The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • Anambra 2014: ACN, PDP, APGA begin mobilisation

    Anambra 2014: ACN, PDP, APGA begin mobilisation

    The next governmorship election is expected to hold in February 2014 in Anambra State. Correspondent NWANOSIKE ONU writes on the preparation for the exercise by the political parties.

    olitical parties are on the track in Anambra State. Eyes are on the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Which one among the big three will produce Governor Peter Obi’s successor?

    Obi assumed the reins seven years ago. His party is formidable. But the ACN and PDP cannot be ignored in the state. They both have senators in the National Assembly.

    The parties have begun underground activities aimed at outsmarting one another.

    However, the major problem with them is that they are deeply enmeshed in intra-party crises. The only exception is the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Other smalleer parties, including Labour Party (LP), are also assailed by leadership tussles.

    The fallout is that their members have been defecting to the ANPP and ACN.

    For ACN, negotiating the bends towards the election has been smooth, beginning from the wards to the council level. Before, only former Chris Ngige, who now represents Anambra Central District in the senate, was the only prominent figure in the party. There is mass migration to the opposition party. Sources said that former Central Bank Governor Charles Soludo is fraternising with ACN. The source added that his romance with the party was responsible for his current ordeal in the hands of the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC.

    Anambra State ACN leader Senator Ngige has not formally said anything about his governorship ambition. However, In December, last year, he gathered the ACN faithful at his campaign office inAwka and showered them with gifts, including cars and bags of rice. Besides, he launched a scholarship scheme with 100 million naira to carter for the less privileged and widows in his senatorial zone.

    Ngige also gave N10m to the state secretariat of the party. He promised party members that, by March 2013, the second phase of the empowerment programme will hold in the state.

    A source said Ngige may surprise many people in the state with his delay tactics. He cited the senatorial race involving him and former Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili. Nobody expected him to appear in the race.

    ACN chairman Chief Amechi Obidike declared that his party will produce the next governor.

    He warned other political parties to stop blackmailing ACN and face the reality. He said the crisis-ridden parties are not fit to rule the state because they have failed to put their house in order.

    One of the ACN lawmakers from Idemili South Constituency, Ebele Obi, said ACN will transform the state, if voted into power.

  • ‘Centenary celebration will foster unity’

    ‘Centenary celebration will foster unity’

    Secretary to the Federal Government Senator Ayim Pius Ayim spoke with reporters in Lagos on the proposed centenary celebrations. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.

    You said the federal government will not fund the centenary celebration. Is that possible?

    The centenary project will be private-sector driven. Foe example, the Abuja Centenary City Project, which will be a commercial, technological and tourist centre, will occupy 1,000 hectares of land. N15 billion US dollar investment is being attracted. The project may take a longer time and we are carrying the private sector along. This project will boost employment. It will be accomplish through land swamp arrangement. We will not be in partnership with them. We will only tell them the direction we are going. They are not taking the land free, but according to the existing arrangements. So, we have no business with ICRC. All the meetings and consultations we have been holding are not funded by the government. It is like when you enter Monaco. The city will have a chartered status. It is not going to be an estate. It will be built with security consciousness.

    How do you convince ordinary Nigerians that the celebration will not be another jamboree?

    The celebration is not for the federal government alone. States are expected to participate in it by coming up with their own programmes for the celebration in their states. Individuals and corporate bodies will have suggestions to make. What we are proposing is not final. The programme is still evolving. But government will not fund it.

    Is the National Assembly convinced about the project?

    We told the National Assembly that there will be no public funding. What David Mark said was that, if there will be no public funding, the question and answer session will not be needed. It is only in this part of the world that we think that nothing is possible without getting money from government. When government says it is bringing money, everybody will say it will be an abandoned project. So, left or right, the problem is the government. David Mark only said, if there will be no money coming from the government for it, there would be no need for me to brief them. Then, I asked, ‘is it only when there is money that I have to come to the National Assembly?’. Many people were waiting for how much would the government put into it. When we were mooting the idea, the President said government cannot by any means come into it. It took us four months to come up with the idea that the private sector will fund it. The private sector will take the projects item by item. We are presenting our logo, we are presenting our theme, we are presenting the song, we are presenting our banner. Take one item, advertise on it and pay money. This is how to raise the money we are looking for. So, the National Assembly was surprised that government was not paying. Nigeria will gain from the celebrations economically, socially, culturally and politically and even beyond that.

    Will the opposition parties not think that the celebration is meant to promote the image of the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan, ahead of the 2015 elections?

    One thing I will recommend is this. Take time to study the document. There is no political activity there. It is only in Nigeria that selfish interest is promoted at the expense of the progress of the country. When it comes to issues like this, people think it is meant for another thing. In other places, they think about deepening democracy. That is why people don’t usually contest election results in the developed world. That was why Al Gore allowed George Bush to go. Even with the little margin, Obama’s opponent congratulated him. It is time to know those who are patriotically wishing this country well and those who believe that, if not them, there will be no Nigeria. I ran in any election before. I won my first senatorial election at 37. I came back the second time and became a senator at the age of 38. I left at the age of 42. I didn’t think about what I will be tomorrow. I did not have the idea of what next, other than the fact that I am a farmer and my father has a large farmland. We must join hand to promote the cause of the country about personal interest. We should elevate the corporate interest of the country over and above narrow, personal interest. The President is humble with power and he has the interest of the country at heart.

    Looking at the concept document, Lagos and Calabar, which are former federal capitals, are not specially mentioned. Is that not an omission?

    The document is not final. We have said that states will have their activities which we will incorporate with. Individuals and groups may even have their programmes. It is an evolving thing.

     

  • Tribute to home boy at 47

    Tribute to home boy at 47

    For Henry Seriake Dickson, the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and reality of tomorrow. Many years ago, Dickson suffered from bad governance and lamented, in particular, the underdevelopment of Bayelsans and the Ijaw nation as a whole. The cop – turned lawyer dreamt about how to develop his people, if he got the opportunity to lead.

    The Almighty God and the good people of Bayelsa State gave him the mandate to give hope to his people and translate his dream to reality, with his overwhelming election as the fourth executive governor of the oil-rich Bayelsa State on February 11, 2011.

    Lke the former leader of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kwan Yew, who turned around the fortunes of his country by leap-frogging Singapore from third world to first world, Dickson hit the ground running, laying a solid foundation for the rapid development of Bayelsa State. It will be recalled that Dickson inherited a hugely indebted state running into over N66 billion,with a bloated monthly wage bill of over N6billion, in spite of the over N650 billion collected as federal allocation by his predecessor. Staff audit conducted by government showed that the bulk of the money went to ghost workers and ghost institutions and the governor has since brought sanity to public service by stopping the fraud and prosecuting the culprits.

