The battle for Governor Sullivan Chime’s job

 

Many factions have emerged ahead of the upcoming governorship election in Enugu in 2015. In this piece, Ozioma Ubabukoh traces  the emerging intrigues

Going by the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2015 general elections, the successor to Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State would emerge next February. Who will succeed Chime? Political pundits postulate that Enugu needs a worthy successor to take over from the current number one citizen of the state. Saturday PUNCH learnt that some people in the state believe that Enugu has never had it so good in terms of infrastructural development and security as being witnessed during Chime’s administration.

It is also argued that the prevalence of killings, hostilities, cultism and armed robbery which was rife in the state before Chime became the governor, has reduced considerably.

“In fact, there is no restriction on free movement of people in Enugu and the state has become the safest haven for holiday seekers,” said Mr. John Nwobodo, the Secretary of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties in Enugu State.

The Commissioner for Commerce and Industries, Dr. Jude Akubuilo, added that workers in the state are now being paid at least five days before the end of the month unlike before, when workers used to be owed salaries.

“Back in the days, civil servants were owed for two, three months and they worked under very unfriendly conditions,” stated Akubuilo. “But all that has now changed and Enugu is working for good.”  With the comments of Nwobodo and Akubuilo, one would not need a soothsayer to see that Chime’s successor should be one who would be ready to raise the bar and take the state to greater heights.

Several names have been thrown up from the three senatorial zones of the state but Chime has continued to insist that his successor should come from Enugu-North senatorial zone.

Not a few stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state share Chime’s views. From Awgu council chapter of the PDP in the state that recently endorsed him (Chime) for Senate come 2015, to various groups in Nsukka, the story has remained the same. Chime said, “It is already being discussed at the caucus level of the party in the state and we are working towards it. The issue of who becomes governor is in the hands of our people. There is an understanding that it will be zoned to Nsukka (Enugu-North senatorial zone). It is a PDP affair, all things being equal, our candidate will come from there, and whoever emerges the PDP candidate will be governor.”

Chime added that “the coast is now clear for the Enugu-North senatorial district to produce the next governor.”

However, if Chime’s zoning theory is to be taken seriously, then several contenders from Enugu-North senatorial zone should equally be taken seriously.

Hitherto, politicians of the zone known to be eyeing the governorship seat in the 2015 gubernatorial election include the current Chairman of the PDP in the state, Mr. Vita Abba; the outspoken Chairman, senate committee on Works, Senator Ayogu Eze; and a representative of Igboeze-North/Udenu federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Eugene Odo, is also not left out of the race. It is believed that he may have got the blessings of the state governor.

Other major contenders could include a leader of the party, Okey Ezea; a former deputy governor, Okechukwu Itanyi; and a stalwart of the party, Dr. Sam Onyishi. Sources disclosed that the political leaning of Eze may turn out to be his undoing because Chime is not favourably disposed to the emergence of any politician who has links with Ebeano political group – as governor. Eze belongs to Ebeano political group, which is a creation of the immediate past governor of the state, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani.

A source said, “Ebeano is the political house of the immediate past governor of Enugu State, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, and Chime is desperately working to ensure none of its members becomes next governor of Enugu nor returns to the National Assembly.” It will be recalled that Chime rode on the back of the Ebeano political group to become governor.

Our source revealed that the Speaker of the state House of Assembly and House of Representatives member are not so ambitious. It is generally believed that Odo might eventually get the PDP governorship ticket as his political life had been characterised by luck just as Ugwuanyi seems more concerned about returning to the House.

A political analyst in the state, Mr. Timothy Ugwu, told our correspondent that the establishment of Peace Health Centre at Umunkanka in Nsukka area of the state stands Onyishi out. “At a time when virtually all the communities are struggling to receive rural health care services, Onyishi came up with the Peace Health Centre in Umunkanka which almost everyone in Nsukka (Enugu North zone) is benefitting from.”

But the ambition of Onyishi is shrouded in controversy with the Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress saying in a statement that Onyishi has defected from the PDP to the APC. The APC Publicity Secretary in the South-East zone, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, corroborated this claim in a recent news statement to journalists.

Yet, Onyishi denied such, saying, “I am still in the Peoples Democratic Party. I have not left for anywhere.”

While the permutations ensue, it is important to note that the Nsukka political bloc has not produced the governor of the state since the return of democracy to the country in 1999. It comprises seven out of the 17 local government areas in Enugu State, which are Igbo-Etiti, Igboeze- North, Igboeze-South, Isi-Uzo, Nsukka, Udenu and Uzo-Uwani.

Nnamani, who ruled the state for eight years – from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2007 – hails from Enugu-East senatorial zone, and his chosen successor, Chime, who became the governor of the state May 29, 2007, hails from Enugu-West senatorial zone.

However, unfolding events in the state show that other PDP stalwarts from zones other than Enugu-North might be running in the 2015 governorship race. Notably, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who also hails from the same senatorial zone as Chime, is widely believed to be gearing up to contest the 2015 governorship seat in the state.

Could Ekweremadu be paying Nsukka people back in their own coin, as he had warned PDP politicians from Enugu-North against contesting the 2011 gubernatorial election with Governor Chime in order to brighten the chances of the zone in producing the governor in 2015?

And since they (Nsukka people) refused to heed his (Ekweremadu’s) warning in 2011, could it be that Ekweremadu would also not want to heed the call for the zone to exclusively produce the governor?

But with rumours of a rift between Ekweremadu and Chime becoming increasingly convincing, the latter will naturally not be favourably disposed to the former’s ambition.

Political observers who are of the opinion that Governor Chime would be averse to Ekweremadu’s 2015 governorship ambition base their opinion on two major incidents that happened sometime in April 2013.

First, Chime was absent at the formal ceremony Ekweremadu organised on April 1, 2013 to present a multi-million naira cathedral he built in his Mpu hometown, Aninri local council, for the All Saints Anglican Church. The governor merely went to the Akanu Ibiam International Airport to welcome President Goodluck Jonathan, who attended the event.

Secondly, in less than a fortnight after Senator Ekweremadu’s event, Chime’s son wedded in Enugu, but while every other National Assembly member from the state attended the event, Ekweremadu did not attend.

Despite his rumoured rift with Chime, the deputy president of the Senate remains a formidable political powerhouse, not only in Enugu State, but also in the country, as he is known to be President Goodluck Jonathan’s cheerleader in the South-East.

Ekweremadu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Luke Mgbo, however, said  that his boss might not run for the governorship seat afterwards. “To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing like that. Yet, it is only God that gives power,” said Mgbo.