The suspended acting National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ntufam Hilliard Eta, has insisted that he is still acting chairman of the party.
He said the purported suspension holds no water.
He said this during an interview held in his Calabar residence.
“The meeting that purportedly took the decision to suspend me was very strange to the APC constitution.
“As a senior member of the party, I am aware of how meetings are convened and conducted. I remember vividly that it was one Chief Victor Giadom, a deputy national secretary, who had convened the meeting which purportedly suspended me.
“Check the constitution, does he have such power to convene the meeting or let alone suspend me?
“That meeting and purported suspension are null and void and of no effect.
“Be that as it may, the matter is before the court. The judiciary is key. It will help us resolve it,” he said.
“In a democracy, there are processes for conflict resolution. I encourage all not to resort to self-help but to seek redress and intervention of the judiciary.”
He explained that suspension of a national chairman is the sole function of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party.
“I am a national officer of APC. Check our Constitution you will see how national officers are sanctioned. Even if the party was to suspend or expel an ordinary member there are processes let alone a national officer,” he added.
Eta, who has declared intention to vie for the 20023 governorship of Cross River State, insisted that he is not under any sanctions by any competent organ of the APC not to contest for the 2023 governorship.
The APC allegedly expelled Eta from the party after its National Executive Committee meeting held at the Presidential Villa in late 2020 following his inability to withdraw all law cases against the party.
