Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, has declared that there will be no automatic governorship ticket for intending defectors to the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, warning that nobody would be allowed to hijack the party structure.
Speaking in Enugu on Saturday during an expanded stakeholders’ meeting of the party, Nnaji said the APC was open to welcoming new members from across the state, but insisted that all aspirants, no matter how highly placed, would have to go through the party’s primaries.
The minister revealed that some individuals he described as “politically displaced politicians” had been lobbying in Abuja to join the APC in Enugu and take over the party from the back door.
According to him, such moves would be resisted.
He said, “the APC has come to stay; that is why from every nook and cranny, people want to join the APC. We want people to come in, but we will not give them a free ticket. They must go to contest.
“Anybody that wants to run for the governorship of Enugu State, let him come to the APC, we will go to contest, we are waiting for them. We want to populate the party, provided the person is going to look after the party when he gets in, we don’t have a problem.”
Nnaji stressed that no individual would be given undue advantage, adding that even the highest political office holder in the country would have to subject himself to the same process.
“So, if the President of Nigeria wants to come and run for the governor of Enugu State, let him come, we will support him.
“If the former governor of anywhere wants to join us, let him come, we will run the primaries. It will make it even easier — the primary will be the main election, so that when we finish with the primary, we know we have finished,” he stated.
The minister added that those he described as “internally displaced politicians” in the state were without a political base, claiming they were moving “from pillar to post” without commitment to any party.
He said: “That’s why we are urging him to come, but he will not come. He is an internally displaced politician, he doesn’t have a party, he is partyless. We want him to come; he will be running from pillar to post until it is late.
“But the good thing is that our mission is being supported by the good Lord that created us, so we are heading to the Government House.”
Nnaji assured party members that the APC leadership in the state had a clear focus and strategy, and would not be distracted by political manoeuvres from opponents.
At the meeting, three members of the House of Representatives who recently defected from the Labour Party to the APC — Hon Sunday Umeha (Udi/Ezeagu), Hon Chimobi Atu (Enugu North/Enugu South) and Hon Prof Paul Nnamchi — pledged their full commitment to ensuring that the APC secures all elective positions in the state in the 2027 general elections, including the governorship seat.
Meanwhile, a political pressure group within the APC, the Enugu Progressive Group, has thrown its weight behind the re-election bids of President Bola Tinubu and Governor Peter Mbah in 2027.
The group, comprising members from all 260 wards and 17 local government areas in the state, held a meeting on Friday evening where it unanimously endorsed Tinubu for a second term, citing federal projects and policy reforms that had benefited the South-East.
Its leader and former APC state chairman, Dr Ben Nwoye, lauded Tinubu’s economic policies, such as the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of foreign exchange rates.
“These reforms are painful now but are laying a solid foundation for economic stability,” Nwoye said. “We’ve seen tangible benefits in Enugu State, which include new institutions, appointments and infrastructure, and we believe he deserves a second term.”
