The crisis rocking the Cross River State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has escalated as the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) overturned what it described as an unconstitutional move by the State Executive Committee (SEC) to remove the state chairman, Alphonsus Ogar Eba.

The APC National Legal Adviser, Murtala Aliyu Kankia, in a letter dated December 4, 2025, summoned Eba to appear before the national leadership on Monday, December 8, to respond to the vote of no confidence passed by members of the SEC. The NWC said the meeting would enable it to hear directly from the chairman and ensure that due process is followed.

The summons came amid growing factional tension after a majority of SEC members reportedly claimed that “The System” no longer wanted Eba and announced his removal, an action Eba dismissed as illegal and “a joke taken too far.”

The embattled chairman had last month rejected similar calls for his resignation by the Forum of Chapter Chairmen and Secretaries, who accused him of high-handedness, diversion of party funds, and failure to remit stipends to ward and chapter officers.

Eba, however, fired back, accusing the same officials of financial misconduct involving more than N60m. He said the party had adopted a direct payment method to curb diversion of funds and ensure that stipends went into the accounts of the 5,778 ward and chapter officials statewide.

He added that some chapter chairmen allegedly receive millions of naira monthly from political appointees and withhold funds released by the government for party administration at the local level.

According to him, no chapter chairman has the constitutional authority to demand the resignation of a state chairman, insisting that disciplinary powers over him lie with the South-South Zonal Executive Committee, as provided by Article 21(3)(vi)(d) of the APC constitution.

The move by the NWC is seen as an attempt to halt the escalating crisis ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Eba’s growing influence within the national structure has also been a key talking point. He is a member of the APC constitution review committee, nominated by President Bola Tinubu at the February 2025 NEC meeting. He also serves as National Secretary of the Forum of State Chairmen and represents the South-South in the review process.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and other senior figures are said to regard him as one of the party’s most active rising politicians.

Eba maintains that the attempt to oust him is politically motivated. “The process is a joke taken too far. God will speak at the appropriate time,” he said.

With the national leadership now stepping in, party stakeholders are hoping for a truce as efforts intensify to restore calm and reposition the Cross River APC.