By Ita Williams, Calabar
In a significant political misstep, the Cross River State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has issued a formal apology after circulating a stakeholders’ invitation list that included several highly inappropriate names.
The list, intended for a pre-congress meeting with Governor Bassey Edet Otu, mistakenly summoned figures whose inclusion breaches ethical and legal norms, sparking immediate controversy across the state and on social media platforms.
Among the most glaring errors was the invitation of Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, a serving Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The judiciary in Nigeria is expected to remain strictly non-partisan, and the invitation of a sitting Supreme Court justice to a partisan political gathering was met with shock.
Similarly, the list included the name of the late Major General Edward Ushie Unimna, a military officer who was buried in 2025, adding a bizarre and insensitive dimension to the blunder.
The apology was conveyed in a press statement titled “APC Stakeholders’ Pre-Congress Meeting with the Governor of Cross River State,” signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Hon. Emmanuel Edem Inyang.
Dated February 15, 2026, the statement sought to contain the fallout from the widely circulated invitation for the meeting scheduled for the following day at the Calabar International Convention Centre.
“The Leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Cross River State Chapter, hereby notifies its members, stakeholders, and the general public that certain names included in the earlier list were published in error and should therefore be disregarded,” Inyang stated.
He continued, “accordingly, the underlisted individuals, who were previously mentioned, are hereby formally removed from the list.”
The party’s attempt at damage control extended to a direct plea for forgiveness. “The Party sincerely tenders its unreserved apologies for this oversight and regrets any inconvenience this may have caused to the affected individuals and stakeholders,” the statement read.
This public retraction was an urgent effort to mend fences after the list triggered what local observers described as a “public outcry.”
Further scrutiny of the original list revealed additional invitations that raised serious questions about political neutrality.
Three Vice-Chancellors were named: Prof. Offiong Effanga Offiong of the University of Calabar; Prof. Francisca Bassey of the University of Cross River State; and Prof. Patrick Asuquo of the University of Education and Entrepreneurship.
In Nigeria, Vice-Chancellors of federal universities often serve as impartial State Returning Officers during national elections.
Their inclusion in a partisan meeting has cast a shadow over their perceived neutrality.
“The invitation of the vice chancellors to the APC has put question marks on their non-partisanship as potential Returning Officers in future elections,” noted a political analyst in Calabar, highlighting how the error could have longer-term implications for electoral integrity.
The erroneous list also included lower-ranking judicial officer Chief Magistrate David Edogi, compounding concerns about the party’s disregard for the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary.
The collective inclusion of these figures from Obudu, Akpabuyo, Akamkpa, and Calabar South local government areas suggested a systemic failure in the party’s vetting process for the high-stakes meeting.
As the APC moves to hold its stakeholders’ meeting, the incident has left a cloud over the event, transforming it from a routine political gathering into a case study of poor coordination.
The party now faces the dual challenge of managing internal logistics while repairing its public image, as the blunder has ignited discussions about professionalism and due diligence within the state’s political machinery.
