Echemofana, Etiekpo Unit 005, with the APC polling 91 votes to LP’s 139 votes.
“At Unit 004, Igbeku Comprehensive Secondary School, APC had just 70 votes while LP scored 83 votes. At Playground Echiakpo, APC, 111 votes; while LP got 134 votes.”
The group leader stated that the case was no different in the House of of Representatives election, where he claimed Ogar also performed abysmally, losing the polling units to the PDP, stressing that even in Ogar’s immediate polling unit of Akreha Health Centre, Unit 015, APC polled 71 votes, while the PDP went home with 109 votes.
He continued, “At Playground Oloko Ipuole Street, Unit 008, the PDP defeated the APC by 92 votes 88 votes. At Playground Echiakpu, Unit 002, the PDP had 138 votes, while the APC polled 133 votes, showing that Ogar wasn’t on ground.”
Chief Onwe alleged that despite the governor’s show of love to Ogar, he failed woefully to reciprocate the love shown to him and ensure that the polls are swept in favour of the state governor.
He added, “At Igbeku Comprehensive Secondary School, Unit, 005, APC polled 82 votes against PDP’s 88 votes. At the same venue, Unit 013, APC had 161 votes while the PDP had same 161 votes. At Playground Echiakpo, PDP pulled 138 votes, while APC came behind with 134 votes
“Again at Etiekpo Playground, the PDP had 182 votes, and APC, 119 votes. At Primary School Echemofana, PDP scored 135 votes and APC could only manage 118 votes.” Onwe maintained.
He maintained that same scenario played out at Playground Oloko, Unit 008, where the PDP had 98 votes and APC 91. At Akreha Health Centre, Unit 015, the PDP had 109 while APC came far behind with 75 votes. At Ipuole Ekprinyi, Unit 016, the PDP led with 68 votes while APC had 63.”
Ogar’s persecutors stated that the abysmal performance of APC state chairman is shameful, meaning that Ogar had fallen short of the glory which he used to have as state party chairman, stressing that he should therefore step aside before he plunges the APC onto greater misfortune since he is no longer on ground.
Onwe called for the stepping aside of Barr. Ogar to pave way for the emergence of a true party man to assume the seat of state chairman rather than remaining at the throne to sabotage the party.
Onwe averred that the APC state chairman cannot lose tbe Senate position, two House of Representatives seats, five state House of Assembly seats, making it apparently the only senatorial district to be so humiliated , despite the fact that he hails from that senatorial district.
Reacting to the agitation, however, the APC state chairman Barr. Ogar said, ” I cannot and don’t want to join issues with a small boy who I raised politically. So that I won’t be felt insulted.
“I made him the cordinator for the governorship campaign in Yala and he went there and did the contrary. Let him face his anti-party activity allegations, which are still hanging on his neck. That won’t stop us from sorting out party members who played anti-party activities during the contest.”
