By Sebastine Chukwuebuka Okafor, Ph.D.
When Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2025, it was received with open arms and admiration by many across the country who were already in APC. The national leadership, through their body language, showed full joy as they had made a significant move into the South-East den of the PDP by capturing one of the best leaders in the region. Many saw this as a political coup, a rare opportunity to win over a critical part of the South-East, long considered a stronghold of the PDP.
It was not long before the party started its membership registration and revalidation exercise, which many thought would be a smooth process. The national leadership of APC planned for the exercise to start on December 1 and end by January 30, but Enugu began its own exercise on January 9.
During the flag-off ceremony of the exercise, which was held at Owo, the political ward of the governor, he stated that the party was targeting about 2 million members within the next three weeks. This target represented over 90 percent of the entire registered voters’ population in Enugu State, according to INEC’s 2023 data of 2,112,793. The number seemed ambitious but possible if the exercise was conducted with proper planning and engagement with local communities.
Immediately after the start of the exercise, which required the National Identity Number as well as the Voter Identification Number of each member, registrants began experiencing difficulties. What was expected to be smooth and simple started giving grassroots party leaders concern. Udi Local Government was initially at the top in registration numbers, but over time, other local governments began catching up. Leaders across Enugu worked hard to engage people, mobilizing resources to assist with the registration exercise. They used funds for radio announcements, public campaigns, and outreach programs to ensure people understood the process.
Some council chairmen were accused of forcing civil servants to join APC, while others were reported to be using fake empowerment programs to manipulate locals into registering. These accusations created tension in some areas, with members of the public questioning the integrity of the exercise. Despite these challenges, the effort to mobilize support continued.
What became clear was that Enugu did not initially like or accept APC. Even on radio programs, people accused Governor Mbah of backsliding from being the best-performing governor to one of the worst since joining APC. Those who voiced such opinions often admitted it was just rhetoric, yet the perception influenced many. To some, anything about APC seemed negative, while PDP remained the only party people could trust.
Questions arose across the state about the low turnout. The exercise did not involve complex requirements, yet many people did not participate. Governor Mbah’s local government, despite being his home area, was among the lowest in registration until just a few days before the initial deadline. The National Working Committee of APC later extended the registration exercise until February 8 to give more people time to join.
The reasons for low registration in Enugu were not far-fetched. Much of it was connected to those promoting APC. When APC started in 2013, it was demonized and labeled by PDP leaders as a party linked to Boko Haram. Former PDP leaders now advocating for APC had previously presented it as a northern Islamization agenda aimed at dominating the South and subjugating the Igbo people. In Enugu, they mocked Rochas Okorocha by calling him ‘Okoro Awusa’, a name meant to ridicule him. PDP leaders spent more resources demonizing APC than campaigning for their candidates and party.
This campaign of misinformation influenced many in Enugu to ignore the good works of President Buhari in the state. Even when Buhari commissioned the world-class Postgraduate Centre of Excellence at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, in 2019, many dismissed it as part of an Islamic agenda. Such perceptions created distrust in APC and slowed the pace of membership registration.
It became almost laughable that some political leaders who spent lots of resources to demarket APC are now accusing innocent council chairmen, who were either in school, learning a trade, or abroad then, of being lazy or not serious about the exercise. Others claimed the low performance of local leaders caused people not to join. These accusations ignored the real problem: the psychological and political barriers created by years of misinformation. This situation calls for a massive reorientation of the people to understand that APC’s policies and activities were not harmful but rather beneficial to the state, unlike as it was propagated.
Former PDP leaders now supporting APC have a critical role to play. They need to unite and use the extended period to educate the locals. Grassroots support is essential, as without it, political victories will not be easy to achieve as anticipated. It is very important for all to know that more effort is needed in rebuilding trust and convincing people that the party could work for them; until all these are done, even reaching half the target of 2 million members would be a herculean task, because manipulation or coercion alone cannot solve the problem.
What is happening in Enugu APC, Enugu State, teaches a clear lesson about politics in Nigeria, because people’s opinions are shaped not just by the actions of leaders but also by the narratives they are exposed to over time. In Enugu, years of PDP propaganda against APC created a climate of suspicion, and to overcome that, it requires strategic communication, patience, and consistent engagement.