Tension is brewing in Enugu State as leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have fiercely condemned a violent attack on their members during a high-profile reception rally for defectors into the party. The rally, which took place over the weekend at St. Charles Catholic Church field, Opi, Nsukka, descended into chaos after alleged agents of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stormed the venue, destroying canopies, plastic chairs, and other properties worth millions of naira.
The political showdown attracted heavyweight APC figures, including the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji; Enugu State APC Chairman, Barr. Ugochukwu Agballah; House of Representatives members Hon. Sunday Umeha (Udi/Ezeagu), Hon. Chimobi Atu (Enugu North/Enugu South), and Hon. Prof. Paul Nnamchi (Enugu East/Isi-Uzo); as well as former Commissioner for Lands, Barr. Peter Okonkwo (Ohamadike).
In a fiery statement, the leaders issued the Enugu State Government and the PDP a 24-hour ultimatum to either publicly condemn the attack or accept full responsibility for it.
Despite the disruption, the rally went on with thousands of supporters defying the tension to welcome defectors from the PDP, Labour Party (LP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), African Democratic Party (ADP), and Young Progressives Party (YPP) into the APC fold.
Chief Nnaji, visibly unfazed by the intimidation, praised the courage of Nsukka residents and the new members, assuring them that joining the APC was their most strategic political decision yet.
> “We are not afraid of anybody; we fear nobody. If they like, let them come here ten times, it will not stop our rallies. Nsukka people have shown resilience, and despite harassment, you came out in your thousands to welcome us,” Nnaji declared.
He went on to highlight visible developments under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, including massive road projects in Nsukka, new job creation opportunities, and the appointment of an Nsukka native as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
Barr. Peter Okonkwo, a respected APC leader in Nsukka zone, recounted a harrowing sequence of events, revealing that the venue was attacked three separate times amid sporadic gunfire.
> “The Enugu State government militia—known as Neighbourhood Watch or Forest Guards—stormed this venue three times today. They shot at our people with double-barreled guns, assaulted and wounded them, and destroyed properties worth millions. Even the portrait of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was torn to pieces,” Okonkwo alleged.
He vowed that intimidation would only strengthen their resolve:
> “If they attack us more, we will campaign harder for President Tinubu. Nsukka is ready to take more bullets for him. We are not shifting ground!”
APC State Chairman, Barr. Agballah, condemned what he called a disturbing trend of politically motivated violence in Enugu, citing similar attacks in Aboh (Udi LGA) and Ogrute (Igbo-Eze North LGA). Unlike in those cases, he said, the party stood its ground in Nsukka and refused to relocate.
In a show of defiance, Agballah personally handed over party brooms to new members, symbolising their official entry into the APC.
House of Representatives members Umeha, Atu, and Nnamchi reminded the state government of the late Gen. Sani Abacha’s famous warning: “Any government that fails to act within 24 hours of a crime is complicit in it.”
They stressed that for Enugu—and indeed the entire South-East—to enjoy meaningful development, it must build stronger political bridges with the federal government, pointing to the newly approved federal university in Ako Nike as evidence of what cooperation can achieve.
As the clock ticks on the ultimatum, political observers are watching closely to see whether the state government will condemn the violence or risk being branded an accomplice to it.
PIONEER NEWS 