TheCable

A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River on Sunday elected a new chairman amid a clampdown by the police.

Heavily-armed policemen said to be acting on the directive of Hafiz Inuwa, state commissioner of police, had sealed off the Ikot-Ansa town hall, the proposed congress venue of the APC chapter in Calabar, the state capital.

Consequently, the congress was moved to a project site within the premises of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) where Matthew Achigbe, a retired permanent secretary in the state civil service, was unanimously elected.

John Ochala emerged vice-chairman while Bishop Victor Ebong was voted as secretary.

Hilliard Eta, national vice-chairman of the APC, south-south, presided over the congress.

Eta said the constitutional provisions of the party empowered him to attend to issues and address matters within the states under his purview as the national vice-chairman.

He said the congress purportedly held on May 19 by a faction led by Usani Usani, minister of Niger Delta affairs, was a sham and could not stand, hence the rescheduled congress that produced Achigbe as chairman.