Ahead of the June 20, 2026 senatorial bye-election in Enugu North Senatorial Zone of Enugu State, there are indications that the ruling All Progressives Congress might have a herculean road to the National Assembly.
NewsNGR reports that the seat became vacant following the death of erstwhile Senator Okey Ezea who was elected on the platform of the Labour Party. Ezea died last year after surgery and was buried in 2026.
The two frontline contenders are APC’S Mr Ikeje Asogwa, former Executive Secretary of Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board, and PDP’S Dr Nestor Ezeme, former head of the state Post-Primary School Management Board, PPSMB. Both of them served under former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and are believed to have lived up to expectations with their respective scorecards in the state own-primary and secondary schools.
Mr Asogwa, who also served as the director general of Governor Peter Mbah Campaign Organization during the 2023 general election, was ab initio seen as a favoured candidate because of his party, APC, and the support he enjoys from the state government. Before Asogwa’s ‘migration’ to APC from the PDP, the state was run by the PDP. Both Asogwa and Ezeme are therefore products of the PDP.
Odds Against APC’s Asogwa
Despite commanding a strong support base, one factor that is haunting Ikeje Asogwa is his alleged encounter with a certain Mr Onaga Ogbodo, a former Permanent Secretary in Enugu State. Mr Ogbodo was allegedly physically beaten by Mr Asogwa for no official reason. The failure of former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to publically address the situation has left whatever transpired as an albatross to Mr Asogwa. The slogan downing his rating has become “we won’t allow the man who slapped Perm Sec to represent us in Abuja”. Till date, Mr Ikeje Asogwa has not addressed the Perm Sec beating matter.
Ogige Market Demolition
When Gov Peter Mbah assumed office, he promised to modernise the transport sector of the state. This led to his building of four ultra-modern bus terminals with hundreds of CNG buses deployed to ease the transport burden of residents of the state as a result of the fuel subsidy removal.
The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Nsukka, Prof Igwebuike Onah, in a recent sermon, which has generated copious reactions, berated the scorecard of the APC government in the state. Onah made a particular reference to the demolition of Ogige Market. He also affirmed that the APC government has not done much for the people of the zone. He attributed his stance to the sycophancy of politicians of the senatorial zone who have failed to tell the government the truth in pursuit of their personal interest.
In his words, “Nsukka politicians have continued to deceive the government, claiming that everything is in order. People have been hurt. What do we have? The only thing we have is Ogige Market. How many more people will die before our politicians rise up and tell the government that it was wrong, and that nothing can repay the death of those that lost their lives? Something can be done to prevent more deaths, and to console the living: build another market and assign them freely to all those whose shops were destroyed without compensation. Nothing short of that is justice. I don’t belong to those telling the government that it is doing well in this regard.”
He also expressed sadness over a recent recruitment exercise at the University of Nigeria, located in Nsukka. “Does the University of Nigeria belong to Nsukka? I learnt that UNN is recruiting! How many Nsukka sons and daughters were employed? Our politicians are busy dancing around the ruling party. What has Nsukka achieved in this government?” Prof Onah said.
Uzo-Uwani Unfulfilled Promises
Uzo-Uwani LGA is among the LGAs that make up Enugu North Senatorial District. The LGA also contributed hugely towards the victory of Gov Peter Mbah during the 2023 guber election. But the natives feel they are not part of the state due to failed promises.
Simon Okechukwu, a former aide to Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, recalls that Gov Mbah had on 14th March, 2026, during a town-hall meeting in Enugu, promised to construct Uzo-Uwani’s Edem-Nrobo-Abbi-Nimbo road, Nkpologu-Uvuru-Ukpata-Adada-Umulokpa, and Eke-Ebe-Akpakpume-Nze-Akpugo-Ezedike-Nkpologu road, leading to the Adada Dam. Mbah also promised to build a university of agriculture in the LGA.
Okechukwu says all these have not been fulfilled. “The hopes are fading. There is no construction, no visible activity, no sign that the promise is being kept. This is no longer just about a university of agriculture but roads for accessibility to our farmlands. It is about credibility.”
Ikeje’s Stronghold
Gov Mbah’s Smart Schools and health facilities in all the 260 political wards in the state might provide a soft landing to Mr Asogwa’s victory come June 20. Reuben Onyishi, a senior aide to Gov Mbah on New Media, states that the Mbah administration has done well in the senatorial zone “to guarantee the victory of APC’s Ikeje Asogwa”.
Mr Asogwa is also from Igboeze South LGA where the late Senator Ezea hailed from. Many argue that for the sake of equity, his replacement should come from the same LGA.
Nestor Ezeme’s Pluses
Dr Ezeme, a lawyer, hitherto served as a local government administrator before becoming in charge of the state’s PPSM. He is seen as a credible alternative for many reasons. “I don’t know much about him,” says Chike Asogwa, a politician. “But he is untainted to my knowledge. I will vote for him. I have not read his odds.”
Ezeme also enjoys the support of former Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Uche Nnaji. Chief Nnaji, before his certificate forgery scandal that made him resign his position as a federal minister, built an organic structured APC in the state. During his travail, the mighty in the state APC left him when Gov Mbah joined the ruling party. Nnaji however joined the Peoples Democratic Party and is PDP’s guber candidate in the 2027 general elections. He also maintains that Enugu North Senatorial Zone, otherwise called Nsukka bloc, is his mainstay. He has been campaigning for Mr Ezeme, including during a recent rally at Mr Asogwa’s Iheaka community that was momentous.
The absence of strong contention from the Nigeria Democratic Congress and the African Democratic Congress is also a plus to Ezeme. “It is a battle between APC and others,” says Mr Samson Omeje, a politician. “Many people will vote for any other party aside APC. And that is the advantage that Ezeme will harvest if he does his homework work well. The APC lifestyle in the state is not favourable, and our people want an unusual change. What we are canvassing is free and fair polls. You will marvel at the outcome. All the opposition parties that will not field candidates during the by-elections will support Ezeme.”
Ezeme’s Odd
Dr Ezeme is from Udenu LGA.Those in favour of the emergence of the late Senator Ezea’s replacement from Igboeze South will definitely not support Ezeme.
Call For Nsukka Charter Of Interest
Mr Uchenna Nnadi, an accountant and development economist, has called on whoever emerges the senator after the polls to propagate an all-inclusive Charter of Interests for the senatorial zone.
Mr Nnadi told our correspondent that propagating and implementing an all-inclusive socio-economic Charter for the bloc does not depend on who is the Governor of Enugu State, but depends on the bloc organising itself and on who becomes the District’s Senator come 20th June, 2026.
According to him, “The fight to replace Senator Ezea is more about healing and mobilising the Nsukka bloc, and renegotiating our way for our development and industrialisation. Enugu North Senatorial District deserves a candidate that has the capacity to lead Nsukka bloc to the negotiation table with Enugu bloc and beyond.
“One way is to propagate an all-inclusive Charter of Interests that will reunite all subgroups within Nsukka bloc with a common identity in our diversity. This Charter of Interests will end in coherent and integrated development and industrialisation, plans, policies, programmes and strategies of achieving them.
“Nsukka bloc must invest in institutionalised data and research unit. This unit shall drive the organising of Nsukka bloc, evaluating and monitoring the representatives of the bloc vis a vis our Charter of Interests. Let our emotion and intelligence guide us as we continue this discourse and take steps in organising our bloc.”
