The deputy national chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), General Jeremiah T. Useni (rtd) has declared that the leadership crisis rocking the ANPP was still very much around and that the de-cision of the party’s national executive council (NEC) of 9th September remains valid.
General Useni, who insi-sted that he is still the acting chairman of the party told newsmen at a press briefing yesterday in Abuja that the suspension of the national chairman of the party, Chief Don Etiebet by the NEC on 9th of September was still in force.
Reacting to the meeting held by the party’s governors and the chairman of the Board of Trustees, Admiral Augustus Aikhomu (rtd) over the weekend, General Useni said, “As you are already aware, a meeting was held by our governors and chairman, board of trustees, Admiral Aikhomu on Saturday 16th October, 2004 over the crisis affecting our party. It should be understood that only Admiral Aikhomu attended the governors’ meeting and not the entire members of the board of trustees.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to state that our party’s NEC will soon meet and address issues raised at the said meeting and decide on the way forward. For ease of understanding, we wish to reconfirm that the decision of NEC on 9th September 2002 suspending Chief Don Etiebet from office as national chairman still stands.”
The acting chairman assured that as soon as the NEC of the party convened and took a position on the current crisis, the decision will be communicated.
Calling on the police and the State Security Service (SSS) to “desist from haras-sing our party officers at the instance of Chief Don Etie-bet,” the acting chairman said it was unfortunate that the security agencies have taken a side in the party’s crisis even as he called on the supporters of the party all over the country to remain calm and law abiding.
General Useni also took exception to the presence of the police at the Abuja nati-onal secretariat of the party calling on the Inspector General of Police to pull out all the policemen stationed at the national secretariat since the beginning of the crisis.
Adding to the conni-vance of the PDP govern-ment in the crisis rocking the ANPP, General Useni wond-ered why the government should deploy the police on a permanent duty to the party’s secretariat as well as to provide security to Chief Don Etibet.
The acting chairman also said he did not rule out the possibility that the crisis was being instigated from with-out with a view to destroying the ANPP assuring however, that “all genuine members of our great party will do everything to ensure that the party comes out of the crisis stronger and more focused.
He said the rumours of Governor Saminu Turaki’s alleged switch to the PDP did come as a surprise to him as, according to him, the Jigawa Sate governor is the last person he expected to ditch the ANPP for another party.
