The state chairman of the Cross River chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Venatius Ikem has been removed from office by the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party.
The entire 14 SWC members, excluding the sacked chairman, the state auditor who is under suspension signed the letter dated 15 of November that announced the chairman’s removal.
Similarly, the 18 local government chairmen of party also endorsed the removal of the chairman at a press briefing at the party’s Secretariat in Calabar on Friday.
They hinged his removal on allegation of misappropriation of funds, high handedness and inability to manage the state’s chapter of the PDP.
The leadership in their resolution accused the sacked Chairman of failure to perform his duties as outlined in the party constitution.
The resolution reads in part: “Whereas, his actions have been detrimental to the party’s interest and wellbeing;and as a result, he has brought the party into disrepute, hatred and contempt.
“Whereas, the Chairman neglects to carry out lawful directives of the party, mismanage the finances of the party, does not pay party dues and does not call for meetings or attend meetings regularly as required by the Party’s Constitution.
“Whereas, the Chairman engages in anti-party activities and conducts likely to cause disaffection among members of the party or is likely to disrupt the peaceful, lawful and efficient conduct of the business of the Party.
“Whereas, the Chairman has contravened the provisions of Article 58 of the Constitution of the People’s Democratic Party, 2017 as amended;
“Whereas, we have exhausted all avenues to address these issues through internal dispute resolution mechanisms.
“And in pursuant to Article 59 of the Constitution of the People’s Democratic Party, 2017 as amended, the Chairman is hereby suspended from office with immediate effect.”
Meanwhile, the chairman of the forum of chapter chairmen of PDP, Chef Godwin Abeng who address the media alongside other chairmen, said Ikem’s removal is a good omen for the party in Cross River.
He attributed the poor outing of the PDP in the 2023 general elections to the poor leadership direction of the removed chairman.
“We hereby endorsed his removal by the SWC and know that the party will now progress and also start preparation for the 2027 elections in earnest.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that following Ikem’s removal, Mr Austin Edibe, Vice Chairman of the Northern senatorial district of the party has been appointed as the acting chairman of the party in Cross River.
Also, Mr Julius Udayi has been appointed as the acting Vice Chairman of the North.
However, when contacted, mr Venatius Ikem denied the allegations against him, saying that the process of his alleged removal was faulty.
(NAN).
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