The Nkanu West APC campaign moved through Akpugo 1, 5 and 3, with stakeholders backing Governor Peter Mbah’s development agenda and John Ogbodo’s leadership ahead of the September 26 council election.
The political temperature rose across three electoral wards of Akpugo in Nkanu West Local Government Area as the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign for the September 26, 2026 local government election moved through Obinagu Uwani in Akpugo 1, Ndiagu and Ndiuno Uwani in Akpugo 5, and Ogono-Eji Ndiuno in Akpugo 3.
From the reception at Akpugo 1 to the stakeholder gathering that brought the day’s campaign to a close at Akpugo 3, the dominant themes were continuity, grassroots mobilisation and the development agenda associated with Governor Peter Mbah’s administration in Enugu State and the leadership of the Nkanu West Council Chairman, Hon. John Chukwuma Ogbodo.
At Obinagu Uwani, Akpugo 1 Electoral Ward, the campaign delegation was received by a mammoth crowd and different dance groups, setting an energetic tone for the day’s engagements. Beyond the spectacle of the reception, however, the political messages from community leaders centred on leadership experience, development and the choice before voters in the forthcoming council election.
Former two-time Executive Chairman of Nkanu West, Ekene Okenwa, Esq., provided one of the day’s most pointed assessments. Reflecting on the political history of the area and the emergence of Ogbodo as council chairman, Okenwa recalled that the chairman had previously served as Special Assistant to former Governor Sullivan Chime, Secretary to Nkanu West Local Government Council and Deputy Chairman of the council.
For Okenwa, that progression represents a leadership journey rooted in experience at different levels of public administration. He consequently expressed confidence that the people of Nkanu West would give Ogbodo and the other APC candidates strong electoral support on September 26.
His intervention also placed the campaign in a broader context: the contest, as presented by the former council chairman, was not simply about personalities but about the leadership experience and direction voters considered necessary for the local government.
The message found further reinforcement in the remarks of the Chairman of the Enugu State Association of Presidents-General of Town Unions, Arinze Ogbodo, who spoke favourably about both Governor Peter Mbah and the Nkanu West chairman. He commended the quality of projects being delivered across Nkanu West, linking the local development experience to the wider administration of Governor Mbah.
Arinze Ogbodo’s intervention underscored one of the recurring arguments of the campaign: that the development taking place at the state level under Mbah is being viewed by local stakeholders alongside what they see as project delivery within their communities. His support for Mbah and John Ogbodo therefore carried both a state and grassroots dimension.
The campaign subsequently moved to Ndiagu and Ndiuno Uwani in Akpugo 5 Electoral Ward, where community stakeholders spoke in unison in support of Governor Mbah and Chairman Ogbodo. The reception there reinforced the campaign’s central narrative as it moved from one Akpugo community to another, with the development record of the state administration and the council leadership remaining prominent in stakeholder engagements.
Speaking across the three wards, Ogbodo repeatedly acknowledged Governor Mbah’s development projects across Enugu State and explained that the Nkanu West administration draws inspiration from the Governor’s development-oriented approach. His position was that the council’s own project-delivery efforts are being shaped by an emphasis on practical development within the local government.
That linkage between the state and local-government levels became particularly pronounced at Ogono-Eji Ndiuno, Akpugo 3 Electoral Ward, where the campaign concluded for the day in the presence of prominent stakeholders from the ward.
Among those present were the Enugu State Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Dr Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo, Esq.; the Rector of the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, Prof. Gozie Ogbodo; and the Enugu State APC Women Leader, Mrs Esther Edeh, alongside other stakeholders from the ward.
Also among the dignitaries were the APC Nkanu West State House of Assembly candidate, Ifeanyi Nnamani; the incumbent member representing the constituency, Iloabuchi Aniagu; former Nkanu West chairmen Henry Okenwa and Sunday Nnamani; while Senator Kelvin Chukwu and Rt. Hon. Nnolim Nnaji were represented at the engagement.
Prof. Gozie Ogbodo focused on the significance of Governor Mbah’s development agenda and the place of continuity in sustaining that direction. His message, in substance, was that the people of Akpugo Ward 3 should assess the current development trajectory and support continuity in leadership where they believe it serves the community’s interests.
For Commissioner Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo, the local government election also provides an opportunity to connect Governor Mbah’s transformation agenda with leadership at the grassroots. He spoke of the relevance of the election within that wider development framework and expressed support for Ogbodo’s leadership and performance as chairman of Nkanu West.
Mrs Esther Edeh brought the perspective of grassroots mobilisation and women’s participation into the Akpugo 3 engagement. Her remarks centred on the role of women in political mobilisation and support for Governor Mbah, John Ogbodo and the APC candidates, adding a grassroots organisational dimension to the day’s political conversations.
The presence of these senior stakeholders at the Akpugo 3 stop gave the final leg of the campaign a distinctive political weight, while maintaining the same development-centred message heard earlier at Akpugo 1 and Akpugo 5. Their interventions collectively reinforced support for the Governor’s direction and for Ogbodo’s continued leadership at the local-government level.
Across the three wards, the campaign therefore unfolded around a common political proposition: that Governor Mbah’s development orientation at the state level and Ogbodo’s approach to project delivery at the council level should be viewed as complementary parts of a broader development effort. The receptions in Akpugo 1 and Akpugo 5, followed by the stakeholder-heavy engagement in Akpugo 3, gave that proposition a visible grassroots setting.
With the September 26 election drawing closer, the Akpugo campaign stops offered APC stakeholders an opportunity to make the case for continuity while taking their message directly into the communities. At the centre of that case was the partnership they sought to establish between Mbah’s state-level development agenda and Ogbodo’s leadership of Nkanu West — a theme that followed the campaign from its first reception at Obinagu Uwani to its closing engagement at Ogono-Eji Ndiuno.
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