The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State, Uchenna Nnaji, has blamed the crisis rocking the party in the state on the scheming by its members for the campaign money being expected from the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Nnaji, who spoke at an emergency stakeholders meeting held at the South-East zonal office of the party on Sunday, said if the anticipated campaign fund from Tinubu, would be a source of destabilisation for the party, the fund should instead be withheld until after the election.
“The current crisis in Enugu APC is all about Tinubu’s Campaign money. The so-called stakeholders are fighting to be in charge and preside over the disbursement of Tinubu’s money.
“We don’t want the campaign money of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu to prosecute the 2023 general election in Enugu State. By the special Grace of God, we will use Enugu APC resources to prosecute the election in 2023 and after the election, the party will refund us. It is Tinubu’s money that is causing the crisis in Enugu APC.
“After this emergency meeting, I will go to Abuja tomorrow (Monday) to tell the national chairman of the party that we don’t want campaign funds. On Tuesday I will meet our presidential candidate, Tinubu and I will tell him the same thing.”
Nnaji, however, appealed to ‘Abuja stakeholders’ to come home and join him in the grassroots mobilisation of support for the party so that the party will win the election.
According to him, he, alongside Agballah and his executives has so far travelled across 184 wards and 204 communities across 13 LGs in the state ahead of the election in 2023. “It is unprecedented in the history of the party in the state and shows how prepared we are to not only contest the election but also win,” he said.
He regretted that now that the party is being repositioned to win an election, the mischief makers are trying to remove the executives of the party just about six months before the election. “We want to be small but effective.”
Nnaji maintained that the APC had never been a political party in Enugu State till when Agballah came on board as chairman but “we have awakened and held the promise of a better future for our people.
“Our leaders who want Agballah removed were not even paying for their ward offices across communities. Now, we have come to make the system work again and they want to remove us. Our executives are doing well and deserve every support they need. No other party can embark on the kind of tour we have embarked upon.”
Meanwhile, the party faithful that attended the meeting unanimously passed a vote of confidence on Chief Agballah-led executive of the party.