Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has flagged off the membership registration of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state.

The exercise scheduled to take place across the 13 local government areas of the state was flagged off on Tuesday at an event held at the Ecumenical Centre in Abakaliki, the state capital.

Governor Umahi directed the commencement of the exercise in the presence of a former governor of the state, Martin Elechi, and other party stalwarts who attended the event.

READ ALSO: APC Will Miss Tony Momoh, Says Lawan

Delivering his keynote address, he appreciated leaders and members of the APC in Ebonyi state for their steadfastness towards the progress of the party in the state.

He stressed the need for party members in Ebonyi to support the efforts aimed at moving the APC forward and ensure the delivery of democracy dividends to the people.

In his remarks, the APC Chairman in Ebonyi, Stanley Emegha, called on members to turn out en masse for the registration exercise.

Other party leaders at the gathering also admonished party members to see the exercise as a call to duty in order to bring an all-round development in the state.

Umahi, who is in his second tenure, was elected into office as governor on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015 and 2019 respectively.

In November 2020, he defected to the APC on some reasons which included that the South East region has suffered injustice in the PDP.

While the main opposition party denied the accusation, the PDP alleged that the governor defected to actualise his ambition of contesting for president in the 2023 general elections.

In 2007, Umahi led the PDP in Ebonyi in acting capacity, and later served as the party chairman between 2009 to 2011.

Later that year, he emerged as the running mate to former Ebonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi, and became the deputy governor after they won the election.

While Elechi’s tenure neared conclusion, the former governor supported a former Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, to succeed him – a move which was rejected by Umahi.

Umahi, who accused Elechi of violating an understanding that he would succeed him, later faced Chukwu and others in the PDP primary.

He clinched the PDP’s governorship ticket while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the 2015 election after meeting the requirements to hold the position.