A sizeable number of members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State have petitioned the National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, over what they described as ongoing subtle moves to scuttle the coming scheduled Ward, Council, and State Congresses in the state in favour of the incumbent executives.
They resolved to pursue open, all-inclusive, transparent, free, and fair Ward, Council, and State Congresses in the State.
Rising from a key Stakeholders meeting in Awka, on Sunday, the members in a jointly signed communique and petition in which they poured out their heart to the national chairman on their stand, copies of which was forwarded to other key stakeholders and national officers of the party, they called for a transparent Congress to elect new set of executives to run, oversee and supervise the activities of the party in the State.
They insisted that the tenure of the Chief Basil Ejidike-led executive has elapsed.
According to the petition, “We, the Representatives of the overwhelming majority members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 21 Local Government Areas of Anambra State wish to appeal to the National Chairman to ensure that the upcoming congresses in Anambra State is all inclusive, open, free and fair, and that every member of the party in the state is at liberty to contest for any position of his or her choice.
“All Progressive Congress (APC) Anambra State is moribund and requires urgent re-organization and reinvigoration.
“The present party executives from Ward to State are not only inactive, but they have also totally lost steam, culminating in Mr. President garnering only an embarrassing 5,111 votes in Anambra state in the 2023 presidential election.
“For Mr. President to make an appreciable political inroad in Anambra State in the forthcoming 2027 presidential election and for APC to be alive again in Anambra State, it is very necessary that entirely new executives at all levels of the party be elected.
“It is on record that since the 2023 presidential election, there has been a tremendous inflow of new entrants from other parties into our great party who are higher in number than the substantive members of the party, as could be seen from the details of the recent e-registration.
Hence, there is every need to accommodate them in the new executives in order to give them a sense of belonging lest they feel unaccepted and be constrained to leave our great party, which will further undermine the party’s capabilities, knowing full well that Mr. Peter Obi of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is from Anambra state.
“Mr. Chairman, we wish to bring to your attention that Senator Dr. Uche Ekwunife and Hon. Nze Chidi Duru are bent on derailing the upcoming congresses and also destroying the party in Anambra state,” they said.
The members noted further that their appeal became necessary due to the decision of the said Anambra state caucus, which issued a statement to the all levels of the party executives in the state that the incumbent state leadership has been endorsed to remain in office for another four years.
They said, “We are not surprised by their resolve to undermine the decision of the state caucus because the duo are not interested in the growth of the party but to further their selfish and self-seeking interest, that is why APC got only 4 votes in Hon. Nze Chidi Duru’s polling unit at village Nkpologwu during the 2025 governorship election.
“We further wish to state that Senator Dr. Uche Ekwunife, who is a member of the National Congress Committee, and Hon. Nze Chidi Duru do not represent APC Anambra state, and any list of party executives submitted by them should be totally rejected.”
The party members noted that any attempt to perpetuate the present executives in office would further destroy the fabric of the party in Anambra State.
They therefore urged Yilwatda to use his good offices to ensure that the upcoming congresses in Anambra State were not only free and fair as guaranteed by article 20 of the All Progressive Constitution 2022 as amended but open to every member of the party who wishes to vie for any position.
