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Tag: power game

  • Senators to watch in the power game

    AS the battle for Senator Bukola Saraki’s plum seat gathers more steam, some senators from both the APC and the PDP have been identified as key players. Informed insiders told The Nation that the roles being played by these senators and their likely position in the new calculations would need to be carefully watched if one hopes to understand the current power game at the Senate.

    In the APC, the key senators to watch include, but not limited to Godswill Akpabio, the former Minority Leader in the Senate, who recently dumped PDP for APC. It is being rumoured that the leadership of APC may have promised to offer him a plum position in the near future. What that position would be remains a subject of controversy. Other senators in the APC to watch closely include Ali Ndume and Abdullahi Adamu, who are known rivals of Saraki in the Senate. It is said that they form part of the leading strategists in the ongoing battle. Perhaps at the centre of the drama is Senator Ahmed Lawan, the current Senate Majority Leader who was the initial choice of APC leadership for the position of Senate President in 2015. As APC’s leader at the Senate, he coordinates the party’s plans at recovering the leadership of the National Assembly. Most analysts say he is most likely to be a frontrunner in the possible replacements for Saraki if APC succeeds in the impeachment plans since Saraki has dismissed resignation option.

       In the PDP, the key senators to watch include Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy Senate President, whose fate seems to be intricately tied to that of Saraki; David Mark, the former Senate President who remains a major stabilising force both amongst other PDP senators and at the Senate as a whole and of course, Philip Gyunka, the senator who opened up this week to reveal PDP’s counter move at the Senate to curtail APC’s plans to impeach Saraki.

    How the power game at the Red Chamber will finally work out remains to be seen, but one thing remains certain, the battle for Saraki’s seat has, in a way, raised the stakes for the 2019 General Elections.

  • Revealed: Power game that caused Magu’s rejection

    Revealed: Power game that caused Magu’s rejection

    Barely a few hours after the Senate’s rejection of the confirmation of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, as the substantive head of the agency, there were indications that Presidency is under pressure to re-present him.

    It was however learnt that petty politics within the kitchen cabinet of the President partially accounted for Magu’s rejection.

    Also, senators and some former ministers under investigation from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) were uncomfortable with Magu, it was learnt.

    Some former governors in the chamber who are under probe were said to have vowed to frustrate Magu’s confirmation.

    But a security report from the Department of State Services (DSS) allegedly advised against clearance of Magu as EFCC chairman.

    Some highly-placed Nigerians and international bodies have started making representations to the Presidency to re-present Magu

    It was gathered that the concerned people and bodies felt Magu’s rejection was designed to “slow down” the pace of the anti-corruption war.

    It was learnt that those described as “corrupt  forces” had hatched a plan to “frustrate Magu out of EFCC.”

    They were believed to be acting in cahoot with some members of the President’s kitchen cabinet to deal with Magu.

    One of their plans was to use the Senate to  reject Magu’s appointment as EFCC chairman, a source said.

    Their Plan B, said the source is to influence President Muhammadu Buhari to make  Magu to  revert to EFCC Director of Operations (DOP).

    According to a source, such a reversal of role may make Magu to request for a fresh posting in the police.

    But some concerned Nigerians and international organisations have been mounting pressure on the Presidency not to allow corrupt elements to derail the anti-graft war.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “There is no doubt that there is pressure on the Presidency to re-present Magu to the Senate as EFCC chairman.

    “The pressure is coming from concerned Nigerians and international organisations who believe that Magu is the defining point of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption agenda.

    “The people and organisations have also made representations to members of the Presidential Committee Against Corruption( PCAC).

    “But a few powerful ones are dropping some names who they think Buhari should choose from to replace Magu.

    “The ball is in Buhari’s court to either re-present Magu or leave him as the acting EFCC chairman for the next two years to take the anti-corruption war to the next level. The law allows Magu to act for as long as three years.”

    Another source spoke of the petty politics within the President’s kitchen cabinet as accounting for Magu’s rejection.

    “But the kitchen cabinet war between the first and second groups have been intense in the past few months and they have drawn the battle line. Magu is just a victim”.

    “Curiously, all other security agencies, including the police, the highly-cerebral and respected National Intelligence Agency( NIA) cleared Magu, based on the rating of many countries.”

    Sensing danger, the EFCC on June 21, through its spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, issued a statement.

