By People&Politics Reporters
The crisis within the Enugu State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) deepened yesterday as the State Chairman, Barrister Ugochukwu Agballah, vehemently rejected the purported dissolution of the State Executive Committee (SEC) by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
In a strong-worded statement issued in Enugu on Saturday, Agballah described the NWC’s resolution — allegedly reached at its 179th meeting on October 9, 2025 — as “unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional.”
The NWC had reportedly dissolved the State Executive and appointed a seven-man caretaker committee led by former Chairman, Mr. Ben Nwoye.
Agballah said the move was a gross violation of the APC Constitution 2022 (as amended) and a direct assault on internal party democracy.
“The Enugu State Executive Committee of the APC was duly elected through the party congress in line with constitutional provisions. We were never informed of any misconduct or infraction that could justify such an arbitrary action,” the statement read.
According to him, Articles 21.1 to 21.3 of the APC Constitution clearly vest disciplinary authority on the Zonal Executive Committee, which must make recommendations to the National Executive Committee (NEC) before any state organ can be sanctioned.
He maintained that the NWC lacked the constitutional powers to dissolve a duly elected state executive.
“The purported dissolution by the NWC amounts to a gross overreach, and is void ab initio,” Agballah declared. “Even the NEC cannot dissolve a state executive suo motu without due process involving the zonal committee.”
According to him, “What has been done is a clear act of impunity that we shall resist through all constitutional means.”
He further alleged that most members of the newly announced caretaker committee were not legitimate party members, adding that several of them had been suspended for anti-party activities during the 2023 elections.
“Only one of those listed is a registered APC member,” he said. “The rest were suspended by their wards and local government organs, and those suspensions were ratified by the South-East Zonal Executive Committee.”
Agballah also questioned the credibility of the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Nwoye, claiming that he ceased to be a member of the APC earlier this year.
“On April 17, 2025, Mr. Nwoye publicly resigned from the APC, an action that was widely reported. He has not been re-registered in any ward. Appointing a non-member to chair a caretaker committee is a political absurdity and an affront to the Constitution,” he said.
The embattled Chairman directed all ward, local government, and zonal officers of the party in Enugu State to disregard the dissolution and remain in office.
He urged members to stay calm and law-abiding while the state executive explores constitutional means to challenge what he described as a “reckless subversion” of party rules.
He accused the NWC of neglecting the Enugu chapter despite the state’s efforts to expand the APC’s presence.
“Since we assumed office in 2021, we have built the APC into a viable opposition force present in all 260 wards of the state without a single kobo from the National Secretariat. It is ironic that those who abandoned Enugu are now attempting to destabilize it,” Agballah said.
The statement also recalled that the current executive inherited a fractured party under Nwoye’s leadership, which had “non-existent structures in over 20 wards.”
Agballah claimed that his leadership had revived the party, attracting defectors from both the immediate-past ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party, and positioning the APC as the “voice of accountability” in Enugu politics.
While condemning the NWC’s decision, Agballah reaffirmed the loyalty of the Enugu State chapter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the NEC of the party.
“We shall continue to uphold the supremacy of the APC Constitution and defend its integrity through every lawful means,” he said.
The statement was jointly signed by Agballah and all members of the Enugu State Executive Committee, including the 17 local government Chairmen, who declared their total rejection of the NWC’s action.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Barrister Agballah.
