The crisis rocking the Cross River State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) deepened significantly this week, as a wide coalition of party officials, including 18 vice chairmen and 196 ward chairmen, publicly threw their weight behind the demand for the immediate resignation of the State Party Chairman, Barrister Alphonsus Eba. The officials cited alleged financial impropriety and high-handedness as key reasons for their action.
In a unified stance, the Forum of Vice Chairmen and ward leaders, alongside the Forum of Chapter Chairmen, also unanimously adopted Governor Bassey Otu for a second term ahead of the 2027 gubernatorial election.
This mass alignment follows an earlier demand made last week by 35 chapter chairmen and secretaries for Mr. Eba’s immediate departure.
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The expanded coalition formalized their demands during a crucial meeting held at Hogis Royale in Calabar on Tuesday, November 25, 2025. The gathering, convened by the Chapter Chairmen Forum, served to update ward officers on recent developments within the party and cement a commitment to fighting for better welfare for local executives.
Financial Impropriety and Allegations of Injustice
Chief Kelvin Njong, Chairman of the Forum of Chapter Chairmen, read out the communiqué that accused Mr. Eba of “high handedness, insolence, underestimating party leaders and adopting a transactional style of leadership.”
Central to the crisis are allegations of financial misconduct stemming from the sale of forms during the 2023 general elections. The communique revealed a glaring disparity in fund distribution: “While the local government areas and wards, comprising 5,778 party officials, received only nine point two million naira, the state executive with just thirty six members took forty million naira. This is gross injustice and typical of the chairman.”
Ward Executives Decry Poor Treatment
Grievances over poor welfare and inadequate remuneration were vehemently expressed by ward executives at the meeting. Comrade Franklin Egbai, Chairman of the Forum of Ward Chairmen from the Biase Local Government chapter, praised the gathering’s convener but expressed deep dissatisfaction with the ward executives’ treatment.
“I feel sad about the allegations against the state chairman and the poor treatment meted out to ward executives,” Egbai stated. “It is shameful that ward executives are given twenty thousand naira to share among twenty seven members. We are being treated as insignificant by the state chairman. Sometimes, we go home with five hundred naira per person per month as party leaders at the ward level.”
Egbai further emphasized the need for financial empowerment: “If a ward chairman cannot buy a bottle of beer for a friend, how can he convince that friend to join the party? We therefore adopt the communique presented to Governor Bassey Otu by the Forum of Chapter Chairmen demanding Eba’s resignation.”
Rejection of Confidence Vote
The officials also moved swiftly to denounce any previous show of support for the State Chairman. Bassey Oyo Ekpenyong, Youth Leader of Ward 8 in Calabar South, rejected an earlier vote of confidence passed on the state chairman.
“We are not part of it and we stand firmly with the Forum of Chapter Chairmen,” Ekpenyong asserted. “We worked tirelessly in 2023 to ensure the party’s victory and now they want to shortchange us.”
Elder William Ovat, Vice Chairman of Obubra and Chairman of the Vice Chairmen Forum, also denounced the confidence vote, claiming his forum was misled. He stated, “We were not informed about the purpose of the meeting that led to the signing of the vote of confidence. Based on the allegations of corruption we have seen and heard at the state leadership level, we align with the Forum of Chapter Chairmen in adopting the communique calling for the chairman’s resignation.”
The Chapter Chairmen Forum concluded the meeting by warning that “The state chairman can no longer lead us and we will occupy the secretariat until he resigns.” They appealed to party leaders to support their fight for justice. The officials further resolved to boycott all future meetings with the state chairman until all issues are resolved, and called for a review of party fund sharing, advocating for a seventy to thirty percent ratio in favour of local government and ward officials.
The joint forums called for Mr. Eba to “resign honourably due to his actions which they described as anti progressive and harmful to the party.”