    The statement said in part: “The report, quoting anonymous sources, alleged that Muhammed, who is a member of the Arms Procurement Committee, is ‘fronting for some members of the committee’, including ‘high ranking officials in the EFCC and ONSA’.

    “Though the report falls short of naming the so-called officials that Mohammed is allegedly fronting for, it is common knowledge that the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, is the only member of the Arms Procurement Committee from the Commission.

    “The EFCC views with grave concern this spirited attempt to create doubts in the minds of less discerning Nigerians and members of the international community regarding the integrity of its acting chairman. To all intent and purposes, this devious report is another avenue of corruption fighting back as some people have been uncomfortable with the uncompromising stance of the Acting EFCC Chairman in the fight against corruption.

    “The EFCC wishes to categorically state that no official of the agency that is directly or remotely connected with the work of the Arms Procurement Committee has had any dealings that verge on fraud with Air Commodore Mohammed or any other member of the Committee.  It challenges anybody with contrary information to come forward with the evidence.

    “The EFCC as a body upholds zero tolerance for corruption and will not condone any act that amounts to corruption. If Mohammed is established to have engaged in any illegal activity, he should be held liable.

    “In view of the gravity of the issues, the EFCC calls on the Presidency to set up a high-powered inquiry to verify the claims of the report and those who have made it their sole business to impugn the integrity of others and cast doubt on the credibility of the  anti-corruption war.”

    Surviving another plot

    The acting EFCC chairman survived a second plot to rope him into the travails of Air Commodore Mohammed Umar.

    Another source said: “Following security report that Magu’s security cannot be guaranteed in Karu, a suburb of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory Administration( FCTA) was mandated to look for accommodation for him.

    “Magu did not  want to leave his rustic flat in Karu but the Chief of Staff mounted pressure on him to leave the place. Magu did not know how an official residence was got for him. But the DSS allegedly traced Air Cmdr. Umar as having to do with how the house was secured as a rented apartment.

    “The DSS was said to have discovered that the duplex, belonging to the late Prof. Dora Akunyili, was allegedly furnished with N40 million. The amount was considered outrageous.

    “But Magu did not know how the furniture in the house were bought. Everything in the house was bought by civil servants in charge of accommodation in FCTA. Yet, he almost paid dearly for it

    “Since, then, Magu’s fate has been tied to Air. Commodore Umar. The first camp in the kitchen cabinet is also latching on it.

    “The no love lust between the EFCC chairman and the DG of DSS led to different operations on corrupt judges by the two agencies. Even when the DSS insisted before the National Assembly that its sting operations were legal, the EFCC presented a position to the contrary.”

    Attempt to make up

    Notwithstanding, as the EFCC acting chairman, Magu, it was gathered, tried to mend fences with all Service Chiefs and heads of security agencies.

    “He spent the last few weeks to foster unity and rapprochement with all Service chiefs and heads of security agencies, especially on the launch of Nigerian Women Against Corruption (NWAC) Brigade which is being championed by the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari,” the source said, adding:

    “But despite the olive branch, no Service chief attended the launch. Some of them either did not want to incur the wrath of the cabal in the Presidency or they opted to be neutral in the Cold War.”

    A fourth source alleged that some members of the kitchen cabinet were “unnecessarily afraid of Magu” at the speed he was going.

    The source said: “Magu is passionate, he is unbendable and even if you are his wife, you cannot ask him to stop any investigation.

    “Some members of the kitchen cabinet were uncomfortable with him.

    “At a point, they started sponsoring dissent within EFCC with a female staff in Human Resources Unit pitched against Magu.”

    The gang-up in

    the Senate

    Since the rejection of Magu, all Senators contacted have been hiding under the alibi of security report by  the DSS.

    But The Nation learnt that PDP senators and a few in the APC did not want Magu confirmed.

    The senators were allegedly backed by some of the ministers under investigation.

    It was gathered that some of the senators and ex-ministers were unhappy with the ongoing investigation of N29.9 billion poll bribery scam which was facilitated by former Petroleum Resources Minister Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

    The Senate source said: “Some of our colleagues are on trial and others under investigation. Some senators have their godfathers also under EFCC probe. They have vowed to stop Magu’s confirmation.

    “PDP senators felt the war against corruption by EFCC has been  one-sided. In fact, there is a senator from Southeast who is pro- Patience Jonathan and has been campaigning against Magu. The senator has been coordinating the media war and  street protests against the acting EFCC chairman.

    “The Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, tried to persuade his colleagues to see why Magu should be confirmed; they hissed at him.

