A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has appealed to Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State to refrain from rewarding Chief Ugo Agbala, whom he described as a “political bandit,” in the ongoing formation of Ward and Local Government Area (LGA) executives in the state.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Monday, Okechukwu, who acknowledged Mbah as the new leader of the APC in Enugu, expressed concern over reports that two of the four slots allocated to the APC in the proposed nine-member Ward and LGA executive structure might be ceded to Agbala.
Okechukwu questioned the rationale behind such a move, asking on what “valid ground or good conscience” the governor would reward someone he described as “a serial renegade” who, according to him, “led a political coup that contributed to the APC securing only 4,722 votes in the 2023 presidential election in Enugu State.”
He recalled that the APC had garnered over 56,000 votes in the 2019 presidential election and had expected to improve on that performance in 2023 following extensive membership mobilisation. According to Okechukwu, those efforts were undermined after Chief Agbala “was imposed on the party,” resulting in the poor showing at the polls.
The former Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) warned that rewarding Agbala would be dangerous, citing his “hostile leadership style” as a factor that drove many party members away and contributed to what Okechukwu described as the lowest presidential vote tally in the country.
He urged Governor Mbah to ensure equity and fairness in the composition of party executives, suggesting that if the governor considers Agbala indispensable despite widespread opposition, “His Excellency should, as a matter of fairness, allocate two slots to him from the five slots belonging to the PDP.”
Okechukwu’s remarks underscore ongoing tensions within the APC in Enugu State as the party works to finalise leadership structures at the grassroots and LGA levels ahead of future elections.
