By Anayo Okoli
THE crisis rocking Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Abia State has deepened, with two different groups holding parallel state congresses last Saturday.

While one group, under the control of Prince Paul Ikonne held its congress at Eastern Comfort Hotel, another group, led by Mr. Aham Obi, said to be the recognized group, held its own at a primary school opposite the party’s state office.

But in a swift reaction, Aham Obi at a press briefing yesterday, insisted that there were no two groups of ACN in Abia State.

According to him, “there is only one ACN in Abia State; last Saturday we held our state congress, having earlier held our ward and local government congresses.

“Only one congress, which was recognized by the national office, was held and it was held in this primary school opposite our office.

“The party said that congresses would be held in the offices but because of the size of the office and the number of delegates, we held it in the primary school opposite us.

“The party said that congresses should not be held in hotels. Paul Ikonne, who organized the one held in the hotel, is not a member of ACN.”

“He was a member of Action Congress but after the Lagos convention, he has not registered as a member of ACN, so he cannot claim to be an ACN member, let alone organizing a congress.

“All the materials sent from the national office are here, this is the office address they know. Paul Ikonne is not vying for governorship. He is just a stooge for somebody.

“The genuine ACN members aspiring to be governor were with us last Saturday. They were Bob Ogu; Nat Ikeoha; Chinwe Obike; Chioma Ogbuehi and Damian Ozurumba. Paul Ikonne is not one of them.

“We are moving forward. There is no faction in ACN. What we need is for good Abia people to come and join hands to salvage the state”.

When contacted, Chairman of the party’s Convention and Congress Committee and former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chris Ngige, confirmed that it was the Obi-led group that was the authentic side, stressing that there was no faction in ACN in the state.

However, he said there was a three man appeal panel, headed by Chetanna Udoka, who will look into the petitions of aggrieved party members arising from the congresses in the South East, and Ngige urged aggrieved members to channel their grievance to the panel.

Ikonne, however, maintained that he remained a bona fide member of the party.