    “In fact, it was learnt that one of them told the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki that ‘this man has not been confirmed, he dealt with your wife. He will do worse things if you give him full powers.’ The senators were not comfortable with Magu.

    “At a point, Saraki was under pressure and he made it clear that he was not opposed to Magu’s confirmation. He said he had left his wife’s travails to God.

    “Magu smoothened his relationship with the Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, and the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption in the past three weeks during oversight functions but that did not stop their plot to reject him.

    “ Some aggrieved elements in the kitchen cabinet  and all bigwigs on trial also infiltrated the Senate to stop Magu’s confirmation.”

  • Atiku’s unfurling APC power game

    Atiku’s unfurling APC power game

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) bridge of change is gradually undergoing avoidable turbulence at the federal level and nobody seems to be in control at the centre except one, two or three ambitious northerners camouflaging individual interests as that of the entire country. And without equivocation, the avoidable leadership squabbles in the national assembly amongst members of the ruling APC must have emanated from the treacherous theatrics of these men that have stayed long enough in the centre’s corridors of power and have now forgotten that they have nothing more to contribute to the country but trouble.

    The unraveling power game, though unnecessary, is a testimony to the need for the existing altruistic leadership of the ruling party to think deeply now about how to rescue the party from imminent perdition from inordinately ambitious members. And the sad truth is that the bulk stops on the president’s table as leader of the party to do something to rescue the situation from the hands of these political mafias so as to guarantee party supremacy that governors under the platforms are demanding for.

    The reason for this is that since the ruling party escaped plots to scuttle its existence, it will be sad for it to now disintegrate at this point when it now control the centre due to the greed and indiscipline of some of its members. The former President Goodluck Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) did everything possible to disintegrate the current party at the centre but failed woefully in the bid to achieve its goal of continuing to rule at the centre. Then Nigerians had a common enemy in the former president and were determined to send it packing when they found solace in the APC that promised to institute fundamental positive change into the polity.

    Now that the party with the change mantra has mounted the saddle, what Nigerians are being subjected to is another theatre of the absurd as senators’ and honourable members battle one another in the leadership sharing contest in the red chambers and the House. The man at the heart of the avoidable shameless political legislative bout is Dr Bukola Saraki who won the senate presidency through subterfuge in an election that deliberately ensured that half of senators were disenfranchised. This development has kept mouths agape in the public sphere while pundits were already wondering if the defiance of party order by Saraki was not without the backing of powerful elements within the fold. Saraki had gone ahead to defy the party on the list of other principal officers of the red chamber. Speaker Dogara has equally played the Saraki game in the appointment of principal officers for the House of Representatives.

    Some observers have pointed out that ordinarily what transpired on the day Saraki was elected in cahoot with the opposition PDP is nothing but a betrayal of the APC and what it stands for before Nigerians. How can the party that produced the presidency make any meaningful change in a national assembly with leadership that compromised with that old ineptly corrupt party order that the electorate worked assiduously to send out of power during the last elections?

    Others argued along the same line saying that despite the political inadequacies of President Mohammadu Buhari, few northerners that ought to help him achieve the change mantra are seriously scheming to succeed him in 2019 by putting up structures in the legislature and the states and also discretely preparing ground, even though pretending to be the president’s loyalists, to dismember the APC before returning to the PDP more stronger to possibly take over power.

    One of such few northerners is Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, former chieftain of PDP and AC and now chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC). These pundits pointed in the direction of his recent press release that needlessly distanced him from the shenanigans called election in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that produced Dr Bukola Saraki as senate-president quite contrary to the dictates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that controls majority of members in the red chamber.

    This position must have been given impetus by an earlier release by the Atiku media office moments after Saraki was elected in a controversial manner and at a time when other respectable leaders of the party were still at a cross road over the abracadabra that happened in the red chamber. This writer recollects that Atiku, some moments after the senate election congratulated Saraki and Dogara despite the obvious controversy thrown up by the Senate’s election. This writer as a northerner considers it an irreconcilable hypocrisy for Atiku to believe that irrespective of the political mix through which the presiding officers emerged, even if it means that the PDP are directly in control, the 8th National Assembly would not lose focus of its role as a partner in progress with the other arms of government, especially the executive arm.

    It would not be wrong to agree with some observers that see his calling on those that collaborated with the PDP to shortchange APC to ‘see their elections beyond the narrow interests of respective political parties’ as a signal of his plan to gather more followers across party divide to buy into his future presidential ambition which many believe he plans to pursue by 2019.

