Enugu APC bans State Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council and threatens dismissal of three Council members.

The three members under the hammer include former Senate President Ken Nnamani, former State Commissioner Joe Mamel, and Maduka Arum.

They work for a rival party candidate, an official alleged.

The party specifically accused Senator Ken Nnamani of openly promoting PDP Governorship candidate Peter Mbah.

Additionally, Nnamani allegedly set a legal trap for Mr. Tinubu’s downfall on the day he came to campaign in Enugu.

Legal trap for Tinubu

The Enugu SEC alleged that on 11 January 2023, Sen Nnamani did everything to sabotage the APC presidential rally.

He brought a masquerade to the Tinubu rally, which is against Section 92 (4) of the Electoral Act, the party said.

“This section forbids candidates and aspirants from employing masquerades for any purpose during the campaign, the official said.

“On record, Ken Nnamani brought masquerade to the airport and ordered them to go to the rally.

“Thank God for the diligence of our Youth Wing, who ensured that Ken Nnamani’s branded masquerade did not make it to the campaign event.

“That action would have sabotaged and put our presidential candidate in legal jeopardy,” the party noted.

Disciplinary Action

Consequently, Enugu APC set up a five-man Disciplinary Committee to examine allegations of anti-party activities against Nnamani, Mamel, and Arum.

APC’s assistant legal adviser, Vincent Chieyina, heads the Committee.

In banning the Tinubu Council, the party alleged that Senator Nnamani and Ben Nwoye campaign for PDP governorship in the state.

“The Party is fully aware of the nefarious activities of the previous administration of the Party in the 2015 and 2019 General Elections.

“The Party reviewed various petitions and reports from the Fact-Finding Committees against Sen. Ken Nnamani, Ozor Joe Mmamel, and Mr Maduka Arum, from their different local government areas.

“The petitions bothered anti-party activities and other offences against the APC Constitution and the Electoral Act of 2022.

“Sen. Ken Nnamani was accused of campaigning openly for the candidacy of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at a rally held at the Michael Okpara Square Enugu on January 20th 2023.

“Sen. Nnamani was represented by Ben Nwoye, an expelled former Chairman of Enugu state APC who has been working against the candidate of APC (Chief Uche Nnaji), and Mr Maduka Arum, aka Mama, an acolyte and head of Ken Nnamani Political group.

“Ken Nnamani has had a history of Anti-party activities. He joined APC from PDP some years ago and has consistently campaigned against APC candidates, including Sen. Ayogu Eze, in 2019.

“The Party could not bring him to order because the Party then had no moral authority under the leadership of Mr Ben Nwonye.”

State Secretary, Robert Ngwu, said the party will expel Nnamani, Ozor, Mmamel and Arum, “if found culpable and depending on the recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee.”

The party sent the petitions and fact-finding reports to the State Disciplinary Committee for investigation, he said.

“The Party will not hesitate to suspend or expel the accused, if found guilty by the Disciplinary Committee.”

State Party chairman, Ugo Agballah, however asked the Committee to give the accused persons fair hearing.

The state chairman banned the Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council in the state.

He implied that the group is “deceiving itself” that it is campaigning for candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, while campaigning against other candidates of the party in the state.

The party noted but discarded other petitions against Mr Ben Nwoye and Comrade AC Ude because it expelled them in 2022.

Why we moved against Nnamani

The State APC explained why it moved against Senator Nnamani and two others:

“2023 General Election is 30 days from today. Under normal circumstances, we would ignore recent activities from some of our misguided members.

“However, anti-party is a terminal sin against any political party, so the State Executive Committee of APC believes it is imperative to tackle this matter head-on.

“Anti-party activities refer to actions or attitudes that go against the goals and principles of a political party.

“These activities can harm the Party’s reputation and effectiveness and may lead to internal divisions and conflicts.

“Additionally, suppose individuals within a party engage in anti-party activities. In that case, it can erode trust and unity among party members and make it difficult for the Party to achieve its goals.

“In a democratic system, a political party plays a vital role in representing the voices and interests of its supporters while competing for power within the government.

“When anti-party activities occur, it can undermine the ability of the Party to fulfil that role and harm the functioning of the democratic system as a whole.

“Anti-party activities can also lead to a loss of support from voters and donors, which can harm the Party’s ability to compete in elections and implement its policies.

“In some cases, anti-party activities may even lead to the expulsion of party members or the formation of splinter groups, which can further weaken the Party and make it less effective.”

Verbal onslaught against Nnamani

The State APC launched a verbal attack on Senator Nnamani.

It said Nnamani’s “ambivalent political nature” cost him election as APC Deputy National Chairman, scoring only one vote.

“Likewise, when he contested for the presidency at last year’s APC convention, he scored zero votes.

“Even the delegates he nominated refused to vote for him, saying that voting for him was the same as voting for PDP.”

The party alleged that for the past years, Nnamani had been the sole nominator of councillorship slots and Local Government Area chairmanship slots in Enugu South Local Government Area, his Local Government Area of origin.

“He single-handedly decides who was given nomination within PDP in Enugu South LGA, it said.

“His comprador Political activities have so compromised him that he is no longer able to campaign for Ahmed Bola Tinubu, our Presidential candidate.

“Last four years, Ken Nnamani led APC to a disastrous outing where they garnered only 2% of the total vote cast because he and his fellow conspirators pocked (sic) all the campaign funds, divided it amongst themselves, and gave no dime to the ward.

“Ken Nnamani has a history of political betrayals. In 1991 he betrayed SDP. While in SDP, he was campaigning for NRC governorship candidate Joe Nwodo.

“In 1999, he was the closest confidant of the APP governorship candidate, yet he betrayed the then APP governorship candidate for Chimaroke’s PDP, which made them give him their senatorial ticket a day after the governorship election of January 10th 1999.

“This was the reason why PDP members voted against him and voted for Uche Nnaji, who moved over to AD in 1999.

“If not for Obasanjo’s Maurice Iwu’s electoral heist of 2003, Ken Nnamani has never won a freely contested election apart from the 2003 Obasanjo/ Maurice Iwu massively rigged election where he was awarded victory against the rightful winner of that election.

“The 2019 general election, Ken Nnamani would only garner seven votes after pocketing the entire campaign funds,” the party alleged.

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