Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) protesting the conduct of the party’s chapter congresses have been urged to remain calm by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The aggrieved members stormed Akpabio’s Shelter Afrique residence in Uyo to register their grievances over alleged irregularities during the recently concluded congresses.
They were advised to remain peaceful, with assurances that their complaints would be communicated to the Senate president, who was reportedly still resting at the time.
His aide on political matters, however, promised that the anomalies raised would be addressed.
Tensions reportedly ran high in several local government areas, including Mkpat Enin and Esit Eket, where security agencies were said to have intervened to prevent possible violence.
At the centre of the dispute in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area is the alleged refusal of some key stakeholders to implement party resolutions.
Those accused include the state APC Chairman, Stephen Ntukekpo, the Commissioner for Works, Prof. Eno Ibanga, and the state House of Assembly member representing the area, Uwem Ita.
According to a youth activist, Ukpong Akpan, party leaders at the national level had resolved that former chapter executive members should be returned.
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However, he alleged that Ntukekpo, Ibanga, and Ita met separately in Uyo to compile a fresh list of executives without consulting critical stakeholders in Mkpat Enin.
He explained that this move contradicted an earlier resolution by party leaders in the area to retain the existing ward and chapter executives for another four-year term in recognition of their loyalty and performance.
Sources within the party disclosed that ahead of the February 18 and 21, 2026, congresses, an enlarged stakeholders’ meeting held on February 14 in Uyo overwhelmingly endorsed the continuity of the current party structure.
The meeting was convened by the Executive Chairman of Mkpat Enin Local Government Area and Local Government Coordinator of Party Affairs, Emmanuel Inyang, and reportedly passed a vote of confidence on the existing executives.
Prominent party figures, including Senator Ekong Sampson, Bernard Udoh, Otobong Ndem, Victor Ekwere, and other former council chairmen, were said to have supported the resolution.
However, the alleged absence of Ntukekpo, Ibanga, and Ita from that meeting, along with reports that they later compiled a separate list of executives in Uyo, sparked outrage among party faithful in Mkpat Enin.
Stakeholders had earlier agreed that the current party structure should be retained, with only seven of the 27 executive positions adjusted to accommodate new entrants for equity, while 20 members remained.
As tension escalated at the congress venue, the trio reportedly left the area without publicly presenting the new list, a move insiders say averted a potential violent confrontation.
Some party members accused Prof. Ibanga of introducing clannish considerations into party affairs, alleging that such actions could destabilise the APC in Mkpat Enin.
Others argued that sidelining certain clans, particularly Ibiaku, in the distribution of party offices amounted to political exclusion and injustice.