    Further to the fact that there is no rumour without an iota of truth behind is the content of his second release which tried futilely to dispel the notion that his target was how to dislodge the current presidency in 2019. In that release, the Turaki dispelled insinuations that he has anything to do with the avoidable tussle in the senate despite admitting that it is correct for individuals or groups to seek to pursue their interest even if such is in defiance of party principle and resolution and can break down chain of discipline like is being witnessed in the scenario created by the Saraki and Dogara elections.

    For instance, in a situation where a party man’s ambition contradicts that of the political party that gives him the mandate, Turaki did not tell Nigerians how that can benefit and sustain our democracy or promote equity, fair play and justice. To Atiku, supremacy of the party can be sacrificed simply because according to him: “In politics, it is a mistake to expect fixed outcomes.’’ No wonder that Atiku has not said a word about the latest defiance to party directives by Saraki and Dogara.

    Simply because President Mohammadu Buhari, in his wisdom, maintains an apolitical stance on the democracy of ambush that happened at the senate that tallies with the mindset of Atiku, he has gleefully announced to the world: ‘On this, I stand with President Buhari.’ Will he still be standing with the president in the next three years or is his loyalty with him in as much as he feigns non-concern to measures Atiku and his team is taking to dislodge the president out of power.

    In Atiku’s usual way of playing politics of divide and rule, he has infiltrated the rank and file of the party. Just recently, the All Progressive Congress (APC), under the aegis of the Chairmen’s Forum under the leadership of its Acting chairman, Alhaji Umar Haruna Muhammed of Kano State, after supposed four days of deliberation in Abuja noted: “We are urging all the aggrieved National Assembly to embrace dialogue and the re-conciliatory moves being championed by Mr. President, and the national leadership of our party, for the sake of national interest and APC.’ The question to ask the group is how can you have time to pursue national interest in the midst of unleashing detrimental parochial interest and infliction of injustice against use elements in the party.

    The direction that the Saraki clique in the senate with the obvious covert backing of Atiku will only dump the nation in a cul-de-sac that may act as catalyst for denying Nigerians the much expected change. This urge for inordinate ambition will only batter beyond recognition the APC and the Buhari brand. The current president will only be victim of his dangerous apathy to serious issues of politics. Where is the national interest that they claimed was being pursued in this instance? May God save the country from politicians without conscience in the land!

    •Garba is a political scientist and lives in Asokoro, Abuja.

  • Enugu impeachment: The roots, the intrigues and the power game

    Enugu impeachment: The roots, the intrigues and the power game

    The impeachment proceedings against the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Sunday Onyebuchi, has recorded a lot of twists and intrigues. But as it enters its final stages, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, dug into the genesis of the crisis, and reports that it is rooted in the power game ahead 2015

    As Enugu State House of Assembly this week rounds up the impeachment proceedings against the Deputy Governor, Chief Sunday Onyebuchi, there are indications that the outcome may untie the web-like political texture of the South-East state ahead 2015 general elections.

    Varying interpretations to the forces that led to the political crisis have already been offered. But our investigation confirmed that all the interpretations point to different political interests, a fact that suggests that the post impeachment realities of Enugu State may not only define the existing political interests of the top players but also expose where each of them stands.

    Until now, some major political stakeholders in the state have carefully hidden their interests, their loyalties and where they stand, but it seems the wind of impeachment will finally blow open some carefully hidden political secrets and expose who is where in the intricate game for 2015 elections.

    For now, as has been the case since last year when the face- off at the Government House began, the Enugu State politics has remained largely anchored on a delicate blame game.

    So, notwistanding the fact that the House of Assembly made its position and reasons for the impeachment proceedings very clear, there still exist different accounts of what led to the action.

    While the deputy governor is accusing his boss, Governor Sullivan Chime, of being behind his predicament because he wants to create political opportunity for his Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, officials of the state government and other insiders to PDP leadership in the state, who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity, said it was members of the House of Assembly that noted the gross impeachable offenses committed by Onyebuchi and decided to do their constitutional duties in order to save the state and the inherent threats to democracy. They said Onyebuchi has since ceased to respect, obey or take instructions from the governor, a development that, according to them, has hampered governance in the state.

