By CHARLES IWUOHA

A former Deputy Chairman of the Enugu State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adolphus Ude, has emerged Chairman of the party in the state.

Ude polled a total of 782 out of the 1,300 votes cast during the exercise by delegates from the 260 political wards in the state to defeat Dr. Charles Chukwu, who scored 202 votes, while Chief Benson Eze, who came a distant third got 142 votes.

The former Deputy Chairman, who is from Enugu West Senatorial District of the state, was elected during a peaceful state congress of the APC held on Saturday, at the party’s State Secretariat.

However, a former Commissioner for Works in the state, Chief Ugochukwu Agballa, also emerged in a parallel congress staged by former Senate President Ken Nnamani’s group.

Unlike Agballa, who was announced as Chairman without any executive committee member pronounced at the parallel congress, Ude was elected with the full members of the State Executive.

Chairman of the Enugu state Congress Committee, Mr. Jonathan Akaya, from the party’s National Secretariat who announced the result, said: “Comrade AC Ude is hereby declared winner of the Enugu APC state congress conducted today, having scored the highest number of votes cast during the election.”

In his speech the outgoing state Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party, Dr. Ben Nwoye, commended the congress delegates from all the three senatorial districts of the state for the peaceful manner they conducted themselves throughout the exercise.

He lambasted former Senate President Nnamani for championing a parralled congress in a private facility in Enugu, rather than coming to the State Party Secretariat as directed by the national leadership of APC in Abuja.

Speaking with newsmen shortly after he was declared winner, Ude, said@ “I really feel fulfilled today, and want to say to God be the glory, because it’s God that made it possible.

“I want to also commend in a special way the Dr. Ben Nwoye-led EXCO and the Enugu State Congress Committee, for conducting a free and fair election today.”

He promised to build on the feats recorded by the outgoing Chairman, Dr. Nwoye, whom he said “did marvelously well while piloting the affairs of the party in the state.”