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11 August 2020
A Fake document, bearing forged signatures allegedly submitted by Barr Alphonsus Ogar Eba and Amina Arong, petitioning the Ward and Chapter congresses held in Cross River State on March 9 and March 21 2020 to the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus and other Members of the NWC, has been detected by members of the panel who conducted the congresses in Cross River State.
In his rebuttal letter addressed to the National Chairman of the PDP captioned “Authentication of Signature”, Mr Lawrence Ogieva-Okunbor, one of the officials who came to the state to conduct the Congress, said “I have gone through the petition from Cross River State Chapter of PDP as regard the Congress held on 9/3/2020 and 21/3/2020 and found that the signature on it is not mine.
“I therefore write this letter to authenticate my signature and appended on this letter,” the letter read.
Mr Lawrence Ogieva-Akunbor in his letter also copied the National Organising Secretary of the PDP, the National Legal Adviser and the Vice Chairman PDP, South South Zone respectively.
He has vowed to petition to the Police IG, DG DSS and the Nigerian Bar Assoociation against Barr Alphonsus Eba .
In the same vein, another member of the panel, Mr Mohammed Yahaya Onaga, who also wrote a reb
uttal letter to the National Chairman, said his signature was forged.
He said in his letter: “The only report on Cross River Ward congress which i signed was the one dated on the 10th day of March 2020. I hereby unequivocally deny the authorship and/or signature of the said report. I am a staunch member of this great party who will not align with any adverse or demeaning act against our party.
As at press time, two out of the three purported signatories have issued rebuttals.
Reacting to the sad development, PDP stalwarts in Cross River State have called on the National Working Committee of the party to be fair and transparent in their dealings and should also prosecute the officials found in the forgery and save the face of the party.
“At this point, the NWC should save the face of the Party by prosecuting these set of people, instead of being influenced by pecuniary benefits. Let the men of honour in the NWC rise up to the occasion and restore dignity to the Party”.
Some of them however, questioned the integrity of Alphonsus Eba who is an aspirant to the seat of the State Chairman to be involved in forgery of sensitive party documents.
They urged the PDP National to look inward and support a peaceful Congress that would usher in a State Chairman with proven integrity to lead the party in the state.
They urged the NWC not to temper with the list of Ward and Chapter congresses, adding that the executives had already started working officially and it is inconsistent with provisions of the Constitution of the Party to cut short their tenure of 4 years.
