Raphael Ede, Enugu

Ahead of the national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of the Enugu State chapter of the party has endorsed the incumbent national Vice Chairman, South-East, Chief Emma Eneukwu, National Organising Secretary, Sen. Osita Izunaso and National Auditor, George Moghalu, who are all seeking re-elections.

The endorsement contained in a communique the party issued at the end of its meeting held at the party’s secretariat, on Wednesday.

The embattled chairman of the party in the state, Dr. Ben Nwoye, who read the communique at the end of the meeting, which was attended by the State Working Committee members of the party, said all the existing zoning arrangements of the party remains.

Recalled that the factional group loyal to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, last Saturday, rooted for the former Secretary to Enugu State Government (SSG), Chief Onyemuche Nnamani as Eneukwu’s replacement.

But the Nwoye faction, on Wednesday, said such people should be discountenanced as they were only merely in a task to destabilise the APC in Enugu State and eventually deny President Muhammadu Buhari votes in 2019.

The communique read in part, “Chief Hon. Emma Eneukwu having performed excellently well and being an indigene of Udi Local Government Area has the support of the entire Enugu State delegates to the APC national convention.

“That we condemn in totality any attempt by anybody no matter how highly placed to destabilize the agreed zoning arrangement in the State, previously established by leaders of the party in 2014, as it relates to party positions.

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“That we commend the national convention committee of the APC in all of its efforts in planning a hitch-free national convention.

“Enugu State APC cannot be cowed by cowed by anybody, no matter any previous position you may have held, or the position the person may occupy. We must learn that new leaders must emerge, we can’t continue to lead this country with our past glory.

“Everyday new leaders emerge, the world is calling for new leaders. Very recently, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Not Too Young to Run Bill into law, this shows progressive leadership.

“Those who have been either past governor, past senator or past this or that must allow new leaders to emerge, must allow those who are leading well to lead. We cannot be cowed by those who joined us from PDP.

“If PDP was a great party, where they had served as either senator or SSG, they should have remained in PDP; we built APC, we established APC in Enugu State. So, we cannot be pushed around.

“People believe that politics is about their village, that politics is about those who bear the same surname with them.

“Today, Enugu State APC has taken a stand, we cannot have a state chairmen from Nkanu West and Vice Chairman, Nkanu West it can’t help us in election. People here are not in APC because Buhari won, they have been here even when APC was yet to be accepted, when people called us all sorts of names, including Boko Haram. Some of us we almost ostracized. We cannot, therefore, at this stage allow latter day converts push us aside.

“For emphasis, Emma Enuekwu, George Moghalu, Osita Izunaso are our choice, we are 100 percent behind our leaders,” it further stated.