As the build-up to the 2027 general election gathers momentum, the youth wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has formally endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in office, pledging to deliver massive votes across all 260 wards in the state’s 17 local government areas.
The youths, under the umbrella of the Progressives Youth Stakeholders, vowed to prevent a repeat of the party’s poor outing in 2023 when APC polled just 4,772 votes for Tinubu in Enugu State. They attributed the dismal performance to what they described as the “bad leadership style” of the embattled state chairman, Barrister Ugochukwu Agballa, and the party’s governorship candidate, Chief Uche Nnaji.
Speaking during the stakeholders’ meeting in Enugu at the weekend, leader of the group, Mr. Peter Chime, declared that the APC youths have the strength and numbers to ensure victory for the party in 2027.
“APC belongs to all of us, it is not a personal business of anybody. After this meeting today, go home and be APC symbols and ambassadors in your respective wards and local government areas,” Chime charged.
He warned that Enugu APC youths would no longer tolerate external interference, stressing: “We will henceforth resist the idea of someone manipulating Enugu APC from other states.”
In a dramatic appeal, the youths also called on Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, to defect to the APC.
“We are on our knees begging our governor to decamp to APC so he can connect us to the national level, so that Enugu State will benefit more than we are benefiting today,” Chime said.
“Only the governor can make heavyweight politicians join the party and we are here begging him to join APC. If our governor joins the APC, he will get the automatic ticket, he will not drag it with anybody because he is doing what we can see,” he added.
The youths also demanded a more equitable reward system within the APC, urging President Tinubu and the National Chairman, Prof. Mentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, to ensure recognition and appointments for loyal members who had contributed to the party’s growth without being rewarded.
“We are also begging Mr. President to ensure that appointments are given to all the APC leaders that suffered for the party and have not benefitted anything since we won the election,” Chime appealed.
He further used the forum to call on pioneer APC leaders in Enugu who left due to internal crises to return.
“We are begging those who left the party angrily, or decided to stay calm because of the ill-treatment by the Honourable Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Hon. Uche Nnaji, and the removed state chairman, Ugochukwu Agballa, who still parades himself as chairman, to please return to the house they built,” Chime pleaded.
Also speaking, the immediate past APC State Chairman and leader of the Progressives Group in Nigeria, Dr. Ben Nwoye, emphasized that the gathering was part of a larger process to mobilize support for President Tinubu ahead of 2027 and to persuade Governor Mbah to join the ruling party.
“It is part of the ongoing process to rally support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu come 2027,” Nwoye explained.
He assured that Governor Mbah would be warmly welcomed into the APC, saying: “If he comes over to the APC, there is a place for him to automatically become the leader of the party in Enugu State.”
Nwoye also stressed the importance of youth, polling units, and wards in strengthening the APC, urging that they be given the recognition and support they deserve.
