From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
In a significant political shift in Enugu State, Rep. Sunday Umeha, representing Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency, and over 1,000 Labour Party (LP) members have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Umeha announced his defection at a rally in Ibagwa-Aka, Igboeze South Local Government Area, over the weekend.
Umeha, now the first elected APC lawmaker in Enugu since the party’s formation in 2014, said he resigned from LP and joined APC at his ward, citing LP’s internal crises.
“Beyond the crisis in the Labour Party, there’s a need to connect our people to the centre,” he stated. He praised APC’s contributions to the South East, including the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway and Second Niger Bridge.
The rally, held outside his constituency, was in support of Chief Joshua Ogbonna, a former LP financier in Igboeze South, who led the mass defection. Umeha said a formal reception will soon be held in Ezeagu.
George Ogara, representing APC leader and Minister Uche Nnaji, called the defection a historic turning point for APC in Enugu. “What happened here today has never happened in Enugu politics,” he said.
APC State Chairman Barr. Ugochukwu Agballah described LP’s structure in Igboeze South as collapsed, accusing the ruling PDP of causing hardship through taxation and demolitions. “With this broom, we are sweeping away 26 years of stagnation,” he declared, presenting the APC flag to defectors.
Agballah thanked Peter Okonkwo from Nsukka for donating a zonal campaign office. Chief Ogbonna noted resistance, saying, “They seized the buses we hired, but we came on motorcycles.” He vowed to build APC ward by ward.
The APC aims to challenge PDP’s dominance in Enugu by 2027 with this growing momentum.