Cross River APC Crisis: NWC Overrides SEC, Reaffirms Commitment to Due Process

The leadership dispute rocking the All Progressives Congress in Cross River State has intensified, prompting the National Working Committee to intervene in a bid to ease tensions and reestablish internal order.

This development follows a formal summons issued by the APC National Legal Adviser, Murtala Aliyu Kankia, instructing the State Chairman, Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba, to appear before the national leadership to address allegations brought forward by the State Executive Committee.

In a letter dated December 4, 2025, Kankia directed Eba to report to the APC National Secretariat on Monday, December 8, 2025, at 4 p.m., to respond to the vote of no confidence passed by SEC members. He explained that the session would allow the national leadership to hear Eba’s position directly and ensure that the matter is handled in accordance with established procedures.

The summons comes amid deepening factional divisions after a majority of SEC members claimed that “The System” had withdrawn support for Eba and moved to impeach him. Eba dismissed the action as illegitimate, describing it as “a joke taken too far.”

Just last month, Eba rejected demands for his resignation after the Forum of Chapter Chairmen and Secretaries accused him of high-handedness, misappropriation of party funds, and failure to remit stipends to ward and chapter officials. In response, Eba accused the officials of diverting over sixty million naira. He noted that the party had since adopted a direct payment system to ensure transparency.

According to Eba, a meeting involving vice chairmen, the women leader, youth leaders, and ward chairmen confirmed that certain chapter chairmen were diverting funds meant for other officials. He said this prompted the decision to pay stipends directly into the accounts of all 5,778 party executives across the state. Salaries, he added, are now also paid directly to individual officials to promote accountability.

Eba further claimed that some chapter chairmen receive millions of naira monthly from local government appointees and often retain government funds meant to be shared with other party officers.

He stressed that chapter chairmen lack the constitutional authority to demand the resignation of a state chairman, pointing out that disciplinary oversight over his office rests with the South South Zonal Executive Committee as stipulated in Article 21.3 (vi) (d) of the APC Constitution.

As accusations and counter-accusations mount, the intervention of the National Working Committee is widely seen as a move to prevent further escalation and stabilize the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The episode also highlights Eba’s growing prominence within the APC. He plays a key role in the ongoing constitution review committee, having been personally nominated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the February 2025 NEC meeting. He also serves as National Secretary of the Forum of APC State Chairmen and represents the South South region in the constitution review exercise.

Highly regarded by senior party leaders — including Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who once described him as one of Nigeria’s most active politicians — Eba remains an influential figure nationally.

He maintains that efforts to remove him are politically motivated and destined to fail.

“The process is a joke taken too far. God will speak at the appropriate time,” he said.

With the NWC now fully involved, party stakeholders express optimism that the intervention will restore calm and steer the APC toward reconciliation.