The All Progressives Congress (APC), Enugu state, has dismissed as a non-issue the recent endorsement of the guber candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Barr. Peter Mbah, by a chieftain of the APC, Mr Joe Mmamel.
Enugu state chapter of APC said that Mmamel, like a few others of his ilk, who masquerade as APC chieftains, is actually a “political merchant” who joined the party to trade and scramble for federal appointments as they remain “PDAPC”.
Reacting to the endorsement, the state secretary of APC, Hon. Robert Ngwu told journalists in Enugu that Mmamel, who is currently a member of the National Human Rights Commission, an appointment given to him as a member of APC, only joined the party to serve his pecuniary interests as he has no political value to add to the party or the PDP candidate he endorsed.
Ngwu said that Mmamel was a former commissioner for Tourism under the PDP government before pretending to have joined the APC and that alongside other “APC political merchants like him”, they have been working for both the PDP guber candidate as well as the presidential candidate of PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar while pretending to be APC chieftains.
“This is why some of them, whose antics are well known to the party, were sidelined so that they would not distract the party in her efforts to win Enugu state in 2023. The truth is that the Enugu people are tired of PDP and the way the party has underdeveloped the state, especially in insecurity and lack of infrastructure. And they are looking at APC as an alternative due to our credible candidates.
“We have more than 200 persons from Enugu state with federal appointments under the APC, but they don’t contribute a dime to the growth and development of the party in the state, neither do they support the party at the ward level. This is why APC has never achieved more than four percent of votes in Enugu state in the previous elections.
“As a matter of fact, if you check the 2019 general election results, you will find that all the so-called APC chieftains, including Mmamel, lost their polling booths during the elections.
“This is precisely the trajectory the party’s current leadership under our guber candidate, Chief Uche Nnaji and the state Chairman, Hon. Ugochukwu Agballah is trying to change, and the same political merchants are fighting them, running from pillar to post in a bid to grab the party’s presidential campaign money.
“So the party is not threatened one bit by Mmamel’s tantrums. In fact, we are not surprised at all. What perhaps may surprise some people is the fact that he is removing the veil to dance naked in the market square. Otherwise, we already know some of them working for the PDP, even as members of the PDP campaign council in the state.
“They are in APC because of federal appointments, but working for PDP and Atiku while pretending to be working for APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. But these are people who cannot deliver their polling units!” Ngwu said.
A video making the rounds in the state shows Mmamel, in the company of PDP members from Ezeagu local government areas of the state, under the aegis of Ezeagu Igbudu Movement, announcing the endorsement of PDP’s Peter Mbah as guber choice.
Mmamel was also heard saying that he still remains a member of PDP in Enugu even though he is a chieftain of APC and that his group does not believe in the party but the candidate.
