Chairman of the technical committee for the All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr Matthew Omegara has said that reports about crisis in the Delta State chapter of the party were not a true reflection of what is on the ground.
Omegara who led other members of the seven-man committee to supervise the congress said what he saw on ground on arrival last Friday showed that the party was united.
The committee chairman arrived in Asaba, the state capital, last Friday alongside the secretary of the committee, Kelvin Ugwu; and other members including Wahid Olajide, Felix Wilson and Alloysius Ezenwa.
Addressing party stakeholders at the party secretariat ahead of the congress, the committee chairman expressed confidence in a peaceful outcome of the exercise.
He said the leadership of the party has demonstrated capacity by bringing all members together with the ultimate aim of winning the 2023 general elections in the state.
According to him, the foundation for such success in 2023 is the congresses to elect party executives from the ward to the state level.
Receiving the committee members on Friday, the chairman of the state APC caretaker committee, Jones Erue stated that few dissidents were bent on dragging the party backwards in the state, noting however that majority of party faithful have resolved to move forward.
Erue said contrary to reports, no congress forms were hijacked but they were sold to contestants and that the money for the forms was in the account of the national secretariat.
“When the forms came, I instructed that selling should commence immediately. If I don’t sell the forms, I will pay for them, the national secretariat sent the forms to me.
“The forms were not hijacked, the money is in the coffers of the national. The forms were not enough, we sent request for forms to the national and they airlifted extra forms for us.
“People are just painting a crisis situation where there is none. What you saw was the handiwork of a few dissidents, who have been suspended as party officers. We have done our best to sustain the peace in this party,” he said.
