The Chairman, Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, and the governorship candidate, Chief Uche Nnaji have reportedly evaded service in the alleged N1.7 billion fraud lawsuit instituted against them by the former state deputy chairman the party, Comrade Adolphus Ude.
The suit, commenced vide a Writ of Summons before Justice K.I Okpe on 27th January 2023.
In the suit, which has the APC, Agballah, and Nnaji as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Defendants, respectively, the Plaintiff, Adolphus Ude, who is the Leader of Concerned Enugu APC Members, alleged that the Enugu State chapter of the party realised the sum of N786 million from the sale of Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms, which the Defendants were yet to account for.
Ude also alleged that the APC, Enugu State, realised an additional $1,351,000 from consultations and logistics from Presidential aspirants, but alleged that Agballah and Nnaji had refused to account for the monies despite agitations and protests by members of the party in the state.
“Since the 3rd Defendant (Nnaji) was nominated as the (governorship) candidate of the Party, he has connived with the 2nd Defendant (Agballah) to misappropriate the funds of the Party and run the affairs of the Party with impunity.
“The 2nd and 3rd Defendants misappropriated the $1.5million given to the APC, Enugu State as delegates allowances and failed to pay the money to the delegates. The 2nd and 3rd Defendants appropriated the money for themselves instead”, Ude alleged.
Ude, who is the Leader of intra-party Concerned Enugu APC Members and Chairman of Mainstream Enugu APC’l is therefore seeking an order of the court directing Agballah and Nnaji to “render and publish a detailed account of the amount realized by the APC in Enugu State from the issuance and purchase of Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms by the aspirants in the APC for the Governorship position in Enugu State in the 2023 general election”.
He is also pressing for an order of court directing Agballah and Nnaji to render and publish a detailed account of the use and proof of disbursement of the sum of $1.5million released by the 1st Defendant (APC) for the payment of allowances of the 1st Defendant’s delegates from Enugu State to the National Convention and Presidential primary election of the 1st Defendant”.
Ude, who led a protest by aggrieved Enugu APC members against Chief Ugochukwu Agballah and Uche Nnaji at the national headquarters of the APC in Abuja in January, claimed that Agballah had perpetrated the alleged financial malfeasance despite his suspension by the Agbudu/Ward of the party in line with the party’s constitution.
In the affidavit to support his suit, he told the court that Agballah was sacked by by his Ward over alleged corruption and impunity in the conduct of party affairs and therefore ought not to parade himself as a member or Chairman of the party I’m Enugu State.
“By a letter dated 19 August 2022, the 2nd Defendant’s ward, the Udi/Agbudu Ward in Udi Local Government Area suspended the 2nd Defendant from being a member of the Ward and expelled him from the Ward and debarred him from holding Party Office in APC.
“Notwithstanding his suspension and expulsion from APC in his Ward, the 2nd Defendant continued to parade himself as the Chairman of APC, Enugu State and to meddle in the affairs of the Party with impunity and without authority”, Ude stated in the court processes.
However, finding by our reporter show that the bailifs were not able to serve Agballah and Nnaji.