    While taking his oath of office on February 14 last year, Dickson, popularly known as Countryman because of his manifest connect with the grassroots and Ijaw cause, proclaimed free and compulsory education in the state. He promised to drastically trim the cost of governance, deliver developmental deliverables to the people and change the governance culture in the state through the enthronement of purposeful leadership that is anchored on justice, fairness, transparency and accountability.

    Barely one year into his administration, he has walked the talk so much so that ordinary Bayelsans now call him the ‘‘talk na do governor.’’ The Dickson’s administration has already constructed 41 roads, built 18 buildings which include schools and a multi-million naira world class diagnostic centre as well as a door court house which are to be commissioned on February 14, as his government turns a year. There are other ongoing projects in the state such as the Deep Sea Port in Agger, Yenagoa Airport, the three senatorial roads and to mention but a few. The governor has promised to complete the Tower hotel, Yenagoa and any viable projects inherited from past administrations. And above all, there is peace, security and social justice in the once restive state. Thanks to the huge investments in security and the financial autonomy granted the state judiciary by the Dickson’s administration.

    The governor showed leadership by starting his reform with his office. His predecessor used about N1.685 billion monthly to run government house, Yenagoa otherwise known as Creek Haven. The countryman showed clearly that he is a leader of conviction and not convenience when he denied himself the luxury of living like a king kong. He cut it to about N657,460,000 million, thereby saving over N1 billion for the hugely indebted state.

    He has turned a hitherto pariah Bayelsa to a tourism and investment haven. The question those who may not have keenly followed his government may ask is, how did he achieve this feat? First, Governor Dickson invested heavily in security, outlawed kidnapping, secret cultism and all forms of criminalities hitherto used by politicians especially incumbents to oppress their opponents and drive away contractors from sites. The governor also enacted the Compulsory Savings Law, Transparency and Accountability Law which made it mandatory for him to be prudent and accountable to the people. And with the savings regime, the state is fully prepared for the rainy day. This also implies that it will neither be indebted to businessmen nor be broke and investors are assured of great returns for their investments.

    Indeed these measures coupled with the governor’s integrity and track record of service, helped to restore investors’ confidence in the state and that was the magic wand that made them to scramble for investment opportunities in Bayelsa.

    As Governor Dickson marks his 47th birthday on Monday, January 28, he exudes six cardinal qualities which make him stand tall in the comity of governors: Integrity uncommon courage, vision, conviction, service to mankind and fear of God. Indeed, it takes a man with fear of God and audacity to sacrifice his comfort by cutting Creek Haven allocation, banned cultism and made it punishable by 10 years imprisonment without option of fine.

    Similarly, it takes a man of conviction to honour late General Sani Abacha for creating Bayelsa State. Like the wordsmith of our time, Chief Dan Agbese posited in his column, the award came at a period in Nigerian history when identifying with the late general was like committing political hara-kiri. But Governor Dickson reputed for working according to his conscience immortalised the late General by naming an estate in the state capital after him and conferred Ijaw name on his first son, Mohammed.

    It takes a man with these qualities to declare a functional free and compulsory education in Bayelsa State. Before Dickson came to judgement in Creek Haven, no governor dared to implement free and compulsory education. The thinking especially during the immediate past administration was that if education was free, there may not be enough money for the power elites to share.

    Today, the entire education sector has changed. Government provides the following items free to pupils and students: textbooks, uniforms, sandals, bags, and writing materials. Government is also responsible for the payment of WAEC, NECO, and JAMB forms fees for students. Already 400 primary schools with 400 headmaster/ principal/staff quarters are under construction across the state.

    Similarly, Dickson has spent about N2 billion, the first of its kind, on the education of indigent post graduate students of Ijaw nationality who are covered by the Bayelsa State Scholarship Scheme.

    Born on the 28th January, 1966 in the rustic riverine Toru- Orua in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Nanaye Dickson of Orua, a descendant of the famous King Kpadia Royal House of Tarakiri Kingdom, Dickson is also a descendant of the renowned Obu warrior family of Orua whose trademark is valour, bravery and honour

    Dickson attended Kolobiriowei Primary School, Toru-Orua from 1972 to 1978 where he got his First School Leaving Certificate and proceeded to Government Secondary School, Toru-Ebeni between 1978 to 1983 and obtained his West African School Certification (WASC/GCE).

    Dickson joined the Nigeria Police Force in 1986 to raise money to further his education, because his parents could no longer cater for his schooling. He gained admission in 1988 at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt to study Law from where he graduated with LL.B (HONS.) in 1992. He then proceeded in 1993, to earn his Bachelors of Law (B.l.hons) from the Nigeria Law School, Lagos and was called to the Nigeria Bar the same year.

    He was Cadet Assistant Superintended of Police in 1994 but withdrew his service to start legal practice in Port Harcourt where he worked with Serena David Dokubo & Co. He was an associate solicitor from 1994 to 1995 and moved to Aluko & Oyebode, a prominent Law firm in Lagos in a similar position.

    In 1998 when the bigwigs in Bayelsa were either in PDP or APP (now ANPP), Dickson chose to pitch tent with the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and was elected its chairman between 1998 to 2000 and led the party to winning all the elections in Bayelsa West Senatorial District. Indeed Bayelsa State was the only state the party recorded such victory outside the core Yoruba-speaking area.

  • Echoes of Wamakko’s big stick

    Echoes of Wamakko’s big stick

    Since the Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wamakko, shut some private schools in the state, saying they failed short of the educational, religious and cultural standards his government approved, tongues have been wagging, as some commentators and opponents even allege political and religious vindictiveness on the part of the governor.

    Ripples learnt that some affected proprietors and redeployed educational officers and teachers are considering forming a strong body that will help them tackle what most of them described as ‘unfair treatment.’

    But feelers from the Government House in Sokoto suggests that Wamakko is not perturbed by the interpretations some opponents are trying to give his actions. In a statement signed by one of his aides, Abubakar Dangusau, Wamakko said during the week, “All the private schools recently closed down by the ministry of education for operating below standards will remain closed. They will remain closed until when they are willing to operate duly and in line with the religion and cultures of the people of the state.”

  • BOT:Jonathan moves to edge out Obasanjo’s men

    BOT:Jonathan moves to edge out Obasanjo’s men

    The procedure for the election of the new chairman of Peoples Democratic Party’s Board of Trustee (BoT) has been further complicated by fresh intrigues, reports Dare Odufowokan

     

    The inability of President Goodluck Jonathan to get his preferred candidate elected as the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last Wednesday may have rekindled the rivalry with his erstwhile godfather, former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    Sources claim a major decision to edge out some members of the BoT suspected to be loyalists of the former president, may have been taken by the President and his allies to pave way for the emergence of their anointed candidate as the BoT boss at the next meeting of the board scheduled early next month.

