APC in Enugu state makes a u-turn says, ‘’We need ex-minister Nnaji, others ‘’

There were indications on Thursday that moves by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu
State to bring in some high profile Peoples Democratic Party members in the state into the APC has led to a sharp division in the party.
The party’s state Publicity Secretary, Mrs Kate Offor, had on Wednesday said the Enugu State Chapter of the APC would not admit defectors from the PDP.
But unfolding developments have revealed that Offor was only stating the position of some members of the party.
Others, including the chairman of the APC in Enugu State, Dr. Ben Nwoye, favour the ‘recruitment’ of the high profile “progressives” within the PDP in the state.
Nwoye informed journalists at a news conference in Enugu that he led a delegation of APC officials to meet a former Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, a PDP chieftain, from Enugu State.
APC officials have also met another PDP stalwart in the state, former governor of the old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo.
Nwoye insisted that the door of the party was open to any Nigerian, who wished to join the APC.
Offor had, while telling intending defectors to stay away, said PDP members, seeking to join the APC wanted to reap where they did not sow.
But, justifying the move to enlist high profile PDP members, Nwoye spoke of the need to build the capacity of the APC in Enugu State to enable the party to win elections in the state.
The party chairman added, “Enugu APC is open to any Nigerian, who shows the same progressive intent we have. They are free to join us and help to build the party – they are welcome.
“As the leader of the party in the state, I thought it wise to lead a delegation of the party to meet individuals that we think are progressives, that should be given the opportunity to help us grow.
“Yes, APC won at the national level but we did not even win a single seat in the state, whether there was rigging or not.”
The party has gone to the tribunal to challenge the result of the April 11 governorship election in the state, but Nwoye observed that in its current level, the APC in Enugu State could not win any election.
Further defending the move to bring Nnaji into the party, Nwoye pointed out that the former Power Minister was the governorship candidate of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party in Enugu State at a time Muhammadu Buhari, now President-elect, was the presidential candidate.
He said, “He (Nnaji) has always been a progressive and he is not the only progressive we have visited.
“The leadership of the party has not closed the door on Prof. Barth Nnaji or any other person; we need people to help us build the party in the state. As currently constituted, APC stands very little chance to take any seat if council elections are to be held today.
“So we have to build the party in the state and we have to open our doors to progressive Nigerians. There is a need for an alternative to the PDP in Enugu State.”
Asked what the APC delegation, which he led, discussed with Nnaji, during a visit to the former minister’s house on Sunday, Nwoye said, “We thanked him for his service to the nation, and reminded him that he is a progressive.”