By Peter Okutu

ABAKALIKI—THOUSANDS of supporters and stalwarts of the All Progressives Congress, APC, weekend thronged to Ekpomaka Ward in Ikwo local government area of the state in a solidarity rally for President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The group was led by the embattled  State chairman of the party, Hon. Ben Nwobasi.

The rally which was part of efforts by the national coordinator of Buhari/Osibanjo Initiative for Demonstrating Change, Comrade Chinedu Ogah towards appraising the leadership of the President and the state chairman of the party, Nwobasi awarded scholarship to an indigent student to University level.

The national coordinator noted that the gesture was to complement the efforts of the President in alleviating poverty in the country, stressing that the problem in the state was that those appointed by the President have not really impacted positively on the lives of the people.

He appealed to the President as the leader of the party to intervene in the leadership crisis rocking the state and return normalcy to the party as “disgruntled elements and moneybags from the Labour Party want to hijack the leadership of the elected chairman of the party.”

Ogah alleged that the state’ Deputy chairman of the party, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu conspired with new entrants of the party to hijack the leadership structure and create faction within the party

The enthusiastic supporters, who chanted solidarity songs in support of Nwobasi and Buhari, thanked God for the safe return of the President from his medical vacation in London, pledging total support for the party in the state.

The rally which afforded all stalwarts and members of the state Executive Committee of the party to air their views on the future of the party assured that they would canvass for more supports for the party ahead of the April 22 local government elections in the state.

However, the state Deputy Chairman of the party, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu Eze claimed he had received a letter from the National secretariat of APC asserting him as the Acting Chairman of the Party in the state.

Meanwhile, Nwobasi said he was not aware of any letter purportedly transmitted to his deputy by the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun to act as the state chairman of the party, noting

that he still remains the only and authentic state chairman of APC in Ebonyi state.

The state party chairman noted that the party would participate actively in the council elections and further urged all interested aspirants to pick their nomination forms from the party secretariat along Old Abakaliki-Enugu expressway (opp. Stadium) as the party would hold its primaries soon.