Advertisement

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to swing into action immediately to unravel the allegations N1.3 billion fraud levelled against the Chairman of the All Progressives Peoples Congress (APC) in Enugu State, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, and the party’s governorship candidate, Chief Uche Nnaji, by members of the APC.

PDP made the call on Tuesday at a press conference reacting to the protest by aggrieved members of the APC at the national secretariat of the the party under the aegis of Concerned Members of Enugu State APC on Monday.

Advertisement

It is recalled that the aggrieved party members submitted a petition to the National Chairman APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and also staged a protest against the duo of Agballah and Nnaji, accusing them of impunity, gross misconducts, incompetence, divisiveness, maladministration and embezzlement of party funds.

Addressing newsmen, the Director of Communications and Spokesperson of the Enugu State PDP Campaign Council, Nana Ogbodo, while upbraiding Agballah for linking PDP to his travails and the crisis rocking Enugu APC, recalled that Enugu APC leaders such as former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; and former governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime had also led similar protest in 2022 calling for the removal of Agballah.

“Ordinarily, the Enugu State PDP should have no business with the self-confessed fraud, embezzlement and impunity going on in the Enugu State chapter of the APC. Besides, the APC has never been a factor in elections in Enugu State

Advertisement

“However, since we have, as usual, been dragged by the loquacious Ugcohukwu Agballah into a purely APC fight between angry and deprived APC members and a greedy and conceited party leadership, who has claimed that the protesters were sponsored by the PDP. This is not a fight between the PDP and the APC, we call on Ugochukwu Agballah to sue for defamation as he boasted. This this will probably afford his aggrieved party members the opportunity to further showcase his nakedness to the world.

“Ironically, if anybody deserves to be sued for defamation over this matter, it is Agballah, who has defamed the Enugu PDP and its governorship candidate by dragging them into a matter that has absolutely nothing to do with them.

“Importantly, we call on the EFCC to step in to investigate the weighty allegations of embezzlement of well over N1.3 billion boldly made against the duo of Chief Ugo Agballah and Chief Uche Nnaji by well-known APC party leaders”.

Ogbodo advised the State Chairman of the APC to “go home and settle with his aggrieved party members and restitute whatever he has taken from them”.

Advertisement

“The protest was led by well known APC members, including the pioneer deputy chairman of the Enugu APC Comrade Adolphus Ude, Dr. Mike Chukwu, Vincent Asogwa, among others and their grievances and allegations were clear.

“They want immediate removal of Chief Ugochukwu Agballah as the chairman of the APC in Enugu State and the appointment of a Caretaker Chairman.

“They want the party to compel Agballah and Uche Nnaji to immediately make available to the state’s delegates to the national convention and presidential primary election the allowances totalling about $1.5 million (about N1 billion) given to delegates by presidential aspirants.

Advertisement

“They want them to immediately account for the N283m they got for expression of interest and nomination forms.

“They want Agballah and Uche Nnaji to stop deceiving the Enugu electorate by parading Barr. George Ogara as the deputy governorship candidate of the APC when the real name on INEC website is Robert Ngwu”, Ogbodo concluded.

(This Day)