Congress: Enugu APC Chairman accuses ex Speaker Odo of hijacking result sheets

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Enugu State, Ben Nwoye, has accused the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Eugene Odo, of hijacking the ward result sheets during the last Saturday Ward Congress held by the party in the State.
Nwoye made this allegation yesterday at the party’s secretariat in Enugu, while inaugurating the 260 ward executives elected during the Saturday ward congress of APC in the State.
The Ward leaders were inaugurated by the State Chairman of APC in the presence of other members of the State Working Committee of the party.
The chairman said, “The leadership of the party gave us the go ahead to conduct the congress and there is nothing in our Constitution that prohibits me from inaugurating you.”
He however took a swipe at the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly for allegedly hijacking the Ward results sheets, saying “Democratic thieves in Enugu State APC attempted to steal your mandate, that was why one Dr. Ijeomah abandoned his medical practice, even in this time of COVID-19, abandoned saving lives and wanted to kill people’s political life.
“Those who sponsored the political robbery, provided a chartered jet for him to come, there is no other State where private jet lifted the Committee except Enugu State, who gave Ijeomah the money?
“I called him on Thursday to come and distribute material, he was nowhere to be found. The national secretariat said you should report to the chairman, but he never did. He showed up with his people, they provided a hotel for him, all the equipment to rob our democratic rights.
“Ijeomah was supposed to bring to Enugu 7207 result sheets, 260 summary sheets, and a record of people that purchased forms, but we saw none of that.”
Nwoye said the same people who were working to kill the party “attempted to open the Southeast Secretariat three times and three times it failed because they wanted to use it for impunity.
“These people now opened the so-called ultra modern office at night, because Enugu people are awake. On Friday, they lifted your material, took it to the said office, were writing, and the dishonourable ex-Speaker was a supervisor.”
“This is a man that wanted to impeach Sullivan Chime and he himself was impeached, he was chased away from PDP, he came to APC.
“This afternoon, Rt. Hon. Eugene Odo, now dishonourable, was caught at INEC trying to sneak in stolen result sheets, stolen documents. He carried stolen documents into INEC and was caught red handed,” Nwoye alleged.
He charged the inaugurated exco members to take charge and not be intimidated.
“I’m calling on our leaders in Enugu State, the collective interest of the party is far more important than the inordinate ambition of any one person in 2023. It is only God who can decide the fate of everyone before tomorrow, let alone 2023.
“People are stealing the mandate given by God, apparently because you want to be minister, senator, Governor, and these people who want to be ward executive members, you stole their own.
Meanwhile, the former Speaker, Odo has denied the allegations, noting that the chairman’s claims were strange to him.
He said it was the duty of the Congress Committee to submit results and that it had nothing to do with him, adding that he would not want to join issues with the Chairman.
Also, the chairman of the Congress Committee, Arodiogbu, dismissed the allegations against him.
He maintained that the state chairman of the party had no right to inaugurate the ward Chairman as according to him, “the result of the Congress has just been submitted to the national Secretariat in line with guidelines.”