Ahead of 2027, Hon. Sunday Umeha, a sitting member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the Labour Party, has defected to the All Progressives Congress.

Umeha, representing Udi/Ezeagu Enugu federal constituency, announced his defection to APC during a mini-rally at Ibagwa-Aka, in Igboeze South local government area on Saturday.

At the event, a business mogul and financier of the Labour Party in Igboeze South local government area, Chief Joshua Ogbonna, popularly called “Father Father” led more than 1000 members of LP, including the local government structures of the party, into the APC.

Speaking on why he attended the APC rally, which was outside his own constituency of Udi/Ezeagu, Umeha said it was in solidarity with his friend, Chief Ogbonna, disclosing that another rally that would officially usher him into APC would still come up in matter of days in his local government area, Ezeagu.

The lawmaker, however, announced that he had already resigned from the Labour Party and registered with APC at his Ward, even as he cited the intractable division within the ranks of his former party at the national and state levels as one of the reasons for his dumping the party for APC.

Umeha, the acclaimed first APC member to occupy elective position in the state since its inception in 2014, said his decision to join the ruling party was also, “because of the need to connect to the centre and bring our people closer because there are a lot of advantages in plugging to the center.”

He said that the APC has served the interest of Igbos better than the PDP at the federal level, citing the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway, 2nd Nigeria Bridge, and some of the landmark projects the current ruling party has executed in Igbo land.

The Leader of APC in Enugu state and Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, represented by his governorship running mate during the 2023 general elections, Mr George Ogara, said he was elated by the influx of credible and grassroots persons into the APC in the state.

“It’s indeed time for us to come together to retrieve power from those who have been using it to oppress the people. What is happening here today, the sheer number of defectors has not happened elsewhere in the state before.

“I urge all of us to remain steadfast because all of us shall be the beneficiaries when victory is achieved,” he said

Speaking while receiving the defectors, the Enugu State Chairman of APC, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, said the party was getting primed to take over Enugu’s seat of power, the Lion Building, from the People’s Democratic Party in 2027.

Agballah stated that PDP’s dominance of governance of the state for 26 years has only brought tears, anguish and sorrow to the people with high taxation, land grabbing, and demolitions of people’s means of livelihood for the purpose of building motor parks, which ordinarily should be the responsibility of local governments.

He thanked a chieftain of the party from Nsukka local government area, Peter Okonkwo, for donating Enugu North Senatorial Zonal Campaign Office to the party and facilitating the collapse of LP structure in Igboeze South LGA.

“Peter Okonkwo is equipped for the redemption of Enugu state, and we will not shy away from that task,” he said.

Agballah noted that the defection was unprecedented in the history of decampment in Enugu state since the 2023 general elections, where an entire LGA and ward executive members led by the LP local government Chairmanship candidate in the last LGA election are all declaring for APC.

“It is a total collapse of structure… today I hand over to you the symbol of our party, our flag; I hand you the broom, which is an insignia of our party and with this broom we are going to sweep in good governance in Enugu state, with this broom we are going to sweep away the reactionary forces that have held our people hostage for 26 years. With this broom, we are going to bring back democracy in Enugu state.

“I want to say it here, and I want to say it loud and clear to all doubting Thomases, that APC Enugu state is poised to take over the government of Enugu come 2027.”

In his remarks on behalf of other defectors from Ibagwa-Aka local government area, Chief Joshua Ogbonna recounted efforts made by opponents to stop them from defecting to APC, including seizing the buses they hired to convey the people to the venue, which made them resort to using commercial motorcyclists.

“We are more than 1000 who defected to APC today. I’m telling you that work begins today in Igboeze South local government area; it will be ward to ward movement. I’m assuring you that Igboeze South will not come last,” he posited.