Lawyers to former presidential aide, Okoi Obono-Obla, have written to the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Cross River State, Alphonsus Eba, demanding “the retraction of, and tendering of a public apology for the defamatory publications” made against Obla.
Obono-Obla, just days ago, wrote a letter to Cross River State governor, Bassey Otu, alleging that the APC in Cross River State, manipulated the 2023 state and national assembly elections to favour defectors from the PDP. He also claimed that only the governorship election was conducted fairly, with the winner, Bassey Otu, emerging through a consensus.
He further urged the party to conduct midterm congresses at the state, local government and ward levels to address the alleged imbalances, claiming deep divisions within the party’s ranks due to perceived injustices that followed the 2021 defections from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The APC leadership in Cross River State, was also criticized for running an exclusive and undemocratic administration. The party’s executive committees at all levels, he argued, are dominated by defectors from the PDP, and called for a more inclusive leadership.
APC State Chairman, Alphonsus Ogar Eba, swiftly responded to Obono-Obla’s allegations, accusing him of attempting to divide the party. He firmly stated that Obla’s frustrations stemmed from his failure to secure federal and state appointments for himself and cronies.
When www.calitown.com contacted Eba, he maintained to us that he had mandated the acting State Publicity Secretary of the party, Emmanuel Eden Inyang, to respond adequately to Obla’s letter and allegations.
Inyang wrote the response on September 16, 2024, made same public and described Obla as “…disgraced former aide, one so called Okoi Obono-Obla who was booted out of office unceremoniously for his unbridled misdemeanors”. He went on to also write that, Obla’s “…actions are deeply rooted in frustration, personal vendettas, and, perhaps most troubling, signs of deteriorating mental health”.
“…Rather than engage in unwarranted public outbursts, we encourage him to seek the necessary medical and psycological assistance to address his underlying issue”, he again wrote.
Obla’s lawyers maintain that Inyang’s publication has caused “right thinking members of the society to view our client as one who is professionally incompetent, unable to provide his basic needs, mentally unstable and one who needs to be in a psychiatric home.”
“His clients are now questioning the ability of our client to effectively represent them professionally and effectively handle their legal matters properly, your publication which is a character assassination of our client has caused public contempt, scorn and ridicule as our client who has built a reputation over the years is now seen as a man of straw”, his lawyers further stated.
Eba was informed that he has within seven days of the receipt of this demand notice, “to tender a public apology to our client in all the online news platforms your defamatory press release was published, the social media handles of your associates where they were published and that hard copies of your public apology be published in two well-known national dailies circulating in Nigeria.”
Contacted again, shortly before press time, Eba told www.calitown.com that he has no response to offer Obla.
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