    The party had on Wednesday constituted a committee to streamline the membership of the BoT, ahead of the planned election of a new chairman for the board.

    The Nation, however, learnt that the decision to re-examine the membership of the board with a view to streamlining it may be in line with a plot to reduce the numerical strength of those not favourably disposed to suspected moves by the President to take over all the arms of the ruling party ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    Sources said the belief in the Presidency and among pro-Jonathan caucuses within the party is that members loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and General Ibrahim Babangida led the pack of those likely to oppose any move by Jonathan to foist his choice on the BoT.

    “Given the argument and counter-arguments that ensued at the botched BoT meeting last week, there is no hiding where their loyalties lie for the members. Contrary to the claim that the meeting did not get close to electing a chairman, what actually happened was that an attempt to get other aspirants to endorse the candidature of a particular aspirant was rebuffed by a good number of those present.”

    In fact, the leading candidate believed by the Presidency to be an ally of the former President, was schemed out of the race after he refused to step down. The current secretary, who is from the same geo-political zone as the said aspirant was endorsed to continue in office thereby forestalling the ambition of the candidate.

    But further attempt to railroad the President’s man into the position met stiff resistance from some quarters at the meeting. This forced the hand of the party elders to adjourn the meeting. But this was not until they have identified those opposed to the President’s choice,” a party source, who was at the meeting, said.

    And following the wrangling among members over the criteria to be adopted for determining who will vote and the procedure that should be adopted for voting, sources said the President’s men saw an opportunity to reach for the jugular of the opposition ahead of the next BoT meeting.

    “One of the major reasons for the failure of members of BoT of PDP to produce a new chairman on Tuesday was the disagreement over the criteria to be adopted for determining who will vote and the procedure that should be adopted for voting. Some members openly accused others of not being eligible to vote at the meeting.

    Others were described as not being fit for BoT membership in the first place. This generated a lot of controversy at the meeting and provided an opportunity for Jonathan and his men to tinker with the membership of the board with a view to edging out some members perceived to be disloyal to their cause,” our source added.

    The Nation gathered that members likely to be affected by the move include Senator Girigiri Lawan, Nze Fidelis Uhukwu, Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, Don Etiebet and Yekeen Adeojo.

    Others are Sylvester Odogu, Bello Mohammed, Chris Uba, Tajudeen Oladipupo, Mogaji Abubakar, Harry Akande and Ebitu Ukiwe, to mention just a few.

    Our checks revealed that given the modality for the membership of the BoT, three categories of members will be affected by the exercise. The first category has to do with the 18 elected members, comprising of three members from each zone of the country. The second category is made up of two female members from each of the six geo-political zones.

    There is the category for foundation members and any member of the party that the BoT deemed fit to appoint as members of the Board, subject to ratification by the party’s National Convention.

    “These are the people Gana’s committee will be looking forward to edging out. Already, there are talks about the zone being asked to re-elect representatives into the BoT. This will affect categories one and two while the party leadership may tinker with those in the third category to suit the President.

    But Nigeria’s Ambassador to Canada, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, has said the committee is not out to witch-hunt aspirants or members of the board but rather, it was set up to streamline membership of the board in preparation for the election of a new chairman.

    Maduekwe said the mandate of the committee was to properly align membership of the board in such a way that the election of the next BoT chairman would be a model of internal democracy.

    “All distinguished statesmen that have indicated interest to contest are eminently qualified. We are not discussing names but just procedure. When you are in a party like PDP that has been in power since 1999 without any serious opposition, you have to reinvent yourself to remain in contention.

    The constitution is clear on those who are permanent members, because once you have held positions both in government and the party, it makes you a permanent member. The election takes place once every five years,” he said.

     

  • Much ado over Kalu’s return to PDP

    Much ado over Kalu’s return to PDP

    The return of former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has generated a lot of heat in the politics of the state. In this report, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, traces the genesis of the controversy and reveals a deepening power game in the state

     

     

    In Abia State today, the political theatre seems wired with live electric cables. Hooked to a towering pole of unending controversy with the naked wires left unattended to, there is fear that except something is done fast, the long suppressed political fire in the state may soon be lighted.

    The controversy

    Since the former governor of the state, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, announced his return to the Peoples Democratic Party, last week, red hot tension has gripped the political atmosphere. This is because the news has sparked off  verbal exchanges, as Abia State Government and the state chapter of the party have officially rejected the alleged return.

    Kalu, whose return to the party has remained an issue for years, had explained that he concluded his return process on January 16, 2013, when he was issued a membership card, bearing number 9787945 in his Igbere Ward.

    Before observers could react to the development, the state chairman of the party, Chief Emma Nwaka, came out and rejected Kalu’s claims, insisting that the former governor had not been readmitted into the PDP in the state.

    Nwaka also alleged that the card issued to  Kalu was  fake, since, according to him, “Igbere cards bear numbers which begin in the series of 95…, not 97…” He added that the entire executive of the party’s Ward A and B in Igbere, who allegedly issued the card to Kalu, had resigned on January 10.

    This pronouncement was followed by published statements from some leaders of PDP in Igbere, Kalu’s home community, Item, Alayi and other neighbouring towns in Bende Local Government Area, in which they stated that the elders of the party and leaders in the local government area had not changed their earlier position on Kalu, asserting that he has, therefore, not been readmitted into the party.

    But Kalu was not impressed or moved by all these. He said his return conformed to the constitution of the party, adding, “ I am back to PDP and there is no going back. I said that I will not come back to the party if Chief Obasanjo is the BOT chairman. Now he is out, I am back and other founding members of the party are coming back. We founded the party in 1998. And all the founding members have met and decided to come back and take over the party, and there is nothing holding us back.”

    On the claim that he got the said membership card from executive members who had left office, Kalu asked: “ How can the whole executive of two wards resign? What was the reason they gave for resigning. They are deceiving the people and that deceit must stop. You cannot dissolve the ward executives and say they resigned. Emma Nwaka should take time. He is not the owner of PDP. We have come back to take over our party.”

    But the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Theodore Orji, Mr. Ugochukwu Emezuo, speaking for his boss told The Nation in a telephone chat during the week that the former governor, Kalu, can’t come back to PDP.

