By Abasi Ita
The crisis of confidence rocking the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State took a dramatic turn on Wednesday when hundreds of protesters stormed the party’s state secretariat along Murtala Mohammed Highway in Calabar, demanding a change of leadership.
The tension had begun on Tuesday when chapter chairmen and secretaries of the party addressed a press conference in Calabar, calling on the embattled State Chairman, Alphonsus Eba,aka Okadigbo to resign over allegations of financial misconduct and mismanagement of party funds.
The protest reached a peak the following day as aggrieved members, chanting solidarity songs, barricaded the entrance to the party secretariat and prevented movement in and out of the premises.
The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as “Okadigbo must go,” “The party can’t be starving while you are living large,” and “APC in Cross River State deserves a leader, not a ruler.”
As of press time, no member of the state executive had addressed the demonstrators, who vowed to continue their protest until their demands were met.
In a communiqué issued earlier and presented by High Chief Kelvin Njong on behalf of 18 APC chapter chairmen and 17 secretaries, the group demanded the immediate resignation of the state chairman. They accused Eba of withholding stipends for three consecutive months, diverting party funds, and promoting internal division.
The statement further alleged that the chairman engaged in unequal allocation of funds among party structures and misappropriated proceeds from election forms.
Responding to the allegations, the State Chairman of the APC, Alphonsus Eba, dismissed the claims as false and politically motivated.
He explained that payments are made directly to ward executives and that the allowances of some chapter chairmen were suspended pending the outcome of an internal audit.
The protest underscores a growing internal rift within the Cross River APC, following earlier complaints by some local officials who accused the leadership of high-handedness and disregard for due process.
Political observers warn that the escalating dispute could threaten the party’s unity and weaken its structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.