Supporters of Peter Mbah, governor of Enugu, on Wednesday blocked a parallel All Progressives Congress (APC) south-east zonal congress holding in the state, allegedly backed by Hope Uzodimma, governor of Imo.
The supporters, majorly youths, stormed the venue of the congress and declared support for Mbah while calling for the halt of any parallel gathering of the party in the south-east.
A video circulating on social media showed the youths singing the popular “On your mandate” song associated with President Bola Tinubu while expressing support for Mbah.
They also cordoned off the venue after forcing their way into the premises by destroying a sliding door.
Uzodimma had earlier pulled out of the main congress arrangement and reportedly organised a separate gathering elsewhere in Enugu while other south-east governors held their own congress at a different location.
A source told TheCable that Uzodimma had previously controlled the APC structure in the zone when Enugu did not have a governor from the party.
“Uzodimma brought the APC deputy national chairman, south, and zonal woman leader because at the time, Enugu didn’t have an APC governor,” the source said.
“Anything zoned to Enugu then, he controls from Imo. Now Enugu has an APC governor, but he still wants to control everything.”
Another source said Uzodimma should focus on his own state rather than attempting to influence party positions across the south-east.
“I support Peter Mbah. Hope should concentrate on Imo state. We now have an APC governor in Enugu,” the source said.
“There is an NWC position zoned to Imo; nobody is dragging that with him. But he wants to dictate who gets the positions in Abia, Enugu, and Anambra.
“I know he is preparing for his future aspirations to have his loyalists in place, but things don’t work like that.”
Later, another video circulated on social media showing the governors, including Uzodimma, entering the congress venue after what appeared to be a resolution of the dispute.
The zonal congress is being held simultaneously across the geopolitical zones ahead of the APC national convention scheduled for March 27 and March 28.
