Ben Ezechime, Enugu
There was a major political realignment in Enugu State on Tuesday as more than 5,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Aku town, Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area.
The mass defection was led by a former House of Assembly candidate under APGA, Engr. Celestine Attah, who brought with him thousands of his supporters and associates from the three opposition parties.
Speaking on behalf of the defectors, Engr. Attah explained that their decisions to join the APC was driven by recent federal appointments and infrastructural developments initiated by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in Enugu State.
“What is happening today is the foundation of our contribution to making APC win Enugu State, and the massive rally is for Mr. President and for APC to take over the government of Enugu State come 2027,” he said.
Attah cited the appointment of an Enugu indigene as Chief of Naval Staff, the establishment of a Naval College and a Naval Base in Uzo-Uwani, the appointment of another Enugu son as Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the ongoing construction of the Ninth Mile–Opi road as key motivating factors responsible for their defection.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji; and the APC State Chairman, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, were all present at the rally.
Other notable members of the party at the event included member representing Udi-Ezeagu Federal Constituency, Hon. Sunday Umeha; and the Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike Muonso.
Addressing the enthusiastic crowd, Chief Uche Nnaji hailed the defection as evidence of growing support for the APC and President Tinubu in the state.
“Today in Enugu we are facing a major economic quagmire. Enugu is a civil service town, but still we are the second most expensive city in Nigeria.
“What is the problem? It’s because of the type of tax the government has imposed on our people.
“A hawker, small girls selling ordinary sachet water, pay between N300 and N500 every day.
“If you calculate it, he or she is paying over N100,000 a year.
“If that money is being properly utilised, our teeming young men, the youths and women will have free education, they will have good health facilities for our children and they will have good infrastructure for the state.
“Today we don’t have all these because our taxes are not being applied where it should be applied,” he said.
He praised Attah for collapsing his political structure into the APC, describing it as a step toward liberating Enugu from decades of what he called “misapplication of resources and high taxation” under previous administrations.
Nnaji assured the defectors of inclusion and promised increased federal presence and youth employment, while declaring that the APC had been repositioned to take over the state in 2027.
“The coming election will not be like the previous one because right now we have a party.
“Before, APC in Enugu was a mercantile party, a party they used to trade with PDP, but now, all the moles who were trading with the party have been shown the way out,” he said.
On his part, Enugu APC Chairman, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, welcomed the new members and commended President Tinubu for prioritising federal road infrastructure in the state.
He said: “For many years under the governance of the party Igbo-Etiti people supported for 26 years, the entire local government was completely inaccessible due to the complete collapse of road infrastructure into the LGA — not until the coming of the government of Bola Tinubu’s APC that they never voted for.”
“The president has given the people of the area two brand new international standard dual carriage express roads from Ninth Mile to Opi Nsukka and another federal road from same Ninth Mile to Makurdi.”
Agballah criticised PDP’s long-standing dominance in the state, noting that it had led to stagnation and decline in infrastructure and quality of life.
“Our plan in Enugu, we are very intentional in our politics. APC is a party for serious-minded, ideological, change-oriented progressives that want to change the status quo in Enugu.
“Enugu, which used to be the number one state in South-Eastern Nigeria, is now coming last. It’s because of one-party dominance. We want competitive democracy in Enugu.
We want to restore the dreams of the founding fathers of Wawa land.
“When they created Enugu, it was first among equals. Enugu was more developed than all states in the entire South-East and South-South, including Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Delta. It even competed with Ibadan, Kaduna, and Lagos.”
Also speaking, Hon. Sunday Umeha, representing Udi-Ezeagu in the House of Representatives, said APC was on course to take over the Enugu State Government House in 2027.
“For the record, I’m speaking here for myself and on behalf of other members of APC House of Representatives caucus of Enugu State — myself, my brother Prof. Paul Nnamchi, and Hon. Chimobi Atu.
“Let me emphasise that APC in Enugu State is poised to take the lead come 2027. I have said it and I’m reiterating it again — how it will work I don’t know, but I can assure you that come 2027 we will take over the Lion Building.
“The leadership of Chief Uche Nnaji in Enugu State is not only inspiring but result-oriented. We are determined to make sure that Enugu State is connected 100 percent to the centre. Enugu is the headquarters of South-Eastern Nigeria and we cannot play second fiddle,” he added.
