*Claim Gov Is Silent In Face Of Their Complaints
*’Across All 17 LGAs Of Enugu State, Not One Foundation Member Was Deemed Qualified For LGA Chairmanship’
*We’ll Not Fold Arms As Our Sweat, Blood In Building Enugu APC, Despite Humiliation, Name Calling, Persecution Is Destroyed By Political Newcomers, They Say
By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu
The crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has deepened, with foundation members of the party accusing Governor Peter Mbah of exclusion from party structures and elective positions.
The aggrieved members who said the alleged exclusion had triggered defections to opposition parties, warned that the development could plunge the APC into an irreparable crisis, if urgent steps were not taken to address their grievances.
This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by a representative of the group and former Director of Research, Strategy and Intelligence Matters at the APC National Headquarters, Abuja, Barth Ifeanyi Ugwoke Esq.
Recall that Governor Mbah officially joined the APC on 14 October, 2025, after defecting from the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with the exit ending the latter’s hold on power in the crucial South-East state since the dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1999.
He joined carrying with him State Executive Council members, state and national legislators, councilors, and local government Chairmen, citing the imperative to align Enugu State with the Federal Government and support President Bola Tinubu’s economic and reform agenda.
The foundation members said their alleged exclusion prompted an emergency meeting of foundation and old party members across the six Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Enugu North Senatorial District, to ascertain their grievances.
‘’This alarming development compelled us to convene an emergency meeting of foundation and old members across the six Local Government Areas of Enugu North Senatorial District to ascertain their grievances firsthand.
“It is shocking and utterly unacceptable that even the names of our members shortlisted for mere Ex-Officio and vice positions in Ward and LGA Executives are being maliciously expunged.
“In the entire 106 wards of Enugu North Senatorial District, only one female from the foundation/old APC bloc was considered worthy of a councillorship ticket.
“Across all 17 LGAs of Enugu State, not a single foundation member was deemed qualified for LGA Chairmanship.
“No foundation member was considered for any elective position during the primaries statewide, except for one woman who was reluctantly conceded a State House of Assembly ticket under the guise of gender balance after intense agitation.
“Without that protest, nothing would have been offered.
“This deliberate pattern of exclusion has now permeated the grassroots and has completely broken the spirit of loyal foundation members, many of whom are left with no option but to seek refuge in the opposition.
“It is heartbreaking, provocative, and a cruel display of political injustice against those who sustained this party in opposition for over two decades. We need not recount the humiliation, intimidation, name calling, and persecution we endured, it was public knowledge. Let this serve as a preliminary notice.
“We have been pushed to the wall and will no longer remain silent. The truth must prevail. We will not fold our arms and watch the solid foundation we built with our blood and sweat be destroyed by political newcomers,” the statement added.
They faulted what they described as Gov. Mbah’s silence in the face of complaints from aggrieved members, calling on influential party leaders to intervene before the situation deteriorates further.
The group then urged the APC’s national leadership and other party stakeholders to urgently intervene, warning that failure to reconcile the aggrieved members could threaten the party’s cohesion in Enugu State.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Gov. Mbah (l).