    For example, a source in Enugu, a civil servant, explaining the genesis of the crisis, has this to say: “The principal impeachable offense against the deputy governor, that of deliberate disobedience to the governor, is neither false no a secret here. It has been there for long. As you must have read in the papers, it led to serious embarrassment of the state during the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to flag-off the construction of the Second Niger Bridge in Anambra State and during a recent meeting of South-East Governors Forum in Enugu. These are just the few instances that finally brought out this obvious case of deliberate insubordination to the public sphere. The instances have been much but the governor had chosen to manage the situation. In most cases, when the governor directs the deputy to represent him in some critical occasions, the later will claim to be indisposed or sick even when everybody knows that he would attend more strenuous personal assignments at the same specified time. I think both the House of Assembly and the people of Enugu State saw it clearly that these two political leaders, who have been political allies since the days of former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani, can no longer work together, hence the impeachment proceeding.”

    Another source, a top PDP chieftain in Enugu, who refused to be named in order not to be seen as taking sides, said the matter has to do with the 2015 politics and the control of the state power. “It seems the deputy governor is caught in a fierce political battle between Governor Chime and Senator Ike Ekweremadu for the control of power in Enugu State from 2015. It may not be false that Onyebuchi associates greatly with Ekweremadu and the former governor, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, but whether he deliberately disobeys the governor on account of his relationship with these powerful political personalities is what I can neither ascertain now nor realistically comment upon, but I can tell you without any fear of contradiction that for Chime and Onyekwere, things have really fallen apart and we in the party know that it may no longer be in the interest of the party and the state to insist they must work together. Something has to go in the interest of peace and progress of the state,” he said.

     

    Genesis of the face-off

    The Nation’s investigation shows that the disagreement between the governor and his deputy dates back to last year when the governor went on a prolonged medical leave.

    During the leave, it was alleged that the deputy governor refused to represent the governor in some vital state functions, a development that not only ridiculed and embarrassed the state but also exposed the cat and mouse relationship between the governor and the deputy.

    In fact, the face-off preceded this recent leave as it can actually preceded the famed poultry evacuation saga.

     

    The poultry saga

    Although the argument over the poultry farm run by the deputy governor in his private residence at the Government House had dragged for a long time, it came to a head on February 28, 2014, when news reports of its evacuation hit headlines.

    That day, over 3,000 fowls plus 40 crates of eggs from the poultry farm were evacuated in the presence of news men and other onlookers.

    The evacuation was carried out by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA) and the Ministry of Environment. The officials, led by their commissioners said the poultry farm was constituting public health hazard.

    The ministry officials, who carried out the duty said the Deputy Governor had earlier been directed to relocate the poultry farm in two letters dated December 24 and 27, 2013 with reference numbers GHE/CAO/31/239 and GHE/CAO/31/240, signed by Mr. G.O.C Ajah, Permanent Secretary in-charge of Government House, Enugu.

    However, the deputy governor described the evacuation of his poultry as a wicked act of impunity intended to humiliate him, alleging that Mrs Ifeoma Nwobodo, the Chief of Staff to the governor was behind the action.

    But an official of Enugu Ministry of Environment, who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity said “none of the letters to the deputy governor, allegedly signed by the Chief of Staff was actually signed by her. In fact, as if divinely ordained, when most of those correspondences to the deputy governor were to be signed, it happens that Madam is usually not around. The ones that emanated from her office or from the Government House were usually signed for her by an officer or by G.O.C Ajah, the Permanent Secretary in-charge of Government House, Enugu.

    “But as you know, even if she signs any of those letters, it would be unfair on her to allege she was the one trying to boss the deputy governor. No, that is cheap politicking, chief blackmail of an innocent woman. Her office as the Chief of Staff is simply designed to convey the governor’s instructions and directives. Everybody, including His Excellency, the Deputy Governor, knows that when a letter comes from the Chief of Staff office, it is not a directive from the Chief of Staff herself but a directive from the governor. It is both laughable and painful that people who know are deliberately striving hard to drag Mrs Nwobodo into everything, projecting her as if she is super human. Is it not instructive that even when the Deputy Governor collapsed at the hearing of the Impeachment Panel this week, the people were careful enough to put it in the papers that he collapsed shortly after the arrival of Mrs Nwobodo. Why must we link everything to this simple woman? She only got to the panel because she was summoned to go and give evidence, just like the other officials.”

    According to the official, during Poultry evacuation saga, both the deputy governor and his loyalists also accused the Chief of Staff of being behind it all.

