By Tony Adibe
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Enugu State has called on the anti-fraud agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) to beam its searchlight on the activities of Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, the Enugu State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The PDP made the call through the spokesman of the party’s campaign organisation, Barr. Nana Ogbodo during a press briefing on Tuesday in Enugu.
NewsBits recalls that Agballah is in the eye of the storm due to a protest by some members of the Enugu APC at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja. The APC protesters openly accused Agballah alongside the APC Gubernatorial candidate in Enugu State, Chief Uche Nnaji (a.k.a Nwakaibeya) of embezzling N1.3Billion.
The leader of the protesters and chairman, Concerned Members of Enugu State APC, Adolphus Ude, who doubles as chairman, Mainstream Enugu APC and pioneer deputy chairman, APC, Enugu State, told newsmen that they were at the secretariat to vent their anger over the matter and asked the party’s national leadership to intervene before the situation would be too late.
However, Agballah had in a quick response, blamed the protest on the PDP, alleging that PDP in Enugu State was sponsoring crisis within the APC. Agballah also accused the PDP of orchestrating blackmail and scandalous propaganda against his person. He denied embezzling any kobo belonging to the party.
Agballah, while answering questions during a TVC program Monday night, said that the APC Governorship candidate in the state, Nnaji is the one sponsoring the whole campaign. But during a press briefing, the PDP Campaign DG, Chief Ogbodo lampooned Agballah for dragging the ruling party into the APC internal affairs.
The DG said: “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, except to say that they have further exposed to the world that they have no good intentions for Enugu State.
“Besides, the APC has never been a factor in elections in Enugu State, let alone now that all the key stakeholders of the APC in Enugu have abandoned the party to Ugochukwu Agballah and his godfathers.
“If the APC was in the ICU before his controversial emergence as the State Chairman, the party has now been effectively embalmed and consigned to the mortuary by the totalitarian, greedy, and corrupt leadership of Agballah and his two godfathers.
“However, we have, as usual been dragged into a purely APC affair by the loquacious Ugchukwu Agballah, who has claimed that the protesters were sponsored by the PDP. Of course, Agballah’s penchant for looking for scapegoats rather than face his demons is legendary.”
Recalling that the crisis hitting the Enugu State APC is protracted and predates the current electioneering season, Ogbodo insisted that some of the issues raised by the APC protesters are self-evident.
Throwing more light on the issue at stake, Chief Ogbodo further said: “For instance, we know as a fact that while George Ogara is paraded as the deputy governorship candidate and while his portrait adorns APC campaign posters and billboards, the name of Robert Ngwu is effectively in INEC records and website as the actual deputy governorship candidate of APC Enugu State. Is that not 419? Is that not fraudulent and obtaining by false pretences?
“Needless to waste our time on an attention-seeking rabble rouser, who has turned himself to a clergy without congregation.”
The DG advised Agballah to quickly “go home and settle with his aggrieved party members and restitute to them whatever he has taken from them. This is not a fight between the PDP and the APC; it is squarely a fight between angry and deprived APC members and a greedy and conceited party leadership.
“In any case, if anybody deserves to be sued over this matter, it is Ugochukwu 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.
“We call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to step in to investigate the weighty allegations boldly made by well-known APC party leaders against the duo of Chief Ugo Agballah and Chief Uche Nnaji.”
