UMUAHIA — The crisis within the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abia State has deepened as the Reality Organisation has accused the state leadership of running the party with “high-handedness, impunity and political intolerance,” warning that genuine members may be forced to form a faction if the trend continues.
In a statement signed by its representative, Dimgba Okereke, the group was reacting to a communiqué purportedly issued by the APC State Working Committee against the Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
Reality Organisation defended Senator Kalu, saying he did not engage in anti-party activity during a recent television interview.
According to the group, Senator Kalu was asked whether President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election. He answered yes. He was asked whether Governor Alex Otti would win the Abia governorship election. He answered yes. He was further asked whether the APC was in an alliance with Governor Otti. His answer was an unequivocal no.
“Where, therefore, is the endorsement? Is a prediction now synonymous with an endorsement? Has political analysis suddenly become anti-party activity? At what point did expressing an opinion about the likely outcome of an election become an offence under the APC Constitution?”
The group described the attempt to equate Kalu’s prediction with endorsement as either “intellectual laziness” or a deliberate attempt to mislead party members and the public.
“If the leadership of the APC in Abia State were genuinely serious about winning the 2027 governorship election, Senator Kalu’s answers should have provided an opportunity for sober self-reflection. Rather than reaching for threats and disciplinary proceedings, they should be asking what shortcomings within the party could produce such a prediction.”
Reality Organisation also accused the leadership under Chijioke Chukwu of applying double standards and attempting to run the party as a “private estate.”
The group cited an article allegedly published by the camp of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives before the National Assembly primaries, which predicted difficulties for Senator Kalu.
“Where were Chijioke Chukwu and his colleagues then? What was their reaction? Where was the communiqué? Where was the righteous indignation? Their silence was deafening.”
“No individual owns the APC in Abia State. Benjamin Kalu does not own it. Chijioke Chukwu does not own it. Neither does any collection of political cronies have the authority to convert a national political party into a private estate where disagreement is punished and independent thought is treated as rebellion,” the statement said.
The organisation issued its strongest warning, saying:
“If this culture of segregation, intimidation, high-handedness and impunity continues, then, by the grace of God, genuine and patriotic members of the Abia APC will have no alternative but to unveil a dedicated State Working Committee to run the affairs of the party. Enough is enough.”
Reality Organisation urged the APC leadership to respond to Kalu’s prediction through political organisation rather than persecution.
“Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s prediction should provoke introspection, not persecution. If the Abia APC disagrees with his assessment, the answer is simple: organise the party, reconcile aggrieved members, end segregation, present a credible candidate, mobilise Abians and prove the prediction wrong at the ballot box. That is democracy. The time for political rascality masquerading as party administration must come to an end.”
The statement reads in full
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: GET READY FOR A FACTION, ABIA APC CANNOT BE RUN BY A CABAL ON A MISSION OF DESTRUCTION
The attention of Reality Organisation has been drawn to the communiqué purportedly issued by the State Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State against the Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
Chijioke Chukwu and his cronies should be getting ready for a faction of the APC if their intention is to continue running the party with this level of high-handedness, impunity and political intolerance. Chijioke Chukwu and his cronies, many of whom came from the PDP and have suddenly become emergency APC wannabes, will not be allowed to destroy a party that patriotic members laboured for years to build in Abia State.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the APC in Abia State is being run by people whose actions appear more calculated to destroy the party than to build it. Even more disturbing is the intellectual poverty displayed in attempting to manufacture an allegation of anti-party activity from a straightforward political prediction.
Where, precisely, did Senator Orji Uzor Kalu engage in anti-party activity? During the television interview being mischievously referenced, Senator Kalu was asked whether President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election. He answered yes. He was asked whether Governor Alex Otti would win the Abia governorship election. He answered yes. He was further asked whether the APC was in an alliance with Governor Otti. His answer was an unequivocal no.
Where, therefore, is the endorsement? Is a prediction now synonymous with an endorsement? Has political analysis suddenly become anti-party activity? At what point did expressing an opinion about the likely outcome of an election become an offence under the APC Constitution?
The distinction is elementary. A prediction is an assessment of what one believes may happen; an endorsement is an expression of support for a candidate or cause. Conflating the two is either a manifestation of profound intellectual laziness or a deliberate attempt to mislead members of the party and the public.
If the leadership of the APC in Abia State were genuinely serious about winning the 2027 governorship election, Senator Kalu’s answers should have provided an opportunity for sober self-reflection. Rather than reaching for threats and disciplinary proceedings, they should be asking themselves what shortcomings within the party could produce such a prediction and what must be done to change the political equation before 2027.
Or would Chijioke Chukwu and his colleagues prefer Senator Kalu to predict an APC governorship victory merely to massage their egos, even when his assessment of the prevailing political situation suggests otherwise? That would not be loyalty. It would be self-deception dressed in party colours.
There is also an extraordinary degree of selective outrage at play. Only a few days before the National Assembly primaries, the camp of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives wrote an article predicting hurdles for Senator Kalu even if he secured the APC senatorial ticket. Where were Chijioke Chukwu and his colleagues then? What was their reaction? Where was the communiqué? Where was the righteous indignation? Where were the threats of disciplinary proceedings? Their silence was deafening.
The apparent application of one standard to political allies and another to those they perceive as adversaries exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of this charade. The Greek word hypokrisis, from which the English word “hypocrisy” derives, is particularly apt: presenting one face to the public while practising something entirely different when political interests are involved.
No individual owns the APC in Abia State. Benjamin Kalu does not own it. Chijioke Chukwu does not own it. Neither does any collection of political cronies have the authority to convert a national political party into a private estate where disagreement is punished and independent thought is treated as rebellion.
The APC belongs equally to those who built it, sustained it through difficult elections, mobilised for it when doing so was politically inconvenient and continue to believe in its ideals. We therefore say, without equivocation: enough is enough.
If this culture of segregation, intimidation, high-handedness and impunity continues, then, by the grace of God, genuine and patriotic members of the Abia APC will have no alternative but to unveil a dedicated State Working Committee to run the affairs of the party and provide the inclusive leadership that members across Abia State deserve. Nobody should mistake restraint for weakness.
The ancient Greek concept of hubris, excessive pride and arrogance that ultimately invites one’s downfall, should serve as a warning to those who believe temporary political positions confer permanent ownership of a political party. Power is transient. Political offices are transient. The APC is bigger than the ambitions, egos and calculations of any individual.
Reality Organisation will not stand idly by while those who ought to unite the APC systematically deepen its divisions and then seek convenient scapegoats for their own political shortcomings.
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s prediction should provoke introspection, not persecution. If the Abia APC disagrees with his assessment, the answer is simple: organise the party, reconcile aggrieved members, end segregation, present a credible candidate, mobilise Abians and prove the prediction wrong at the ballot box.
That is democracy. Threats, selective disciplinary proceedings and political grandstanding will not win an election. The time for political rascality masquerading as party administration must come to an end.
Enough is enough.