    It would be recalled that at the peak of the poultry saga, Onyebuchi had said,  “I told them that the poultry farm was designated Agriculture Unit and I want them to deny that the structure had been used as a poultry farm before I became deputy governor. Let them also deny that I have not operated the poultry farm since 2008. That was why I put in my Assets Declaration at the end of my first term and at the beginning of this term that I have operated the poultry farm and this was verified by the Code of Conduct Bureau. How suddenly my poultry farm became a health hazard when it has been in existence since 2008,” he said, adding that it was Mrs Nwobodo that gave the instruction just to ridicule and humiliate him.

    But the Ministry of Environment official, who saw it all said it is not true that Nwobodo simply gave that directive to get at the deputy governor. “I can assure you that the directive is from the very top. Everybody was complaining about the offensive odour emanating from the farm. This was because, as at that time, the deputy governor was not living in the quarters and  his workers were obviously unable to keep the place tidy.

    “I was involved in the Poultry matter. I learnt, I don’t know how correct it is, that at a point, the governor was so disturbed by the unending complaints of staff and visitors to the Government House that he offered to give the deputy governor a piece of land outside the Government House to relocate the birds, but he reportedly refused it. I also remember vividly that even that very morning, the deputy governor was contacted on phone by the commissioner or some other top official I cannot remember clearly and told that the ministry will evacuate the birds to a temporary location to enable us tidy up the place. But you know politicians, he said okay, that there were people there to open the gate for us. But as soon as we got there, the deputy governor arrived with camera men and other newsmen and made a big case of the matter. He said it was the Chief of Staff that instructed the destruction of the farm to humiliate him. I felt sorry for the Madam.”

     

    The parting encounter

    Until a recent historic meeting between the governor and his deputy at the governor’s office, which insiders ironically see as the parting encounter, the face-off was averagely managed by both parties as an open secret. But it got out of control as the two leaders ended up in an open quarrel at that meeting. Today, loyalists of the two personalities are peddling different versions of what transpired between Chime and Onyebuchi in that meeting.

    A source close to the deputy governor said it was the governor that summoned the governor to a meeting in his office. At the meeting, said the source, the governor accused the deputy of disobedience to lawful orders. At a point in the discussion, he became so angry that he asked the deputy governor to walk out of his office and to resign his position immediately. The source claimed that Chime’s anger was Onyebuchi’s insistence that he must contest the senatorial seat of Enugu East. The source said, “The deputy governor frankly told the governor that he must exercise his right to contest election into the senate in the coming elections but the governor opposed the move. When voices started rising, the deputy had to leave,” he said.

    Insiders to Enugu State Government however gave The Nation in Enugu a more graphic account of what happened that day. According to the accounts by two of such sources, it was the deputy governor that actually came on his own to meet with the governor and to seek permission to attend to some personal family affairs.

    According to the accounts, “before granting the oral request, Chime, who at that time just returned from his annual leave abroad, used the opportunity to ask his deputy why he could not represent him in two very important state functions while he was away in spite of the fact that he was given a formal invitation to the event by the Chief of Protocol, the right officer to convey such invitation

    “The functions include the visit of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to Anambra State to flag-off the construction of the Second Niger Bridge and the meeting of South-East Governors’s Forum in Enugu?

    “The governor also expressed displeasure to the report that in his absence for a mere leave, the deputy governor attempted to remove from office the Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, who as a personal staff to the governor and as such cannot be removed in that manner without the governor’s consent.

    “To the governor’s rude shock, instead of being at least civil in his explanations, the deputy governor said  pointedly that declined to show up at the South-East Governors meeting because the governor did not give him any directive to act in his absence. On the presidential visit Onyebuchi fired back at the governor at the presence of some other governor’s aides, “why should I represent you at those functions? Tell me why I should represent you at those functions.”

    “Almost dumbfounded at the sudden outburst, Chime first said, ‘okay, tell me also why I should grant your permission now.’ “Then, he paused as if in deep thought over the development. By the time he spoke again, he was visibly angry. It was at this stage that the governor listed other cases of alleged insubordination on the part of the deputy governor, accusing Onyebuchi of dancing to a secret song from political rivals. He therefore concluded that the deputy is obviously tired of working with him as he could not be working under another person and be taking instructions from his boss’ political rivals. He therefore advised Onyebuchi to leave his office and to resign his position forthwith.”

