APC DECLARES SENATOR OSITA NGWU, SENATOR KELVIN CHUKWU, AND CHIEF IKEJE ASOGWA WINNERS OF ENUGU STATE SENATORIAL PRIMARIES AHEAD OF 2027 GENERAL ELECTIONS
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State on Tuesday, May 20, 2026, officially declared Senator Osita Ngwu, Senator Kelvin Chukwu, and Chief Ikeje Asogwa as winners of the party’s senatorial primary elections, positioning all three as the APC’s candidates for the three senatorial districts in Enugu State ahead of the 2027 National Assembly polls.
The results of the primaries, conducted on Monday, May 19, 2026, across the state, were announced at the APC State Secretariat in Enugu by the Chairman of the APC National Assembly Primary Elections Committee for Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Solomon Funkekeme, in a ceremony attended by party faithful, delegates, and political stakeholders from across the state.
Funkekeme commended party members for the peaceful conduct of the exercise, describing the primaries as orderly across all three senatorial districts. He praised Governor Peter Mbah for providing what he described as an enabling environment for the conduct of the elections and also commended the APC Deputy National Chairman for the South for his support in ensuring the process went smoothly. Announcing the results one by one, Funkekeme declared Senator Osita Ngwu the winner of the Enugu West Senatorial District primary after polling 70,015 votes.
In Enugu East Senatorial District, Senator Kelvin Chukwu defeated his opponent, Nnaji Shalom Nwakaego, after securing 111,743 votes against Nwakaego’s 482 votes, a margin that reflects the overwhelming consolidation of support behind Chukwu in the zone. For the Enugu North Senatorial District primary, Chief Ikeje Asogwa emerged winner after polling 125,089 votes out of the 152,886 registered party members in the district. Other contestants in the Enugu North race included Dr. Ugo Ugwuanyi, who polled 736 votes, Chinazo Eze, who secured 782 votes, and Princess Edith Ugwuanyi, who obtained 876 votes.
The three winners bring varied but significant political backgrounds to their respective candidacies. Senator Osita Ngwu, who represents the Enugu West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in April 2026, making him one of the most senior legislators to cross to the ruling party in the South-East in recent months. Senator Kelvin Chukwu, who represents Enugu East, has been a visible figure in the state’s legislative architecture and has built strong grassroots ties across the Enugu East zone that spans the local government areas of Enugu North, Enugu South, Isi Uzo, Nkanu East and Nkanu West.
Chief Ikeje Asogwa, who previously served as Chairman of the Enugu State Housing Corporation and Chairman of the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), emerged from a more contested path, having faced public criticism from a group in Nsukka Zone ahead of the primary. That criticism came from a civic group known as Nsukka Di Oyi, which in April 2026 called for the immediate resignation of APC State Chairman Dr. Martin Chukwunweike after a video emerged showing him endorsing Asogwa for the Enugu North Senate seat ahead of the primary. The group, through its National Publicity Secretary Chief Ezeja Abugu, described Asogwa as a controversial figure, referencing an incident in 2017 in which he allegedly assaulted the then Permanent Secretary of ENSUBEB, Onaga Ogbodo.
The group also raised questions about the quality of 10 smart school projects contracted to Asogwa in Igboeze South Local Government Area, alleging structural defects in the work. Despite these objections, Asogwa proceeded to the primary and won decisively, polling 125,089 votes against a field of four other candidates whose combined total did not exceed 3,000 votes. Speaking on behalf of the successful candidates during the declaration ceremony on May 20, 2026, Senator Ngwu thanked party leaders and members for their confidence and commended Governor Mbah for his commitment to unity and stability within the APC in Enugu State. He stated that the party would campaign on the achievements of the Mbah administration ahead of 2027, adding that the APC enters the elections with pride and confidence.
APC State Chairman Dr. Martin Chukwunweike said the exercise marked the conclusion of the senatorial primary process, which began in the 260 wards across the state on Monday, May 19, 2026. He disclosed that the State House of Assembly primaries were scheduled for Wednesday, May 21, 2026, followed by the governorship primary on Thursday, May 22, and the presidential primary on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
The results of the Enugu State APC senatorial primaries represent a significant step in the consolidation of APC’s political architecture in the state ahead of the 2027 general elections. With all three senatorial candidates now confirmed, the party’s machinery in Enugu State moves firmly into campaign mode, leaning heavily on the infrastructure and economic legacy of the Mbah administration as its central electoral argument. For opposition parties, particularly the PDP and Labour Party, the scale of the APC’s vote margins in all three districts presents a formidable challenge that will require urgent strategic response if the 2027 contest is to remain genuinely competitive.
Obinwannem Igbo News | May 20, 2026
Written by Nwada Chidimma Ejikeme (Obinwannem News correspondent, Enugwu State)
Date: June 3, 2026
Ubochi: Orie Mmiri
Published by Mazi Ugwu Alexander Okechukwu (Director, Obinwannem Media)
