In an apparent bid to bolster the image of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the grassroots level, the Igbo-Eze south local government chapter of the party in Enugu state, took its message of reconciliation to a whole new level on Sunday the 10th of January 2021. At an expanded stakeholders meeting for polling units and ward leaders held at the Umuerua civic centre grounds in the council headquarters of Ibagwa Aka, the party, while hosting its new and existing members to a well attended session to kick-start the year, charged the party members to show more commitment and loyalty to the party.
With the new approach of peace and reconciliation being preached across the party structure in Enugu state and the whole country, the Party leadership at the local government, under the leadership of Hon. Ugwuanyi Mathias, reiterated the call of the national leadership of the party to create a more united party front especially in the states with divisions such as Enugu. In his opening remarks at the well-attended meeting, Hon. Ugwuanyi opined that it is only when true reconciliation comes to the party, which had been previously plagued with crises since 2016, that the chances of the party winning elections will materialize. While expressing delight at the turn-up of members despite the short notice given, the chairman thanked the party leaders in the local government, especially the former guber aspirant Barrister George Ogara Tabugbo, for his financial and moral support in the activities of the party within the grassroots. He said: “If all the leaders of the party in the local government, would emulate Tabugbo Ogara in the support of our activities, APC in this area would have been formidable”.
While emphasizing on the need for the party members to step-up their membership drive, especially as the party is about to commence national registration exercise, the secretary of the party at the Local government, Comrade Uba Uthman Onah, explained that it is only when more members join the ranks of the party through the polling unit level, can the party fulfill its mandate of controlling the grassroots. “By the APC constitution, the most important organ of the party is the polling unit and that is what Igbo-eze south chapter will be focusing on from now henceforth” he said. He also acknowledged the support and assistance of the GOT Organization (a political advocacy group in Enugu State APC) in the activities of the party at both zonal and local government levels of the state.
In his response, the DG and Coordinator of the GOT Organization Mr. Ejiofor Agada, expressed his gratitude to the party members for turning up as well as the various potential members from the academia that came to observe proceedings at the meeting. He enjoined all to see the numerous grassroots economic opportunities that’ll be coming through the President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration, as a pointer to the interest of APC to better the lives of the citizens. He also went ahead to pledge financial support of N800 thousand for the membership drive of the party at polling and ward levels.
A visibly pleased George Ogara, who was also part of the meeting, exhorted the members to be steadfast as a new dawn has come to the party in the Local government. His words: “With what we are doing today, we are starting the year on a new note. We will no longer hide and we will no longer tremble against our political opponents. We have, by this event, proved to everyone that APC is alive and well in this local government in particular and Enugu state in general and we’ll become a model for others to emulate”. He challenged the LG exco to ensure that similar meetings are planned on a frequent basis to give the members confidence and encourage new ones into the party. While thanking the GOT Organization for the financial pledge to boost the membership drive, Barrister Ogara in his own capacity promised to double what the political group offered to the tune of N1.3m. This is coming barely one week where he had made a donation of N5m for the future activities of APC Nsukka zone. The next meeting was scheduled for a later date with the promise of about twice the number that turned out for the current edition.
