ENUGU EAST is reputable in the politics of Enugu State because of the heavyweights it parades – former governors Jim Nwobodo and Chimaroke Nnamani, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani and incumbent deputy Governor, Sunday Onyebuchi, among others.
The area is again in the news because of two aspirants to the position of senator for 2015 - the incumbent Senator, Gilbert Nnaji and the Chief of Staff to Enugu Government House, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo.
The popularity Mrs. Nwobodo has acquired working with Governor Sullivan Chime over the years, her wealth and influence among other factors, have placed her close to power. She is reputed to be instrumental to most political appointments and elective positions in the zone. This, apart from being close to the governor is said to be her greatest strength.
Apparently, to swell support for Nwobodo’s quest to take over from Nnaji, officials of government now use every forum organised in the state to extol her virtues in government as well as propagate her as the hope of the future.
These officials like a people under oath to ensure that the 2015 project is well executed allow speeches at public fora to be interrupted by persons making renditions composed in praise of her.
In the unfolding battle, Madam Nwobodo has also acquired a new sobriquet, “Ifeoma di n’iru 2015,” meaning better things ahead of 2015,
which is displayed in banners at public functions.
At the commissioning of Ndiagu/Obuoffia health centre, Nkanu West recently, a partnership project of the community and the Community Social Development Projects (CSDP) of the state, though her contribution towards the project was minuscle, issues about her dominated the event. There were banners and posters displayed copiously at the scene to celebrate her and her aspiration in 2015.
Eric Oluedo, the commissioner for Rural Development, who commissioned the project on behalf of the state government, noted that Madam Nwobodo deserved the praises, describing her as a woman of enormous strength and unwavering focus.
Although Nwobodo was not at the event, Oluedo told the gathering how he stood up one day to receive her at a function and was rebuked by certain persons at the event; a development he agreed was alien in their culture. He however insisted that he had to do so because, “she has the character of a man, very hardworking and is always pushing us to produce results. That is why; you don’t notice a lacuna in the administration of the state anytime the governor is not around.”
He added; “she deserves a thank you package from Enugu east senatorial zone, for her selfless services to the growth and development of the
state. The better way to express this is to continue to support her aspiration in politics.”
He said apart from providing leadership, Madam had continued to empower the people of the senatorial zone, even more than her representatives in other levels of government, making her very visible.
Based on Madam’s pedigree, she remains the number one among the ‘first eleven’ being packaged by Chime for elective positions in 2015; this has also aided her continuous occupation of the office of chief of staff since the inception of the administration.
A source stated that with these accomplishments and many more, madam
had always been seen as the political leader of the senatorial zone, despite the presence of a senator and deputy governor of the state. Her crowd of supporters is always ready to prove this to anyone. That is why all manner of schemes have been employed to dim the influence and acceptability of Nnaji by the people of the area.
The source hinted that this same feeling that Madam must remain on top caused the public disgrace suffered by Nnaji and his constituents on November 14, 2012, when supporters of Nwobodo thwarted the public hearing at Agbani, Nkanu West headquarters of the senatorial zone,
where the senator had gathered his constituents to enable them make inputs into the proposed constitutional amendment.
It was a shocker for the people who had gathered as policemen drawn from Agbani and led by the Divisional Police Officer for Nkanu West, Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, Sampson Ihuabuenyi, stormed the venue
and chased them away.
Despite his protest that he communicated with relevant stakeholders, including outgoing council chairman, Ekene Okenwa, Nnaji was pointedly told that he could not organise the exercise at the council headquarter based “on orders from above.” Thus, the zone remains the only one in the state and perhaps in the country where the National Assembly exercise did not hold.
That is not all; the struggle had gone to an extent where serving officials of government are made to stay away from functions organised by the senator. These include even his younger brother, who is the chairman of Enugu East local government.
Those seriously campaigning for Madam are flying the kit that in the history of the senatorial zone, no one has represented the zone more than once at the senate and Nnaji should not break the tradition.
But this school of thought has been fouled by supporters of Nnaji, who blamed the situation on political crisis and non-performance of the
occupants of the position then.
Indeed, since 1999, when the area started having representation at the National Assembly after it was carved out of Enugu senatorial zone,
former governor, chief Jim Nwobodo, who became the first senator to be produced there, served only one term.
Nwobodo had emerged through a by-election after the winner of the poll, Uche Nnaji, who won election on the banner of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) failed to show up at the swearing in. He had written to the Senate President to indicate that he was withdrawing for Nwobodo, thus making room for the by-election, which Nwobodo won under the AD.
Four years after, the fight that erupted between Nwobodo and then governor, Chimaroke Nnamani affected his (Nwobodo) chances of
returning to the Senate. In his place, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani was elected under the PDP.
Ken was also engrossed in a battle with Chimaroke. The subsequent election therefore ensured his removal and the enthronement of
Chimaroke to the Senate in 2007.
Chimaroke did one term and his fight with his political godson, Sullivan Chime was enough to pull the rug off his feet for Nnaji to take over in 2011. Before his emergence, Nnaji had served two terms at the House of Representatives, where he rose to become the caucus leader of the South-East. Presently doing his first term at the Senate, he is the senate committee chairman on Communications.
The latest propaganda against him is that in the build up to the 2011 general election, he had actually reached an understanding with Madam
to do a single term and to quit the position afterwards.
But like a hurricane, Nnaji appears undaunted and ready to battle the state machinery that is behind the campaign against him in the 2015 battle. Investigations show he has remained focused and popular with the people, by the amount of constituency projects he had attracted so far.
He has educational scholarship programmes, road projects as well as ICT projects in the senatorial district. His performance is said to have exceeded those before him.
Responding to the allegation that he actually had an understanding to vacate after this ongoing term, Nnaji said such sentiments were being shared to put him in the bad light. He said that he would honourably withdraw from the race to represent the zone if there is proof of the alleged agreement he reached to vacate the seat for Nwobodo.
He also denied sponsoring negative publications in the media against any official of the Enugu State government, stressing that he does not engage in bitter political battles.
Nnaji said: “Is Chief of Staff the people of Enugu east senatorial district? How can I reach agreement with only one person? It is not one person that can give mandate for the position of Enugu East senatorial zone; it is the people of the senatorial zone. If anybody said I reached any agreement with her, let the person provide it and if it is true I will just withdraw honourably.”
He insisted that the power to appoint leaders rests squarely in the hands of God and not on any individual, stressing that he had done well enough to be re-elected for the position by his people.
“These things will be sorted out in the field of politics. You don’t sit at a place to wait for manna to fall for you. It is not about who you are, but what you can do. The people of Enugu East will certainly decide; not one person,” he said. He also denied any misunderstanding with Chime over his politics in the state.
“That allegation is baseless; there is no atom of truth in it. There is no love lost between the governor and I. After all, I came back for my educational fund on Thursday (last week). I went to the governor to invite him and stayed with him for over three hours, discussing and he promised that he was going to send his commissioner for education and the commissioner was actually at the event. So it is just ordinary politics, people are trying to join heads together,” he said.
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