APC NWC summons Cross River chairman over ‘vote of no confidence’ controversy

Alphonsus Eba, chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River, has been summoned by the party’s national leadership as tensions within the state chapter escalate. 

Murtala Kankia, national legal adviser of the APC, had issued a directive asking Eba to appear before the party’s top hierarchy over allegations levelled by members of the state executive committee (SEC).

On Thursday, the SEC passed a vote of no confidence in Eba and announced that he had been removed from office.

At the APC secretariat in Calabar, Ntufam Ekum Ojogu was immediately presented as acting chairman after the announcement.

In a letter dated December 4, Kankia directed Eba to meet with the national leadership in Abuja on December 8 at 4 pm to respond to the allegations.

Kankia said the session would enable the NWC to hear from Eba directly and to ensure that due process is followed.

“I write to formally notify you of a meeting scheduled to address the vote of no confidence passed on you by members of the Cross River State Executive Committee,” the letter read.

“In line with the need to clarify the circumstances surrounding the development and to ensure that your response is duly documented, you are invited to a meeting as follows: Monday December 8, 2025, at the Office of the National Legal Adviser, APC National Secretariat, Abuja by 4 pm.”

“The meeting is convened strictly for the purpose of hearing from you directly and ensuring due process is followed in handling the issues raised by the State Executive Committee. You are therefore expected to attend and present any explanations or documents you deem relevant.”

The NWC stepped in after reports emerged that some SEC members were told that “the system” no longer wanted Eba to remain in office.

Eba dismissed his purported impeachment as unconstitutional and described it as “a joke taken too far.”

He had also rejected similar calls for his removal last month by the forum of chapter chairmen and secretaries.

The forum had accused him of financial high-handedness, diversion of party funds, and refusal to pay stipends to ward and chapter officers. Eba insisted his critics were “running away from their shadows.”

He counter-accused some of the same officials of financial misconduct involving more than sixty million naira.

Eba said the APC now uses a direct payment arrangement, ensuring stipends are transferred straight to the accounts of all 5,778 party officers across the state.

He said the system was introduced to prevent fund diversion by some chapter chairmen.

Eba argued that the chapter leaders lack the constitutional powers to demand the resignation of a state chairman.

He cited article 21.3 (vi) (d) of the APC constitution, which places disciplinary authority over state chairmen under the south-south zonal executive committee.

As allegations and counter-claims deepen the conflict, the NWC’s intervention is viewed as a turning point aimed at preventing further breakdown ahead of the 2027 elections.

Eba serves as national secretary of the Forum of APC State Chairmen and represents the south-south in the ongoing constitution review.

He was nominated by President Bola Tinubu for the review committee during the NEC meeting in February 2025.

Reacting to his reported removal, Eba insisted the action would not stand and described it as a politically driven move without legal merit.

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