By CHARLES IWUOHA

The immediate past Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Enugu State, Barr. Ben Nwoye, has cautioned the party not to allow delegates from Enugu State to vote during the party’s forthcoming presidential primary election.

Nwoye spoke in Enugu on Thursday, urging the party’s national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, to implement his earlier report on the State congress held in Enugu State.

While stating that no elective congress was held in the State, Nwoye advised against allowing them to vote during the presidential primary.

“The delegates they are using in Enugu are fraudulent delegates. I’m asking the National Chairman not to allow any delegate from Enugu to cast a vote during the Presidential primary election.

“There was no delegate election in Enugu. So, if we use Enugu delegates to produce a presidential candidate, it will stand challenged, and it may affect the party,” he stated.

The former Chairman equally accused the chairman of the party in the State, Barr. Ugochukwu Agballa of turning the primary election in the State into a private enterprise.

Nwoye alleged that those who won various positions in the election have had their names substituted illegally by Agballa.

“The NWC seems to be maintaining willful blindness even when the tickets are now for shopping under Ugo Agballa.

“It is shameful, if what you are doing is collect bribe and when they refuse, you remove their names. He is demanding N1 million from each of the aspirants.

“I had allowed Ugo Agballa, hoping that he would run the APC as a progressive party, but it is now merchandised.

“When the chairman of the Election Committee sent to the State now begs for sensitive materials is unheard of. I don’t know what INEC is doing. They are culpable. Such an action does not help our party and democracy,” Nwoye lamented.

He accused Agballa of killing the APC in Enugu State, stressing that several stakeholders of the party have been pushed to the point that they have decided to stay away.

Meanwhile, Agballa, who spoke through his Special Adviser media, Mr. Kenneth Ofoma, said there was no need to join issues with Nwoye.

He, however, claimed that Nwoye was now an outsider in the happenings within the party.

“We should not be responding to Nwoye’s tantrums. The allegation is directly wild and unfounded. He cannot know what is happening in the party.

“He said that Ugo Agballa is not a member of the party but Ugo Agballa has successfully conducted the primaries and is preparing for the general elections in 2023.

“The same man you said is not a member, is not the chairman, you are still throwing tantrums on him.

“As a former chairman, we are ready to welcome him warmly and he is free to contest anything he wants to, provided he has repented and is ready to submit himself to the rules of the party,” Ofoma said.

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