APC’s Triumph in Enugu North Senatorial Election and the End of Debate

By Prince Ejeh Josh

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Last weekend’s landslide victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the keenly contested Enugu North Senatorial District election, which produced Ikeje Asogwa as the duly elected senator, has put a permanent end—an indisputable seal—to the debate as to whether the ruling party, APC, maintains dominance in structure, character, operation, and strength in Enugu State. The debate, which had raged almost unabatedly, fuelled by orchestrated propaganda from a few social media provocateurs sponsored by the opposition, is now over.

The political spin carefully constructed by disinformation peddlers about the alleged obscure or unpopular decision taken by Governor Peter Mbah to join the progressive party was, on June 20, rubbished and consigned to the dustbin. The results from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) show that the people overwhelmingly queued behind the APC, which secured an intimidating and impressive 90.32 per cent of the total votes cast and 88.19 per cent of the total accredited voters.

But wait a minute! Were the events that preceded the by-election not dramatically scripted on social media with AI-generated images and dummy results produced by the opposition to cast an imaginary shadow in the minds of the electorate that the election would end the ruling party’s reign in Nigeria? We saw the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) put up a braggadocious show on social media.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) talked tough, swaggered, and strutted in narcissism, piling up charts, false mathematical formulas, and flawed predictions with numbers that were factually and electorally impossible. In fact, with the ADC coming a distant fourth on the result sheet, polling a paltry 1,676 votes out of 184,094 accredited voters, the embarrassing outing shows rejection and signals the beginning of the end for a recent coalition of strange bedfellows that was literally born out of desperation for power.

And the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC)? The party, right from its formation, has operated in a modern-day Machiavellian style, wrapped in populist rhetoric; yet beneath the banner lies a carefully curated vault that fuels the plush and wasteful spending of its founders. The party’s outing shows it is popular only among social media warriors but treated with disdain by the electorate.

The people of Enugu State, and by extension, Nigerians, can longer be deceived. That herd mentality that defined the 2023 elections had soon become an illusion for those that voted without asking questions. That’s why the NDC polled an insignificant 3,129 votes – a sign that the party has collapsed prematurely. That massive rejection taunts the noises of the party which predominantly has its shelter on the social media.
Indeed, the outcome of Saturday’s poll was more than a bold statement from the people; it was an established acceptance of the party and Governor Peter Mbah’s leadership in the state. Political observers who keenly monitored the election, described as free, fair, peaceful, and democratic, are already statistically projecting the likely outcomes of the 2027 general elections in the state. In a zone once considered “hostile territory” for the ruling party by opposition elements, the inability of traducers to prove otherwise and make nonsense of such projections should send chills down the spines of parties jostling against the APC in 2027.

In simple terms, Saturday showed that elections are not won on the pages of newspapers and social media platforms. Experienced political actors understand and appreciate the importance of grassroots mobilization, innovation in an ever-dynamic political environment, and the need for a ruling party to permeate the hearts of the electorate through meaningful development initiatives.

Governor Mbah understands that fundamental principle of “campaign with your projects” rather than making excuses for failures in governance. In Mbah’s timeless words during the grand finale of the APC rally in Igboeze South, he sent an unambiguous message to the people that resonated deeply with the mammoth crowd.

According to him: “Go out that day and vote for the APC. But before then, you must move from door to door, house to house, village to village, and proclaim the good news that our party has brought. Then, on election day, go out, vote en masse, and thumbprint for the APC. And if anybody asks you why you’re voting for the APC, then tell them about the 43.7km ongoing dualisation of the Penoks-Abakpa-Nike-Ugwogo-Opi-Nsukka Road; tell them about the 102 Smart Green Schools in your zone where students learn artificial intelligence, robotics, innovation, coding, and programming; tell them about the 102 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres; tell them that the Ohebedim Aluminum Company in Igbo-Etiti will soon be commissioned; tell them about the multiple roads that we have flagged off and are currently ongoing; tell them about the first Nsukka indigene appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria after over 60 years; tell them that your children now enjoy our fully air-conditioned CNG buses; tell them…”

The scorecard appears endless. That is why more than 90 per cent of voters proudly queued behind the party. They voted for roads, free education, subsidized agricultural inputs, standard healthcare facilities, improved security, renewed faith in the ongoing industrialization and the APC-led infrastructural development in the state. That singular electoral victory could rightly be described as a renewal of the trust, love, support, and pact the people have with the governor. It is a clear message that Mbah’s movement from the PDP to the APC was not a mistake. The people of the state moved with him. They marched behind him, telling him: “Where you go, we will go. Where you head, we will head with you.”
The decision to move with the governor was fundamentally rooted in trust in the leadership he has demonstrated over the past three years: leadership of projects, leadership of security, leadership of infrastructure, and leadership in capacity building and human capital development.

Even though the debate about the APC’s dominance in Enugu State is over, and even though the scale of victory has lent credence to the likelihood of a repeat performance—albeit with a higher percentage—it is important to situate the fact that Enugu has become the new home of the APC. The party must therefore push further to achieve the milestone of securing 100 per cent victory in both the presidential and governorship elections in 2027.