    Asked to state the position of the state government over the controversy surrounding Kalu’s return to PDP and why the governor, the state government and state leadership of PDP are against his return, Emezuo said: “The fact remains that Kalu is not a member of PDP and he can’t return to the party. You will recall that the last time he tried to return to the party, even before Governor Theodore Orji’s return to the party, he (Kalu) was rejected by the elders of PDP. He has again been rejected because everybody knows him well enough to see that he would not add value to the fortunes of the party. Instead, he will, in his usual style, continue to cause distractions. That is not what PDP and Abians need today.”

    Emezuo added that “the elders of PDP in Abia, led by Governor Orji, openly demonstrated their stand when they went to Abuja, two weeks ago, and explained to the national leadership of PDP that Kalu is not a member of PDP in Abia State and that he would not be readmitted because all he wants to do is to cause confusion in the state and in the nation at large. This is a man who still runs his PPA, alleging that he has returned to PDP.

    “As the state chairman of PDP has said already,  Kalu’s name is not in the party register. He is not a member of the ruling party here and nobody is impressed by the fact that he is now brandishing a fake PDP membership card. He cannot return to the party through the back door. That is not acceptable to PDP leadership and elders in the state,” he said.

    But Prince Emeka Obasi, Kalu’s media adviser, told The Nation in a telephone chat that Kalu’s return went through the due process. “So, after that process, a few selfish individuals cannot nullify the process. No!”

    According to Obasi, Kalu was required to go through his ward, and this is what he did. Obasi, therefore, said, ‘Can’t you see that somebody is trying to be smart?  PDP is the people’s party, as the name indicates, and not an organisation  for a few rich but misguided elements, who call themselves leaders.”

    As he puts it, “the real people, the masses in Abia State, are not complaining. In fact, the people are happy and have been celebrating the return of their leader. It is only a few misguided elements that are erecting roadblocks here and there to defend their selfish interests. It is disheartening because these elements were not there in 1998 when Dr. Kalu and other patriots founded PDP. It is, therefore, difficult to understand why these people are so desperate today to pursue a man from a house he built. They will not succeed because the former governor has returned home. The lion has returned home and there is nothing they can do to stop him,” he said.

    Reminded that the state chairman of the party has openly faulted the alleged return to the party and has described the membership card given to Kalu as fake, and that leaders of the wards in Igbere and neighbouring towns, like Item and Alayi in Bende Local Government Area, in a paid newspaper advertorial during the week corroborated the state chairman’s position, Obasi said, “They are playing politics the Nigerian way. The way desperate politicians operate in this country, anybody could have signed those advertorials. Don’t forget that the ward executive members who perfected Dr. Kalu’s return and issued him his membership card have been living under threat since then. In fact, as we speak, they have been hiding and could not sleep in their homes. So, we know what is happening. Even if those people actually signed that advertorial, we know that in their heart of hearts, they do not believe what they were made to sign. They have been pressured to say what they said and sign what they signed,” he said.

    Asked who was issuing the alleged threat and piling up the said pressure on the ward executives,  Obasi said, “They know themselves but the point really is that the former governor is back to his party and the people currently troubled by the return cannot stop him.”

     

    Kalu’s return and politics of Abia PDP

    Given the current disposition of Governor Theodore Orji- led Abia State Government, which is outrightly against Kalu’s return to the PDP, there is the fear that if Kalu’s return is finally approved by the national leadership, the party would ultimately be factionalised in the state between Orji’s loyalists and Kalu’s and the opposition parties may take advantage of the development to win future elections in the state.

    This calculation is anchored on the belief that Kalu, who said his return was informed by an agreement he had with other founding fathers of the party, enjoys the support of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led National leadership of PDP and some other very powerful  members of the party outside the state, who contend that his return will boost the fortunes of the party not only in the state but also in the South-East zone, ahead 2015.

    A source close to the Umuahia Government House, however, told The Nation that Kalu’s alleged return to PDP is a ploy to destroy the party in the state. “Abia State Government is not oblivious of the plot to use the ludicrous return to PDP as a tool to destroy the party here. We know the game and that is why we cannot allow them to succeed,” the source, who pleaded anonymity, said, adding, “the game plan is to split the party.’

    Reacting, however, Obasi said Kalu and his supporters do not believe his return will lead to the alleged split. “There will be no split in Abia PDP as a result of Dr. Kalu’s return. Instead, his return will only help to strengthen the party and take it to a higher level. This development will help the party because all the sycophants, who have been unable to guide the leadership in the state, will no longer thrive when the real leader is back,” he said.

     

    The larger picture

    As the exchange of verbal arsenal between the opposing camps in Abia State continues, insiders have explained that the problem may not be easily resolved because of what some of them described as the “larger picture,” or the “2015 power game.” A source close to the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja told The Nation that the “national leadership had hoped that the return of founding members like Kalu will help the party ahead 2015 instead of creating divisions. So, the leaders consider this development as unfortunate and in my personal opinion, I think there would be need to carefully study the situation before coming out with a position.”

    Another source, an aide to a leader of PDP, said, most of the leaders of the party in Abuja are worried ‘since they know that Orji can no longer contest in 2015. They would prefer full reconciliation than the current scenario. But the situation is dicey and everybody is being careful because the real issue is 2015 and nobody wants to misread the power game,” he said.

    Explaining the dilemma of the national leadership of the party, the source said, “For PDP, it seems equally risky to antagonise either Kalu or Orji ahead 2015. That is why Abuja must tread with caution,” he said.

    For now, the naked live wires that litter the bare floor of Abia State’s political theatre remains visible. So, both the field actors and behind-the-scene directors and stakeholders in PDP, besides verbal attacks, are still treading with caution. But as the game lingers on, the opposition groups are watching with keen interest.

     

  • Amosun’s flyover message

    Amosun’s flyover message

    As he celebrates his 55th birthday on Friday, January 25, 2013, Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has siezed the opportunity to deliver a special message, which some of his admirers described as a political masterstroke.

    The message did not come in he form of a well-composed long speech. No, it came through the opening of the N1.5billion flyover bridge in Abeokuta, which has been identified as the first flyover bridge in the state. Already, praise singers have added the new names to his list of names.

    Eye witnesses at the inauguration, however, said, the event was more or less a political gathering, that has given testimony of Amosun’s wide network. Check out the list of the high and mighty in attendance. It was not just a birthday or bridge inauguration. It was a new message that needs to be decoded.

  • Politics in 2013 (2)

    Politics in 2013 (2)

    IT is not all about Anambra State. There is also the preparation for 2014 in Ekiti and Osun States. Already, the stage is set in Ekiti where Dr. Kayode Fayemi recently dissolved his executive council, thus signaling the countdown to governorship poll next year. There are suggestions that no less than 19 aspirants are warming up in the Peoples Democratic Party, the main opposition party.