     

    The impeachment charges

    Following the obvious breakdown in the relationship between the governor and the deputy governor, the House of Assembly, in what a lawmaker described as a timely move to save the state from a possible descent to anarchy and chaos, served the deputy governor a notice of impeachment, signed by 20 out of the 24 lawmakers at the Enugu State House of Assembly.

    The lawmakers accused Onyebuchi of maintaining a poultry farm in his official residence contrary to a resolution of the House prohibiting the maintenance of and operation of commercial livestock and poultry farms within residential neighborhoods in Enugu Metropolis.

    They also accused him of defying the governor’s directive to represent him at some occasions which they said violates Section 193 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.

    On the first charge, the deputy governor replied that he came and met an area in his official residence designated as ‘Agricultural Unit’, which includes a poultry farm, and whose facilities were installed by the first premier of Eastern Nigeria and that all his predecessors used it and maintained the poultry farm.

    On the second charge, Onyebuchi said, “Let me start by saying that on June 9, 2014, the Governor commenced his 2014 annual vacation. This was made public through various news media. He did not tell me to take any action on his behalf pending his return, and I am not aware that he sent a formal letter to the Enugu State House of Assembly informing the Assembly that he was proceeding on vacation. The governor did not tell me to take any action on his behalf pending his return, neither did he tell me that he would pass instructions to me through a third party. I did not receive instructions from him personally, by phone or in writing asking me to represent him at the meeting of the South East Governors Forum that took place in Enugu on July 6, 2014.

    “I did not have any reason not to represent him if he had so instructed me to do so. I do not think it is appropriate for a deputy governor to act in the absence of the governor deriving authority from a subordinate or based on press release to the effect that the governor handed over to his deputy.

    Reacting to these response, a top government official said it is unfortunate for the deputy governor to pretend not to know the usual channel of giving official directives. The source asked rhetorically, “If the Chief of Protocol delivers an invitation to any official in the Government House, is it not the usual way of giving the governor’s instructions? Why would the deputy governor prefer a telephone instruction from the governor to the universally acknowledged medium?

    While the supporters of the two leaders defend the cause of their principal, the  House on Thursday, 31 July, 2014 went ahead to direct the State Chief Judge, Justice Innocent Umezurike, to constitute a panel to investigate the allegations.

     

    Why Chime, Onyebuchi parted ways

    Ironically, the governor, Sullivan Chime and the deputy governor, Sunday Onyebuchi were considered strong political allies when they were both favoured by the former governor, Chimaroke Nnamani. For a long time, insiders said they worked hamounously until alleged political interests put a wedge between them.

    The resultant icy relationship first manifested when the governor became ill and had to stay away for a very long time. According to a source, it was at this period that political intrigues to wrest control of the political structure from Chime started.

    So, when Chime miraculously recovered and returned home, all was no longer as before. At a stage, the governor reportedly accused Onyebuchi of fraternizing with the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, whom he sees as his major political opponent in 2015.

    Up till today, insiders say Ekweremadu wields enormous influence on Onyebuchi. In fact, as soon as it became known that an  ultimatum had been given by the Enugu State House of Assembly to Sunday Onyebuchi, the state deputy governor to respond to the impeachment notice served him, a group led by Ekweremadu and former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani, reportedly stormed Abuja in a bid to stop the impeachment.

    Also, Enugu State House of Assembly sources confirmed that on the day the Assembly served the impeachment notice, the deputy governor had travelled to Abuja to contact his benefactors in an attempt to stop the impeachment.

    A day before the incident, Onyebuchi had raised the alarm that there was a plot to impeach him, alleging that Chime was behind the plot.

    He allegedly old a group known as Ebeano Machinery, at a meetings with top chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Abuja that they must work hard to stop the impeachment plot

    A source in Abuja confirmed that the group actually met with the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, to plead for his support.

     

    Mrs Nwobodo’s angle

    Perhaps because Mrs Ifeoma Nwobodo hardly speaks to the media to defend herself over the numerous allegations about her alleged quest for power, her name has never ceased to appear in the various controversies surrounding the Enugu power game.

    Some of the questions most observers are asking are who is this woman, what does she want and why does she enjoy so much confidence of the governor? A top government official who attempted an answer to these questions simply said: “Chief is a simple woman, a dependable workaholic who is being accused of things she knows nothing about. I think her fault is that she calls a spade a spade and is not willing to follow the ways of politicians.

    “She is being opposed because she is like a formidable pillar to the government of Enugu State. We call her our Madam due process and I don’t see that as an offense though I know many politicians who hate her for it.”