A spirited competition has emerged among communities in Enugu State as the All Progressives Congress, APC, E-registration programme gathers momentum, with wards vowing to outdo one another in enrolment figures and grassroots mobilisation.
The ongoing exercise was formally flagged off at Ugbawka Wards 1 and 2 in Nkanu East LGA, Amaechi Ward 1 in Enugu South LGA, and Awgu Ward 2 in Awgu LGA, where leaders, stakeholders, and residents turned the registration drive into a show of unity, confidence, and healthy rivalry.
Speaking at Community Secondary School, Amafor Ugbawka, the Executive Chairman of Nkanu East LGA, Hon. Sydney Edeh, attributed growing enthusiasm for the APC to what he described as tangible dividends of governance under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Peter Mbah.
Hon. Edeh, who doubles as the chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), noted that federal roads were receiving renewed attention, the exchange rate had stabilised to the benefit of business owners, and perennial clashes involving herdsmen destroying farmlands in Ugbawka had become a thing of the past.
At Awgu Ward 2, the Managing Director of Fontana Group of Companies, High Chief Francis Osita Nwobi, said mobilisation had been seamless because of the trust the people repose in their leaders.
The competitive spirit was equally pronounced at Amaechi Ward 1 in Enugu South LGA.
Former Commissioner, Chief John Egbo, pledged that the ward would not only deliver the APC in the 2027 elections but would also emerge as the top-performing ward in the current registration drive.
Former APC House of Representatives candidate, Mrs. Juliet Egbo, expressed joy over the influx of new members, describing the alignment of Enugu State with the APC as a strategic move for the future of the Southeast.
State Coordinator of the APC e-registration programme, Chief Flavour Eze, reminded residents that the exercise was a mandate of the President and disclosed that Governor Mbah had promised rewards for wards with the highest registration figures.
As the exercise continues, the emerging rivalry is fast becoming a driving force in expanding the APC’s grassroots presence across Enugu State.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the APC in Enugu State, Barr Ben Nwoye has insisted that nobody is being forced to join the party.
There has been reports that local government chairmen were mandating workers to register for the party.
However, Nwoye said on Wednesday that the claims were coming from frustrated members of the opposition.