    Whereas the principle is clear in the presidential system that, where the incumbent is interested and running, no one may seek to displace him as the candidate of his party, there are suggestions that a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele cannot afford to wait till 2018 to seek the Action Congress of Nigeria’s governorship ticket. His body language tends to lend credence to the speculation.

    In the PDP, some of the prominent names in the race include former Governor Ayodele Fayose, caretaker governor Segun Oni, Senators Gbenga Aluko, Ayo Arise and Sola Akinyede, as well as former Deputy Governor Abiodun Olujinmi and Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (retired). Each of the aspirants is pulling strings from the centre.

    There is no doubt that the Fayemi administration has out-performed all preceding governments and this may work for him. But the PDP is not giving up, hoping to ambush the governor by instigating civil and public servants.

    This is a strategy that has been potent in other states, but, Fayemi being a master strategist, knows what to do to calm nerves and enlist support before the election that may be held mid next year.

    The reconstitution of the Ekiti cabinet is a major issue and could come in handy in settling some political power brokers. Budget 2013 has also been prepared in a way to consolidate on the gains of the previous two years. All things appear to be working in favour of the ACN administration.

    The situation in neighbouring Osun is not much different. The position of Governor Rauf Aregbesola as the ACN candidate is unassailable. As is the case in Ekiti, Aregbesola holds all the levers of power in the state. He is a one-man think tank who understands the politics of Osun inside out and has his men holding strategic executive and legislative position all through the state. For a man who fought a grim battle to emerge as the ultimate leader of the state, his deft moves since he assumed office in 2010 have marked him out as a man to watch keenly.

    However, the PDP cannot be easily dismissed, especially as it holds and wields power at the centre. The disgraceful exit of former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola makes the party a wounded lion. The PDP is determined to find a foothold in the Southwest and would do everything to snatch Osun where Aregbesola is considered the closest associate and lieutenant of Leader Bola Tinubu. Victory in the state would be so sweet that PDP would be willing to forgo its bid for others in the zone.

    In both Ekiti and Osun, the first hurdle for the PDP to scale this year is ride the storm in the party. Omisore is about the oldest aspirant having started his campaign well ahead of the others. Would Akinbade and Olasunkanmi agree to step down for the former chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation? Would Omisore drop his ambition in view of the strident opposition to his bid in view of the many questions he has to answer on his political involvement so far? Would the governor of Ondo State get involved in the fray?

    These are issues to dominate politicking in the Southwest in 2013.

    At the national level, the Senate has promised to get amendment of the 1999 constitution behind it by June. Last time, an attempt to free the Houses of Assembly from the apron strings of the executive was shot down by the state legislators. Would it sail through this time? More controversial now is the attempt to alter the structure of the federal structure by making the local councils a third tier of government. A federation is classically defined as one that shares power between the centre and the federating units, in this case states. The governors have sworn to kill the move, while federal legislators want the constitution amended to grant financial and legal autonomy to the councils. It is a robust contention.

    It is good that the interests are clashing now, when the general elections are still more than two years away. It is expected that the dust would have settled before heavy politicking starts.

    Is the ruling PDP set for implosion as many analysts have predicted? This may depend more on what the leading opposition figures make of the bid to create a formidable alternative. If the merger talks succeed, it would make the 2015 general elections more interesting. The electorate would be in position to decide for or against the ruling party. In 2011, many voters either boycotted the polls or grudgingly voted Jonathan and his party because there was no viable alternative.

    Both General Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu have promised to seal the deal by June. This would leave enough room for voter education. It remains to be seen if this dream could come true. It should not be expected that the PDP would sleep off while the poll is being hatched.

    Overall, 2013 promises to be very interesting.

  • Tribute to Ebino Topsy at 70

    Tribute to Ebino Topsy at 70

    Chief Ebenezer Babatope, any day stands out in a crowd. Avuncular by disposition, Ebino Topsy as he is fondly called by close friends and associates is cerebral while his oratorical prowess commands instant attention. He is open-hearted, always warm, down to earth and ever focused. For me, the story of progressive politics in Nigeria can never be properly narrated without a fair reference to the roles played by this very ebullient and egregious politician, both in the past and in the present dispensation.

    Who would not remember the vibrant days of Babatope in the politics of Nigeria’s Second Republic?  He was the chief spokesperson for Africa’s best organised political party, the Unity Party of Nigeria. With the power of pen and shrilling voice as the UPN’s curator, Babatope, brazed by the spirit of the progressives, was a main torment for the then ruling defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). In those days, Babatope crowed like a cock, bleated like a sheep and often times roared like a lion against perceived misdemeanours of the ruling party.

    Babatope was simply a huge toast in the camp of the progressives in the Second Republic. His reputation soared beyond the coast of the South-West where he operated, whirled through the South-East, the home of late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Middle Belt where Chief Solomon Lar was contending, the cultural city of Kano where Mallam Aminu Kano held sway and then the Borno Empire which produced the only Nigerian politician who played politics without bitterness, Alhaji Ibrahim Waziri. He spoke in political terms and officially too for the great men who laid the basis for growth of democracy in Nigeria. Babatope! Oh what a man, what a speaker, what a politician, what a bundle of wit. To say that Babatope thought Nigerians the art of speaking for political parties is like stating the obvious. He laid the standard for office of National Publicity Secretary of parties as we come to know today. His own voyage into politics and the manner of his rise is a good study on how a politician should be baked

    Babatope did not join politics because he wanted to raise a fortune. He was a worker and a philosopher at the University of Lagos, so immersed in the propagation of progressive ideals rooted in the Carl Max doctrines before he got located. He was a columnist too. Unknown to him, the Tsar of Progressive Politics in Nigeria, Papa Chief Obafemi Awolowo secretly held him in high esteem. That was when Awo was pioneering a political group known as Committee of Friends, preparatory to the lifting of ban on politics in 1978 by then military government. Awo’s political team was complete long before full stream politics took off to establish the Second Republic in 1979. He specifically sent for Babatope to join the team which eventually metamorphosed into the great UPN. It was a party that gave Nigeria a robust visage on what politics should be.

