The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has raised concerns over what it described as “secessionist” efforts aimed at destabilising the second-term bid of Gov. Peter Mbah.
The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC in the state, Dr Ben Nwoye, made the allegation while receiving the state chapter of Asiwaju Renewed Mandate South East (ARMSE) led by its leader, Chief Josef Onoh, at his office in Enugu on Monday.
Nwoye clarified that the so-called secessionists are not advocating for a separate country from Nigeria but are groups within Enugu State pushing for the creation of a new state.
He noted that “there are different groups of new State agitators in Enugu State who are itching for a new state to be created from the state and some in combination with other parts of others states from the South-East.”
He added that such agitators have been “going round, making efforts to field some other candidates for the 2027 governorship election, sometimes from the same Senatorial district as Gov. Mbah and sometimes from outside the East Senatorial District which the rotation understanding in the state currently favours.”
On the implications of these efforts, Nwoye warned, “Those in opposition to Gov. Peter Mbah want to destabilise the state. There are those who are secessionists even though they are not Biafra agitators, but elder statesmen recruiting others from Enugu East Senatorial Zone to run for governorship in 2027. There are also external factors from outside Enugu State. They said that they want a new state, but they should not destabilise the state before leaving to anywhere. We are in support of creation of additional state but you cannot come and destabilise the one that we are already into. Don’t create stories to damage the one we have for now.”
Chief Onoh, addressing the meeting, said that attempts to truncate Gov. Mbah’s re-election “would erode the tripod rotational agreement entrenched by the founding fathers of Enugu State.”
Explaining the purpose of the visit, Onoh said, “Though the Asiwaju Renewed Hope Mandate was designed to promote President Tinubu’s re-election, we sought for his permission to also use it for Gov. Mbah for Enugu State to remain great. If we support Gov. Mbah for the next four years, it will be doing the right thing. It is safer for Gov. Mbah to complete two terms so as not to destabilise the ongoing process of rotation that has stabilized the state. It is to curtail disaster in the state that made us come because such instability had affected other states in Nigeria. So, we came to pledge all the support to ensure that the understanding in the state is kept.”
Onoh also highlighted the historical context of the rotational agreement, tracing it from 1999 and citing the contributions of founding fathers such as Sen. Jim Nwobodo, late Chief C.C. Onoh, and Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, which he said has maintained uninterrupted two-term governorships in Enugu State.
