Over 1000 members of the Labour Party, LP, weekend, defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC.<\/p>\n
Leading the pack was the member representing Udi\/Ezeagu federal constituency in the House of Representatives under the platform of the LP, Hon. Sunday Umeha.<\/p>\n
In what seems a historic electoral breakthrough, Umeha announced his defection to APC during a mini-rally at Ibagwa-Aka, in Igboeze South local government area.<\/p>\n
Similarly, a business mogul and financier of the Labour Party in Igboeze South local government area of the state, Chief Joshua Ogbonna, popularly called \u201cFather Father\u201d led more than 1000 members of the party, including the local government structures of the party, into the APC.<\/p>\n
Speaking on why he attended the APC rally, which was outside his own constituency of Udi\/Ezeagu, Umeha said it was in solidarity with his friend, Chief Ogbonna, disclosing that another rally that would officially usher him into APC would still come up in matter of days in his local government area, Ezeagu.<\/p>\n
The lawmaker, however, announced that he had already resigned from the Labour Party and registered with the APC at his Ward, even as he cited the intractable division within the ranks of his former party (LP) at the national and state levels as one of the reasons for his dumping the party for the APC.<\/p>\n
Umeha, who is now the first APC member to occupy elective position in the state since its inception in 2014, said his decision to join the ruling party was also \u201cbecause of the need to connect to the centre and bring our people closer because there are a lot of advantages in plugging to the center.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that the APC has served the interest of Igbos better than the PDP at the federal level, citing the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway and the 2nd Nigeria Bridge as some of the landmark projects the current ruling party has executed in Igbo land.<\/p>\n
The Leader of APC in Enugu state and Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, represented by his governorship running mate during the 2023 general elections, Barr George Ogara, said he was elated by the influx of credible and grassroots persons into the APC in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s indeed time for us to come together to retrieve power from those who have been using it to oppress the people. What is happening here today, the sheer number of defectors has not happened elsewhere in the state before. I urge all of us to remain steadfast because all of us shall be the beneficiaries when victory is achieved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking while receiving the defectors, the Enugu State Chairman of APC, Barr Ugochukwu Agballah, said the party was getting primed to take over Enugu\u2019s seat of power, the Lion Building, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2027.<\/p>\n
Agballah stated that PDP\u2019s dominance of governance of the state for 26 years has only brought tears, anguish and sorrow to the people with high taxation, land grabbing, and demolitions of people\u2019s means of livelihood for the purpose of building motor parks, which ordinarily should be the responsibility of local governments.<\/p>\n
He thanked a chieftain of the party from Nsukka local government area, Barr Peter Okonkwo,for donating Enugu North Senatorial Zonal Campaign Office to the party and facilitating the collapse of LP structure in Igboeze South LGA.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter Okonkwo is equipped for the redemption of Enugu state, and we will not shy away from that task,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Agballah noted that the defection was unprecedented in the history of decampment in Enugu state since the 2023 general elections, where an entire LGA and ward executive members led by the LP local government Chairmanship candidate in the last LGA election are all declaring for APC.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a total collapse of structure\u2026 today I hand over to you the symbol of our party, our flag; I hand you the broom, which is an insignia of our party and with this broom we are going to sweep in good governance in Enugu state, with this broom we are going to sweep away the reactionary forces that have held our people hostage for 26 years. With this broom, we are going to bring back democracy in Enugu State.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to say it here and I want to say it loud and clear to all doubting Thomases, that APC Enugu state is poised to take over the government of Enugu come 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the election, I started making contacts with our brothers in the Labour Party and other parties; men of goodwill, men of whom we have the same ideological persuasion, people who believe in good governance.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I told them that APC is a purely sanitised party and that this party is going to be the platform for change. APC is the Zion train of Enugu state; it\u2019s the soul train that will take us to our destination.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe say enough is enough. They are stealing our tomorrow and they tell us tomorrow is here. They have destroyed our businesses destroyed educational institutions to build motor parks. They have destroyed our economy by excessive taxation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we said we want change. We are the true sons of the leaders of the Wawa people who brought Enugu state of our dreams. We are going to restore the dreams of our founding fathers, and APC is the platform.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m happy today that we have credible political Argonauts coming into APC, who will waive the broom, and the people will vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what happened in Enugu state; the people who have dominion today did not have dominion from God, they stole power,r and APC is the only platform that can stop the continuous stealing, the continuous rigging of the mandate of the people of Enugu state. APC will stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his remarks on behalf of other defectors from Ibagwa-Aka local government area, Chief Joshua Ogbonna recounted efforts made by opponents to stop them from defecting to the APC, including seizing the buses they hired to convey the people to the venue, which made them resort to using commercial motorcyclists.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are more than 1000 who defected to the APC today. I\u2019m telling you that work begins today in Igboeze South local government area; it will be ward to ward movement. I\u2019m assuring you that Igboeze South will not come last,\u201d he posited.<\/p>\n