    Babatope has helped Nigeria in many ways. At a critical point in the post Second Republic Nigeria, he was part of the strong men who engaged in the brinksmanship that steered the ship of state from hitting the rock. He helped the military government of General Sani Abacha to obviate the political crisis which pushed Nigeria to the edge of a clifhanger. He is a leader of leaders in his home state, Osun and an elder statesman in his country, Nigeria. A man like Babatope, so genuine and highly spirited in the struggle for Nigeria’s survival, deserves 70 applauses as he celebrates his 70th birthday. This is because he remains in the class of Nigeria’s last of the titans, given the experiences he carries as a politician and a leader

    I have had a long standing close relationship with the celebrant whom I call Egbon. His candour and quick wits endeared him to me. He is unassuming and full of surprises for anyone so close to him. I enjoyed part of his attitude to make surprises a year ago, specifically on 6 January, 2012, the day I committed my mum to mother earth at Alade Idanre.

    The week of burial was very turbulent for me as I made preparations for visitors to my home town. It was a week Nigerian’s went to war with their government in protest against the plan to remove subsidy on petroleum products. There was no fuel anywhere, just as chaos in the land looked stout enough to rubbish all arrangements we had made for the burial. I was demoralised and helpless. But then, people like Babatope surprised me with their morale lifting presence. I could not hold my shock when he suddenly turned up in company with one of my uncles, Chief Akanni Aluko.

    Today, I am paying homage to this great man who loves his country and the people so dearly. It is the reason I found this tribute on Babatope very compelling. My close relationship with Egbon Ebino is spanning four decades now.

    • Olamiti wrote in from Lagos

     

     

     

     

    His younger brother, Segun Babatope, has always been my buddy. We hit it together as a bosom friend with the former Governor of Ekiti State Segun Oni in the early 70s. During our days of friendship one thing led to the other and I grew to know Egbon Ebino. Segun and I were always toying with familiar pranks as bachelors. Then, Egbon Ebino though responsibly rascally used to warn and remind us that our fathers were servants of God. Today, Segun and I owe the Almighty God much gratitude for making us to accept Jesus Christ just after we got married in 1980.  I joined the Tribune stable as a reporter and got the rare opportunity to become Papa Obafemi favourite reporter covering his political activities and that made me to get closer to Egbon Ebino.

    As the functional Director of Publicity and Propaganda for the UPN, Egbon became so dear to Papa Awolowo because he found in Papa Awo, a dependable and adorable leader. To say the least, he became one of Papa Awo’s adopted children.

    Awo loved Babatope so much that he picked his tuition fees for law degree programme in the United Kingdom. For that reason, Egbon Ebino would for ever remain a dye hard disciple of Awo dynasty. If you are looking for a pure undiluted Awoist, you don’t need to look elsewhere, he is Egbon Ebino. He sleeps, dreams Awo! He drinks,eats thinking of Awo. He has kept the faith and his numerous writings have been educating the young ones who are itching to read informative materials of the sage Awo.

    Egbon Ebino is an elder with full milk of human kindness. He is always willingly to offer  assistance to anyone that comes  his way. But nature is powerful and so Babatope will not remain the vibrant youth he has always be. He is now 70! Now, what can I now say on a day like this that Egbon is 70 than to say I thank God for knowing you. I am grateful for your brotherly support to me during my moment of ups and downs in the Tribune. Your words of wisdom and encouragement saw me through my 32 years sojourn at Imalefalafia.

     

  • Enugu without Chime: Intrigues without end

    Enugu without Chime: Intrigues without end

    The accumulated leave taken by the  Governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime,  for about five months now ought to raise a crucial constitutional issue of how long  public officers could be away from their duty post, but the motives and antecedents of the members of the Save Enugu Group (SEG) who are calling for Chime’s impeachment raise serious doubts about their credibility and the genuineness of their motives, Olukayode Thomas, who was in Enugu, reports

    JOY and misery abound in equal measure on the 15th of December 2012 when news filtered in first from the social media and later other sources that the Governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime, has gone to the realm where all roads ultimately lead in far away India.

    For a majority of Enugu indigenes who believed that the state did not start reaping the dividends of democracy until Mr. Chime became governor in 2007, it was day that their hopes of a better tomorrow turned into despair.

    While the period between 1999 and 2007 was regarded by many of the state indigenes as years of the locust, in Chime’s five years, they have seen some development,  especially in the provision of infrastructure and security.

    But for his opponents, who felt betrayed that Chime refused to follow the script laid down by their godfather, who chose Chime above other ‘more qualified candidates’ to become the state chief executive officer, the news of Chime’s death was a vindication of their earlier statement that the governor had long died and that a cabal that is ruling since he left the state since September 19, 2012, had been deceiving the public.

    But within hours, the two sides soon traded places, as the news of Chime’s death filtered out as it filtered in, it was just a rumour. The State Commissioner for Information, Chucks Ugwuoke, then described the  rumour as coming  from the pit of hell.

    But while a majority of Enugu indigenes, including Chime’s political opponents, believe he may be alive, they doubt claims that he is healthy, and that he is just enjoying his accumulated leave.

    Majority of Enugu residents interviewed last week by The Nation are not only wishing Chime speedy recovery, they are also praying that he returns to Enugu immediately and continue his ‘good deeds.’

    For members of the opposition or other Enugu indigenes, especially members of the Save Enugu Group (SEG), Governor Chime is seriously sick, incapable of ruling again, therefore the Deputy Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, should be sworn in immediately as the new state governor.

    Even when photos of a fit-looking Governor Chime with Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Gabriel Suswam (Benue) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) in London, was released last week, SEG, the main protagonists in the ‘’Chime must surface or be impeached’’ campaign declared the photos to be fake. SEG Convener, Maxi Okwu (Ikenecheoha II), President Citizen Popular Party (CPP) and National Chairman Conference of Nigeria Political Party (CNPP) said: “The Enugu State Government (ENSG) came up with that photo trick to meet our deadline.”

     

    BETWEEN SEG AND THE SPEAKER

    Apart from  Chief Okwu, other prominent members of the SEG include Igbonekwu Ogazimora, a former Commissioner of Information in the last dispensation , Chief Willy Ezugwu, National Secretary of CNPP, Mr. Ibuchukwu Ezike, a prominent indigene of the state, Mr. Victor Eneh, another prominent indigene and Mr. Ray Nnaji, a Commissioner under Nnamani and Chime. They had demanded that Acting Governor Onyebuchi must constitute a delegation of prominent leaders of Enugu to visit Chime. They suggested Bishop Callistus Onaga, Catholic Bishop of Enugu, Revd Hyde Onuaguluchi, Prof Bath Nnaji, Igwe Paul Egbogu, Chief Mrs Grace Obayi, Chief Nduka Eya, Secretary General Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo and Dr Louis Anya Chukwuma.

    But the Speaker, State House of Assembly, Eugene Odo, dismissed the demand of the SEG. Odo posited that the House of Assembly could not invoke the Doctrine of Necessity because the governor followed due process before embarking on his accumulated leave.

