Some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State have described the reaction of its party chairman in the state, Ben Nwoye on the ministerial list as released by the Presidency as callous and insensitive.
It would be recalled that Nwoye had shortly after the release of the list of ministerial nominees faulted the make-up of the list and the re-nomination of former minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.
However, some chieftains of the party in the state described the utterances of Nwoye as a slight on the personality of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Enugu East senatorial candidate of the party in the 2019 general elections,
Ada Ogbu described Nwoye as a confused person that had no other agenda than to destabilise the party in the state through his actions and words.
Ogbu said that Nwoye had never hidden his intentions to work against the interest of the party and would go any length to attack those who would resist him.
She said that members of the party in the state neither trusted nor had ever taken him seriously due to his penchant to make merchandise of the party.
She said that there were several records of anti party activities against Nwoye, adding that the party would have done better during the general elections but for people like him.
"Nwoye knows that his days are numbered because the party has not been doing well under him. He is a mole planted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in APC and he attends PDP public functions," she said.
She said that Onyeama had insisted that the APC in Enugu must be administered in a transparent manner "and that is why Nwoye is fighting him".
Ogbu said that the reappointment of Onyeama was well deserved, adding that the country was poised to benefit more from the international connections of the former minister.
Ogbogu Asogwa, said that members of the party in the state received the news of the nomination of Onyema with ecstasy.
Asogwa said that the social media platform of the party in the state had been buzzing and awash with congratulatory message to the minister nominee.
He said that the vituperations of Nwoye was a personal opinion and did not in any way represent the position of members of the party in state.
According to him, the reappointment of Onyeama was a vote of confidence on the landmark successes recorded during his time in office.
“Who are we to question the nomination of the president? We know how the image of the country has improved within the last four years, he said.
Asogwa said people like Nwoye needed to support the decisions of Buhari and wait for their turn as more appointments would still be made.
A governorship aspirant of the party in the 2019 general elections, Ben Eche described the nomination of Onyeama as a reward for hardwork.
Eche said that the minister nominee was one of three persons in the South East that campaigned vigorously for the re-election of Buhari prior to the elections.
He said that Onyeama campaigned in all the 17 local government areas of the state with much of his personal funds.
“ We know where the country and our image was among the comity of nations before Onyeama was appointed in 2015 and we know what it is today.
“Onyeama used his international connections and experience to change the narrative and rating of the country.
“He was about the only one that campaigned vigorously for Buhari in the South East and we are witnesses to that.
Now that he has been reappointed, we expect him to do better than he did in the last four years,” Eche said.
It would be recalled that a former president of the Senate, Chief Ken Nnamani and a former secretary to Enugu State Government, Chief Onyemuche Nnamani had thrown their weights behind the nomination of Onyeama.