Competition has sparked among wards and communities in Enugu State as residents seek to outdo one another in enrolment figures and grassroots mobilisation in the ongoing e-registration programme of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The exercise was formally flagged off at Ugbawka Wards 1 and 2 in Nkanu East Local Government Area, Amaechi Ward 1 in Enugu South LGA, and Awgu Ward 2 in Awgu LGA, where leaders, stakeholders, and residents turned the registration drive into a display of unity, confidence, and healthy rivalry.

On Tuesday, the State Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party, Ben Nwoye, announced that Udi Local Government Area had so far recorded the highest figures in the exercise. Although he did not disclose the numbers, he said the level of enthusiasm witnessed so far was encouraging.

Speaking at Community Secondary School, Amafor Ugbawka, the Chairman of Nkanu East LGA, Sydney Edeh, attributed the growing enthusiasm for the APC to what he described as “tangible dividends of governance under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Peter Mbah.”

Edeh, who also serves as Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), noted that federal roads were receiving renewed attention, the exchange rate had stabilised to the benefit of business owners, and perennial clashes involving herdsmen destroying farmlands in Ugbawka had become a thing of the past.

According to him, the direct flow of funds to local governments under the current administration has enabled councils to construct kilometres of roads and bridges. He added that incentives would be given to wards and agents that outperform others in the e-registration exercise, an announcement that further fuelled competition among participants.

“I don’t want to talk about the number of smart schools and new hospital projects built already in Ugbawka by Governor Mbah or the number of road projects,” he said.

At Awgu Ward 2, the Managing Director of Fontana Group of Companies, Francis Osita Nwobi, said mobilisation had been seamless because of the trust the people repose in their leaders.

He commended Governor Mbah’s performance in office and disclosed that community leaders and members of the diaspora had returned home to encourage mass registration.

Nwobi added that the ward had benefited from federal projects facilitated by its elected representatives, reinforcing the community’s resolve to support the APC-led government at all levels.

Echoing this sentiment, a party chieftain, Mr. Gilbert Onuoha, said the large turnout reflected the people’s belief in their leaders and confidence in Governor Mbah’s leadership.

The competitive spirit was also pronounced at Amaechi Ward 1 in Enugu South LGA, where a former Commissioner of the Capital Territory Development Authority, John Egbo, pledged that the ward would not only deliver the APC in the 2027 elections but would also emerge as the top-performing ward in the current registration drive.

A former APC House of Representatives candidate, Juliet Egbo, expressed joy over the influx of new members, describing the alignment of Enugu State with the APC as a strategic move for the future of the South-East.

The State Coordinator of the APC e-registration programme, Flavour Eze, reminded residents that the exercise was a mandate of the President and disclosed that Governor Mbah had promised rewards for wards with the highest registration figures.

He explained that planned empowerment programmes by the state and federal governments would be accessible only to registered party members, urging residents to come along with their National Identification Number (NIN) and voter’s card details.

Across the wards, chants, pledges and declarations underscored a common resolve: to out-register neighbouring communities and prove loyalty through numbers.