...National Chair, Sen. Adamu, Nnamani, Onyeama, others shun event.

...Tinubu disappointed, Emma Eneukwu begs

Despite the revelation by a group, the Concerned Enugu APC Members, of alleged renting of crowd by the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, to fill the event venue, the presidential rally of the party in Enugu on Wednesday still could not pull the crowd.

This was even as the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu; former Senate President, Sen. Ken Nnamani; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; former governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime; former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Eugene Odoh, and all the who-is-who in Enugu APC were conspicuously absent.

Recall that the Leader of the Concerned Enugu APC Members, Comrade Adolphus Ude, had in a statement he issued on Tuesday ahead of the Wednesday presidential rally, accused Agballah of trying to give the national leaders of the party and the presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, false electoral hope in Enugu.

Ude, who is the pioneer Deputy Chairman of the party in Enugu said: “Faced with the reality of an empty venue, Agballah has embarked on a crowd-shopping drive to deceive our national party leaders, particularly our presidential candidate, Senator Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima.

“We can authoritatively disclose that Agballah and his governorship candidate, Chief Uchenna Nnaji, have engaged contractors to ferry a rented crowd from Ebonyi, Anambra, Abia, Imo, Benue and other nearby states to come here and answer Enugu people.

“It is a shame that they still have to shop for crowd beyond the borders of Enugu State even after they settled for Okpara Square, which is a very small venue compared to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. But can the people they are mobilising to Enugu tomorrow cast votes for our party during the general election? The answer is ‘No’”

Our reporter, who went round the places where vehicles that brought people to the event were parked saw many buses with Kogi, Benue, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Rivers, and Delta number plates.

Meanwhile, insider sources revealed that the National Chairman, Adamu, has lost sleep over the crisis and allegations of corruption bedevilling the Enugu State chapter of the party and decided to stay away from the rally.

It is recalled that some party leaders and members had on Monday protested against the State Chairman, Agballah, and the gubernatorial candidate, Chief Uche Nnaji, at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja over alleged embezzlement of $1.5 million 2022 national convention allowances meant for Enugu delegates and the sum of N283 million meant for purchase of nomination and expression of interest forms to fill all elective positions in Enugu.

They called on the APC national leadership to immediately sack Chief Agballah and appoint a caretaker chairman to save the Enugu State chapter of the party before the 2023 general election.

Meanwhile, it was reliably gathered that the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, was livid over the poor attendance of the rally, the absence of critical stakeholders, and the inability of Agballah to manage the affairs of the party in the state.

However, the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the APC, Chief Emma Eneukwu, an indigene, who was on Tinubu’s entourage, was seen appealing to the presidential candidate, assuring that votes would be better than the turnout at the rally.