At least 5,000 defectors were welcomed into the Enugu State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, or APC, yesterday under the leadership of Chief Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology.
The defection happened during a protest in the state’s Igbo-Etiti local government area, specifically in Aku town.
Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, the state chairman of the APC, Hon. Sunday Umeha, the representative for the Udi-Ezeagu federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike Muonso, the director general of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, and other party leaders were with Nnaji.
Speaking at the event, the Minister expressed disappointment at what he described as the misappropriation of resources and high taxes in Enugu state, but also said that the large number of people defecting to the APC throughout the state indicates that the public is starting to recognize the projects being carried out by the President Bola Tinubu administration in the state.
The Minister claimed that under Governor Peter Mbah’s leadership, the state’s economic difficulty has gotten worse due to excessive taxes.
According to him, Enugu is currently experiencing a severe economic crisis and is currently the second most expensive city in Nigeria. Despite being a civil service town, Enugu is Nigeria’s second most costly city.
“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, pays 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 utilized, 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.”
While commending Engr Celestine Attah, a former House of Assembly candidate under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for leading members of APGA, Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic (PDP) in the local government into APC, Chief Nnaji promised more employment for young people from the area and more federal infrastructure in the state.
The Minister said that APC in the state has been repositioned to take over the government of Enugu state in 2027 and appealed to the people of Enugu state to support the party as well as the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in order to attract more federal appointments and infrastructure to the state.
“The coming election will not be like the previous one because right now we have a party; before we didn’t have a party, APC before was a mercantile party, a party they use for trading in Enugu state, they use it to trade with PDP. But now all the moles who were trading with the party have been shown the way out.”
In his remarks, the state chairman of APC, Chief Agballah expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for the ongoing reconstruction of Ninth Mile – Opi – Markudi road which is also being made a dual carriageway, as well as other federal projects in the state.
Prior to the arrival of Bola Tinubu’s APC government, which they never voted for, he claimed that the entire local government was inaccessible for many years under the leadership of the party that the Igbo-Etiti people had supported for 26 years because the road infrastructure into the LGA had completely collapsed.
According to the party chairman, the president has granted the local population two brand-new, international-standard dual carriage express roads, one reaching Opi Nsukka from the Ninth Mile and the other from Makurdi from the same Ninth Mile.
“We have a very deliberate political plan in Enugu,” he stated. Since the PDP leadership has held our people hostage for 26 years, the APC is a party for progressives with a genuine ideological reform mindset who wish to alter the current situation in Enugu. Formerly the top state in South Eastern Nigeria, Enugu is now in last place.
“We have been receiving subpar governance from the PDP because of the one-party system. We want competitive democracy in Enugu because we intend to give it our all and establish innovative, high-performing governance.
“In order for whoever comes into power after 2027 to stop taking the people of Enugu state for granted, we would like those in the government to advance their party and those in the opposition to present strong candidates who will fiercely oppose them.” Our goal is to bring back the aspirations of Wawa Land’s founding fathers.
Enugu was established as a first among equals. All of the South East’s states, as well as the South South’s Rivers, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom states, were less developed than Enugu. Additionally, Enugu was more developed than Delta State and competed with regional capitals Ibadan, Kaduna, and Lagos.
Hon Umeha while speaking for the APC House of Rep caucus members of Enugu state predicted that APC will take over the Lion Building, 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 Representative caucus of Enugu state made up of myself, my brother Prof Paul Nnamchi and Hon Chimobi Atu.
“Let me emphasize 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.”
Engr. Celestine Attah, speaking on behalf of other defectors, stated that he was drawn to President Tinubu’s appointment of Enugu Man as the Chief of Naval Staff, the founding of the state’s Naval College, the building of a naval base at Uzo-Uwani, the appointment of Enugu Man as Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the building of the 9th Mile-Opi road.
“Today’s events are the cornerstone of our contribution to the APC’s victory in Enugu State, and the large-scale rally is for Mr. President and the APC to seize control of the state government in 2027,” he stated.
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