    Odo believed that SEG members may not really know what the Doctrine of Necessity is all about. He insisted that the circumstance of Chime’s absence is completely different from that of late President Umoru Yar’Adua’s circumstances.

    He stated: “And under the 1999 Constitution, section 190, whenever a governor is travelling and he intends to stay for more than 21 days, he should transmit a letter to the House of Assembly, in which case the deputy governor becomes the acting governor, which Chime had done.”

    Odo revealed further that Section 189 of the constitution clearly states that if the governor is sick,  only  the State Executive Council is empowered to generate a resolution to the House of Assembly, the Speaker can then nominate five medical practitioners, including the governor’s personal doctor, who will examine and report on his condition. According to Odo, none of the people nominated by the SEG is qualified according to the constitution.

    Investigation revealed that insinuations that the acting governor’s approval is only N500, 000, may not be true, ditto for allegations that workers are being owed salaries since Chime travelled and that all ongoing projects have been abandoned. The truth is, Enugu workers are paid as at when due. Salaries alone gulp about N800 million monthly, so if the deputy governor’s approval limit is only half a million naira, salaries would definitely not be paid.

    Also, multi- million naira worth of projects are going on in various sites across the state. The state budget for 2013 was presented to the State House of Assembly last month. So all these give the impression that all is well.

     

    IS CHIME A VICTIM OF EBEANO POLITICS?

    If Chime followed due process before embarking on his accumulated leave, if he has not breached the constitution and the acting governor is in charge of the state, why has the state been in the news for the wrong reasons since Chime travelled in September?

    Political observers in Enugu who spoke on the condition of anonymity claimed that most members of the SEG either have personal problems with Chime because of the volatile nature of Enugu politics or they are members of the Chimaroke Nnamani Ebeano group who felt it is now time to get back at Chime, the ‘traitor’.

    Investigation in Enugu revealed that Chime and Okwu were once best of friends and their fathers were both ministers in the First Republic.

    The duo fell apart when Chime reneged on an earlier promise to host the chairmen of all political parties in Enugu. Okwu, the chairmen of CNPP  had made elaborate preparation and invited all the chairmen to Enugu, only for Chime to renege on his promise at the last minute. Since then, things have fallen apart between the two friends.

    Ogazimora and Nnaji, both prominent members of SEG, were Chime’s colleagues as commissioners under Chimaroke Nnamani, Nnaji was also at a time commissioner under Chime.

    Just like Nnamani and Chief Jim Nwobodo, Chime and Nnamani fell apart barely a month after the later installed him as governor when he declared that Enugu state was not really working, a sharp contrast to the “EBEANO” slogan that Enugu was working.

    Since then all hands had been on the deck to ensure that the ‘traitor’ is dealt with. In the run up to the 2011 election, the  Ebeano Group  dumped PDP for PDC in their bid to unseat Chime. Ogazimorah said then , “the Ebeano, which is the real PDP in Enugu State, had been floating as we were rejected by both government and leadership of the PDP. That is why we have entered this party called PDC to find a way of restoring our voice. The PDC is a small party, we don’t pose a threat to anybody, we are dealing with a very powerful incumbent government that claimed to have performed well, we are the underdog, but we just want to participate politically, and whether we win the election or not is not a priority, but to ensure that we participate in the polls.”

    All efforts to speak with Ogazimorah the voice of SEG, to ask him if the present campaign against Chime were a continuation of the struggle for power between Ebeano and Chime, proved abortive. On three occasions, appointments were fixed but Ogazimorah’s busy schedules did not permit him to keep  appointments.

    But a source, who is on first name basis with major political actors in Enugu politics, doubts if Nnamani is behind SEG,

    ‘‘ Nnamani is not civil, his style is an Agbero style, and Ebeano means ‘Crush Them’. If the former governor was behind all these, he would mobilise people to occupy the Government House. Give it to Chime, he is a fine gentleman. Under Nnamani, our state was not like this. All opponents of the governor were chased out of the  state, but most of the actors are people that are close to him.”

     

    FOR HOW LONG CAN PUBLIC OFFICERS BE AWAY

    But for doubts over the intentions of members of SEG, the prolonged absence of Chime and other public officers raises a serious question about how long a public officer should be away, and this calls for genuine discussion by the National and State Assemblies to help resolve an issue that the constitution is silent on. As at today, apart from Chime, the governors of Cross Rivers and Taraba State are outside the country for health reasons.

    The official statement from the Enugu State Government  is that the governor is enjoying his accumulated leave. Since he joined  the state service about 14 years ago (eight years under  Nnamani ‘s administration, six years as governor) Chime has never gone on leave. So, if Chime is entitled to a month of holiday yearly and he has not gone on leave since 1999, that means he is entitled to a 14 month holiday.

    An Enugu based lawyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said all the hue and cry by SEG and others asking about Chime’s whereabouts may amount to nothing.” The governor followed due process. Even if they decide to go to court, they will lose because the constitution says if a governor will be away for more than 21 days, he should transfer power to his deputy, which he did. The law does not say he must return in six weeks or six months. On that, the constitution is silent.”

    Going forward, the lawyer wants the National and State Assemblies to amend the constitution and stipulate the number of weeks or months a public officer could stay away from his/her duty.

     

    IFEOMA NWOBODO AND ENUGU CABAL

    Apart from Chime and his absence from the state, one person that is much discussed among the elites, politicians and civil servants in Enugu State is the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mrs Ifeoma Nwobodo. Politicians loath her, civil servants wish she lost her job penultimate week when the acting governor almost fired her, while those who hang around the corridors of power and contractors always pray that their files do not go through her desk.

    An accountant, married to a High Court Judge in the State Judiciary, Mrs. Nwobodo was recruited by Chime from Nike-Lake Hotel where she worked as Director of Finance when he was elected Governor. Investigation in Enugu revealed that no contract file passes through her table with the contract amount not being reviewed downward. This no doubt creates more enemies than friends for her.

    Secondly, with a private sector background, she is said not to have patience for politicians and civil servants. She has also been severally accused of being rude and brash.

    One of the many ‘sins’ Mrs Nwobodo was accused of include sacking of the Head of Service, Mr. Dennis Eze. She was also accused of sacking the Head of Enugu SUBEB  because of power tussle between them over who awards contract for rehabilitation of dilapidated primary schools in the state. Another alleged prominent victim of Nwobodo is the former head of Enugu Waste Management Board, Mrs. Thelma Ogakwu.

    Efforts to get Mrs. Nwobodo to talk were abortive. Aides said she would not grant a telephone interview, while appointment for a formal interview has to be prearranged.

