The All Progressives Congress has cleared the air on the alleged
appointment of a ‘dead’ man from Ebonyi as a member of the Federal
Character Commission.
The party made the clarification at a news
conference on Wednesday in Abakaliki by the Ebonyi Chairman of the
party, Mr Eze Nwachukwu.
This followed speculations that the
President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had appointed the
late Chief Tobias Okwuru Chukwuemeka into the FCC board who died early
this year.
But Nwachukwu explained that Chief Tobias was hale and hearty at the time he was nominated for the position by President.
He blamed the family for not making the death of Okwuru official.
Mwachukwu
said the nominee, unfortunately, passed away in February between the
period he was waiting to be screened and confirmed by the Senate.
“Okwuru
was nominated ‘a living man’ in January, healthy, hearty for the
position and he updated and submitted all his necessary curriculum vitae
by himself.
“What happened is that in-between his nomination and
letter conveying his nomination to the Senate, Okwuru painfully and
sadly answered the ultimate call.
“We accept responsibility and
take the blame because as a party we are supposed to have written the
national leadership of our party and the Presidency informing them on
the demise of Chief Okwuru as a ranking party member.
“But
unfortunately, the family has not made the death official and has not
commenced burial arrangements before the coronavirus pandemic that led
to lockdown, ban on burial and other social gatherings.
“So, it
is the responsibility of the party to put the record straight and that
is why we are using this medium to correct the erroneous impression.
“It is not the fault of Mr President and the Presidency that Okwuru’s name later appeared in the nominees’ list.
“It
is the fault of the party in Ebonyi for not informing relevant
authorities on the death and we accept full responsibility
whole-heartedly though it is not intentional or deliberate, but rather
caused by what I have enumerated above.
“We want to put it clear that Mr President has not appointed any ‘dead man’ from Ebonyi,” Nwachukwu said.
Okwuru,
who represented Ezza South/Ikwo constituency in the House of
Representatives, had also served as Chief Whip in the Ebonyi House of
Assembly on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He
later joined the Labour Party in 2015 before he moved to the APC where
he played active roles and became one of the financiers of the party in
the state.