ACA in disarray as Cletus Bassey allegedly pockets Sen. Bassey Albert’s largees
There is a growing disquiet among the officials and members of Akwa Ibom Christian Assembly (ACA), over the body leader Archbishop Cletus Bassey’s allegedly refusal to account for millions of naira he has collected so far from Senator Bassey Albert in order to make the organization work for the election of the senator as governor of Akwa Ibom State in the forthcoming elections.
The archbishop’s lack of transparency in financial dealings since he took full control of the organization, according to a source, has been the anxiety of many members, thereby casting a wedge against the body’s convulsing steps in installing Senator Bassey Albert as the new occupant of the Hiltop mansion, Uyo.
A source who craved anonymity for fear of backlashes, volunteered that, although ACA officials knew the archbishop wasn’t good managing funds, the recent occurrence has kept members livid with anger and are poised to revolt. The source narrated how Obong Bassey Albert gave the archbishop 25 million naira for the coordinators but the archbishop kept it under wraps.
The archbishop, it has been alleged, collected the money from OBA on the pretext that he would share it to the coordinators and pastors who have been supporting OBA’s governorship programmes but pocketted it. He later gave a paltry ten thousand naira to each of the chapter coordinators, aside from mobilizing buses to bring people from different LGAs.
Attempts by the Clergy to conceal the huge financial largees bursted when OBA personally attended ACA’s last meeting penultimate week, during which he donated an offering of one million naira but divulged to the audience that he had left a bigger sum with the president who would take care of them afterwards.
Irked over the archbishop’s continued silence on the money, coordinators started discussing the issue among themselves, while others loyal to the president resisted the move, dubbing it as rebellion against authority. It was, however, the determination of the disgruntled others that uncovered to their shock that a whooping 25milliom naira meant for them at the recent meeting was pocketted by their president.
However, none could dare confront ACA leader but some have opted to leave the group due to the proclivity of the leadership in short-changing their officials and members.
Pressed further to know if the EXCO of ACA was in the know about the money in question, one of the coordinators in Ikot Ekpene senatorial district answered in the negative, adding that the president runs the financials of the organization on his own whims, and that ACA’s EXCO is fragmented and does not meet to decide the direction of the organization.
Meanwhile, ACA’s major financier, Senator Bassey Albert (OBA) is said to be uncomfortable with current developments in ACA and has considered the option of forming his own personal group of pastors that he can directly engage and mobilize, instead of depending on ACA for his election plan.