    But a prominent indigene of the state, who spoke on the condition anonymity, revealed that Mrs Nwobodo is well loved by the masses and honest people in Enugu State, adding that it is only the elites and those that hang around government, looking for inflated contracts and politicians that hate her.

    He revealed that Nwobodo’s problem stems from her profession, accounting. He said ‘’Being an accountant, she is over prudent and our people don’t like people like that’’. He also said that unlike under Nnamani where there were lots of patronage, it is not so under Chime and Nwobodo is seen as one of the people that is behind this.

    On the people allegedly sacked by Nwobodo. He asked: “Where does she derive the power from? Sack the Head of Service? Stop the Acting Governor’s allowances? These are pure lie. Infact, she almost lost her job last week.”

    Giving an insight into why the government sacked the head of Enugu State Waste Management (ESWAMA) , Mrs . Chinyere Ogakwu, the source revealed that waste management had always been a problem in Enugu and that before she was sacked four other heads of ESWAMA had been relieved of their appointments.

    He revealed that it was the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Amechi Okolo, acting on the instruction of the Acting Governor that announced the sack and named Dominic Okonkwo to oversee the affairs of the agency until further notice .Ogakwu’s problem with the state government, he said,  began when it became obvious that she could not successfully keep the state clean before Christmas and New Year. The Government had wanted visitors coming home to see a clean state .

    By December, the state was so dirty that government had to hire trailers to move waste. In the face of the glaring failure by the agency, the head had to assume responsibility, that was why she was sacked by the state government. ‘’ Let me also tell you that Mrs. Ogakwu is not just a relation of Governor Chime, they are from the same place Udi, so there is no way anybody would have sacked her unless she actually failed in the performance of her duties’’.

    He equally revealed that the Head of Service Mr. Denis Eze was relieved of his appointment by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Amechi Okolo who also asked him to hand over to the acting Head of Service, Mr. Chidi Ezema within 24 hours.

     

    ENUGU IS WORKING –CNPP

    For the Chairman of Enugu State chapter of CNPP, Mr. Afam Ani, the absence of Chime has not stopped Enugu from working. Ani said he saw the letter the governor wrote to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly transferring power to  the Deputy Governor ‘’he is away legally,  and his absence is not causing any problem. There has been no problem with payment of salaries, projects are going on and the budget has been presented.

    ‘‘But we are watching the government and the moment we smell anything bad we will raise the alarm. People are worried about the condition of the governor  because he is a good man,” he said.

    On the insinuation that a cabal led by Mrs. Nwobodo has sidelined the Acting Governor, Ani said , ‘‘It is cheap propaganda by SEG, there is nothing like that. Mrs. Nwobodo is a very strong woman, a rare bred who is a blessing to Enugu state. When you are talking of people in charge of government it is the Acting Governor and the Secretary to the State Government. I don’t know why they are shouting about Nwobodo, even when Chime was here they said all manner of things about her. if there is a cabal,  the local CNPP will be the first to raise an alarm. She has no power to sack anybody, it is the secretary to the government empowered by the  Acting Governor that has such power,” he said.

     

    CHIME’S ADDMISSION OF ILL HEALTH AND VISIT TO UDI

    While controversy about his whereabout rages in Enugu, Chime has surfaced in London with three other Governors and has tactically admitted he has been sick. “I am alive and well, I will be back very, very soon. I am great, very, very great. Tell Nigerians to discountenance all the rumours about my health.” Rotimi Amaechi, the Governor of Rivers State, speaking on Chime’s health, reportedly said, “We saw him in an atmosphere of recovery. We were able to go out with him, he is in good shape and is getting ready to come back home very soon. We thank God for what He has done, how He has helped him to recover.”

    Gabriel Suswam of Benue State said: “Chime has been discharged from the hospital.” While Godswill Akpabio said: “He has recovered tremendously, I am very happy and I give glory to God. We should pray for our leaders instead of wishing them bad.”

    Back home, Enugu residents are worried. A visit to Chime’s home town in Udi revealed a people who are worried and are desperate to see their son again. The palace of Igwe Chris Ogakwu, the Okwuluoha 111 of Udi, was locked when The Nation visited last week, but an elder lady said, ‘’ the king is probably in Enugu, but I cannot give you his number, but you are a journalist, you should be able to give us information about our son, we are worried, we are praying for him every day, we are sure God will bring him home soon’’.

    At Chime’s expansive house in the village, two security men wearing Vote for Chime T-Shirts told this reporter that the house has been locked for a while and no member of the family who could grant an interview was around. But from white to blue workers in Udi, the only news they want to hear now is that Chime is back in town.

    But some like the Chairman of Enugu State Christian Pilgrim Board and Bishop of the Enugu Anglican Communion, Emmanuel Chukwuma, is not happy being in the dark about Chime’s whereabout

    ‘‘ I must say that I, Bishop Chukwuma, am one of those behind the installation of Sullivan Chime as the Governor of Enugu State. I gave him support and I was the only bishop who blessed him. No other bishop blessed him when he was coming into government. Even his Catholic bishops rejected him because of how he was brought in by the former Governor, Dr. Chimaroke (Nnamani). I was the only bishop and I’m still praying for him. But the family of the governor has to be blamed for all that is happening now because they are not sincere and open on the matter. When the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was sick, his family was open to let us know he was sick. And I personally visited Ojukwu at the hospital in London. One of my visits was at the London Clinic while the other was at the Wallington Hospital. And I was able to see him and pray for him. But up till now, nobody has told me where my governor is, which hospital he is; they are hiding it. But we are praying. All I know is that he is not dead. I even received Christmas greeting card and gifts from the Government House sent by him. Okay! But what is the state of his health, nobody is telling us.’’

    But another clergy, the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Bishop Callistus Onaga warned against wishing Chime death and called for prayers for his recovery.

    Bishop Onaga said “We miss Chime now that he is not around. But there are many reasons why a chief executive of a state can travel outside. The important thing is that he complied with the laws of the land. He’s entitled to his holidays during which he can do other things which he wishes to.”The present situation is that things are not retarding because he’s not there. So, we’re praying that his being outside would augur well for him and eventually favour the whole state. We’re asking our people to be patient and try to understand that with time, we shall all smile. I’m quite sure that he probably has some health challenges, which are normal to every human being. But there is no reason people should hide it. Rather, we should be told the details of the whole thing so that we can intensify our prayers for him. Many of us have set up prayer warriors for him because he has been a very hardworking governor. He has made the Coal City to become one of the best states with good road networks in the entire country. And we want him to come back and complete the work.’’