The lingering leadership crisis within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State is showing fresh signs of reconciliation and renewed strength following the return of Hon. Kevin Osita Okenwa to the party.
Okenwa, who contested the 2015 House of Assembly election for Igbo Etiti East State Constituency under the APC platform before defecting to the Labour Party, announced his return on Saturday with a firm message of renewed confidence in the new party leadership.
Okenwa, who later served as Special Assistant to the Member representing Igbo Etiti/Uzo Uwani Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, expressed his gratitude to the All Progressives Congress National Working Committee (NWC) for appointing Ben Nwoye as Chairman and Rt. Hon. Eugene Odo as Secretary of the Enugu State APC Caretaker Committee.
“I want to sincerely thank the NWC of our great party for this wise decision. The appointment of Dr. Ben Nwoye and Rt. Hon. Eugene Odo is a masterstroke that will reposition APC in Enugu State,” Okenwa stated.
He explained that his decision to return was driven by his confidence in the leadership capacity of the new caretaker committee, which he said “knows its onions and will reconnect the party to the national structure for effective representation.”
This development comes on the heels of the dissolution of the All Progressives Congress Enugu State Executive led by Ugochukwu Agballa by the party’s national leadership, following months of internal wrangling and factional disputes. The crisis, which fractured the party’s structure in the state, had weakened its cohesion ahead of future elections.
The appointment of Ben Nwoye—a former state chairman and founding member of the APC in Enugu—as caretaker committee chairman is widely seen as a strategic move to rebuild unity and restore confidence among aggrieved stakeholders.
His emergence, alongside Eugene Odo, a respected former Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, has already begun to attract key returnees like Okenwa, signaling what many party insiders describe as “the beginning of a new chapter” for APC in Enugu.
Political observers believe that the wave of defections that hit the APC in Enugu following internal strife may now be reversed as the caretaker committee works to reconcile factions, strengthen party structures, and prepare for a more formidable showing in future elections.
Okenwa reaffirmed his commitment to work with the caretaker leadership and other party faithful to reposition the APC in Enugu State. “We are coming back home to build, not to scatter. With this new leadership, APC in Enugu will take its rightful place as a strong political force,” he added.
Party insiders say more former members are expected to follow Okenwa’s footsteps in the coming weeks as confidence in the caretaker committee grows.
