If Alphonsus must resign, then Ojelabi must also resign as Lagos APC chairman – APC Stakeholder

By Ukorebi Esien 

CALABAR – As the call for the resignation of the Cross River State All Progressives Congress, Chairman, Barr Alphonsus Egba continue to gather momentum, a grassroots politician and member of the party in Mbube, Ogoja Mr. Jonas Mpiele has said it is irrelevant to call for the resignation of the party’s chairman simply because the party didn’t perform well in the northern senatorial district during the recently conducted 2023 general elections and the rerun elections..

Mpiele, who is an aide to the immediate past DG of Traffic Management and Regulatory Agency, Comrade Godwin Nyiam noted that the performances of chairman of political parties are not judged by the wining or losing of an election as elections have a lot of intricacies that determine the outcome.

Speaking further Mpiele said if the Cross River State APC chairman, Alphonsus Eba should be asked to step aside for losing elections in his senatorial district, then Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, Chairman of Lagos State APC should also resign because the party lost the presidential elections in Lagos state. 

“If we must begin the call for Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba to resign, then we must begin with states like Lagos State, where the seating president lost his presidential election in his own state, one of the oldest state being governed by APC in Nigeria yet the president failed in Lagos State.” He said. 

He argued that Alphonsus has performed well considering that he took over a baby party barely 1 year 6 months before the elections but could still ensure the party won the Governorship seat including 2 out of three Senatorial seats, 5 out of eight House of Representatives seats and over 90 percent of the House of Assembly seats. 

The statement reads in full:

If a party chairman is judged by the elections he or she wins then so many states of Nigeria are expected to call their chairmen to resign without any delay.

If a chairman fails elections in his senatorial district does not implies that he should be asked to resign.

A lot of things played out during the 2023 general elections, and that of the Cross River State APC chairman can not be seen as different.

If we must begin the call for Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba to resign, then we must begin with states like Lagos State, where the seating president lost his presidential election in his own state, one of the oldest state being governed by APC in Nigeria yet the president failed in Lagos State.

Cross River State I will refer to as a baby APC state, Cross River is presently the newest state that changed from PDP to APC and yet could massively deliver the governor, won two senatorial elections, won majority of the reps members, the state house is 90% APC, my brother Citizen Ekanem, u sef think am.

As difficult as it were, as unrealistic as it were, with many saying a year and six months as APC State there will be no way APC will win Cross River, yet the unexpected happened with APC sweeping almost all.

A Chairman who turned himself into an Evangelist for the sake of  the party is today seen as not being able to deliver, a chairman who never slept for the sake of APC is now called to resign because he didn’t win bye elections, this is a call seen as a natural hatred, jealousy and envy.

Cross River would have lost the governorship elections in Cross River but not for the huge and an wholesome votes delivered to APC by the state chairman Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba and Sen. Dr. Stephen Odey and all other stakeholders and APC faithfuls of Yala LGA.

The judgement and argument that Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba should resign because he lost Senate, house of reps and some house of Assemblies elections in his senatorial district should sent a simple message to the entire Party in the state to start fixing up things now, not to call for the resignation of the state chairman.

The state chairman Barr Alphonsus Ogar Eba should be congratulated for whoever thinks it was easy for a state that has been dominated by PDP from 1999 to move to APC within a year and six months, went into elections, and came out as strong as seen.

My message is to the entire Party, it is very irrelevant to call for the resignation of the state chairman Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba but rather the Party should seat and think of modalities to sustain APC in Cross River State, even the APC Chieftains in the state are complaining, the party faithfuls are complaining, the party should look at the hardship in the land, sort out modalities to fix things up and start preparing for 2027 elections now before it is too late.