ENUGU politics in ten mins: A battle of wits THE Enugu East Senatorial seat had for long before the present incumbent almost always attracted national figures. It was the seat occupied by Senators Jim Nwobodo, Ken Nnamani and subsequently, the Ebeano phenomenon player, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani. The present occupant, Senator Gilbert Nnaji though of no little political antecedent, has, however, not shown the kind of sophistication or class pulled by his predecessors. Four major aspirants including the incumbent are contending for the ticket of the PDP in Enugu-East senatorial district. Their aspiration is against the background of insinuations that the ticket has been zoned to a prominent woman in the Sullivan Chime administration, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo. Chief Frank Nweke Jnr. * Nweke (Jnr) * Nweke (Jnr) Nweke was until recently director-general of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, NESG, and before then a minister in the second term of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration. Before moving to Abuja, Nweke was an integral part of the Chimaroke Nnamani Ebeano family and served as coordinator of the Enugu State Community Development Programme 2000–2001 and subsequently became Chief of Staff to then Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, a position he held until June 2003. He declared his intention to run for Enugu-East senatorial seat on 2nd February, 2014 saying his decision to join the Senate race was,” borne out of his desire to provide quality representation to people of the zone.” His posters dot every nook and cranny of Enugu-East senatorial district with the inscription, “let’s change the game.” Widely adjudged as an urbane, civil and result oriented man, his challenge will be his aloofness from the current authorities in the state who have long ago endorsed candidates for various elective and appointive positions in the state. One prospect for him could be the recent cancellation of all endorsements by the state chapter of the party. Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo Although the Chief of Staff to Enugu State Government House is yet to declare her intention openly for the Enugu-East senatorial district, even the blind man can vividly see the hand writing on the wall. Allegedly regarded as the power behind the throne in many quarters, observers say her senatorial ambition predates 2011. She has amassed the feat of being the longest survivor in the office of the chief of staff having been in the saddle from the inception of the Sullivan Chime administration in 2007. She has understandably, fought more political battles than many other political office holders in Enugu but this battle would surely test her prowess. Her campaign billboards, posters are widely distributed across the six council areas that make-up Enugu-East senatorial district. A major challenge to her would be to fight off the allegation that she is from Enugu West and not from Enugu East by birth and that she is stepping on the platform of her marital relationship to an Enugu East man to contest the Senate. If she is able to overcome the challenges against her, the claim in some quarters is that she is being positioned to contest the governorship of the state in eight years time. Senator Chimaroke Nnamani Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani held sway as governor of Enugu State from 1999-2007 during which period he founded the Ebeano dynasty from where nearly all the major political office actors presently in Enugu State sprang from. He was elected as a senator representing Enugu-East zone in 2007. His bid to return to senate in 2011 was hamstrung as he was defeated by the PDP candidate, Gil Nnaji having contested on the platform of Peoples Democratic Change,PDC. Senator Nnamani has since returned to his roots in the PDP and last February declared his intention to contest for the Enugu-East senatorial zone. However, the Ebeano boss is yet to hit the ground running as his political structure seems to have been decapitated. Political watchers are taken aback as to the disconnect between the former governor and the present crop of politicians wondering how he intends to actualize his senatorial ambition come 2015. Senator Gil Nnaji Nnaji served two terms in the House of Representatives between 2003-2011 before his election to the Senate in 2011. The soft-spoken senator has attracted an ultra modern Information Communication Technology, ICT, centre, distributed transformers and bursary awards to his constituency among others. He is hoping to run re-election for the senatorial seat on the crest of his royal blood. Senator Nnaji had in the past complained about being molested by a big woman in the Enugu State government who he insinuated was after his seat. Some of his constituency outreaches were according to him sabotaged by local political actors allegedly on the instruction of the big woman he claimed was operating from the office of the Chief of Staff. Enugu West: Rekindled rivalry Senator Ike Ekweremadu who has represented the senatorial zone since 2003 was allegedly considering other political ventures in 2015 when he heard of moves back home to unseat him by Governor Sullivan Chime who would not be eligible to contest for the office of governor. Ken Nnamani Ken Nnamani Ekweremadu, one of Enugu’s most entrenched politicians with a knack for battle, it was learnt, then refocused his strategies to return to the Senate and confront the governor headlong. Some see the conflict between the two men as a battle of ego arising from their time in the Chimaroke Nnamani administration. Ekweremadu had first served as chief of staff with Chime serving as an adviser on legal matters. Subsequently, Ekweremadu was appointed the secretary to the state government, SSG while Chime also got his promotion to the full cabinet as a commissioner. When Ekweremadu became deputy president of the Senate in 2007 Chime also became governor and at that time both men sought of managed their relationship at least in the open. But behind there were tales of mutual aloofness that was only scented by few. At the peak of the war between Governor Chime and then national chairman of the PDP, Dr. Okwesileze Nwodo in 2011, there were suggestions that Ekweremadu was tempted with the governorship ticket of the PDP as a way of pulling him away from Chime but Ekweremadu was said to have walked away on it preferring solidarity with Chime and his position in the National Assembly. However, matters got to a head between the two men few months ago at a stakeholder’s meeting in the Government House, Enugu when a 0shouting match between the two men was said to have erupted after the governor allegedly instructed that members of the National Assembly who had served two terms should not re-contest. That was the last time Senator Ekweremadu entered the Enugu Government House and thus began a brutal political offensive between the two men and their associates. Given Governor Chime’s relatively impressive infrastructure landmarks especially in Enugu city and Ekweremadu’s own impressive representation of Enugu West, many eyes have focused on the senatorial contest in the constituency as one that is bound to elicit all manner of intrigues. It was so last Friday when the party zonal chairman for Enugu West summoned a constituency meeting through text messages to various stakeholders including Ekweremadu. Given the chasm between the Chime group and Ekweremadu group, most had expected Ekweremadu not to attend, but he did setting the stage for what supporters of the two men have gone out to spin different stories. The Chime group allege that once Ekweremadu arrived the venue that the stakeholders fled the venue and abandoned him and his supporters. The Ekweremadu group, however, differ and allege that the Chime supporters mostly local government chairmen who were shocked by the decision of Ekweremadu to come hurriedly left the meeting leaving party officials and other stakeholders to proceed with the session. Old story in Enugu North Senator Ayogu Eze is the incumbent senator who has held the seat since 2007. He has also delicately navigated the face off between Governor Chime and Senator Ekweremadu trying to put himself in no harms way. Senator Eze who has been quietly preparing for the governorship with the expectation of succeeding Chime was disappointed by Chime with the choice of Mr. Ugwuanyi. The senator has, however, pledged to continue his campaign saying he was not bound by the consensus arrangement that favoured Ugwuanyi. However, his capacity to upturn the consensus arrangement or fight off the governor and his men is doubtable. Should he fail in the battle, any expectation of returning to the Senate would have been soured by the bad blood over his resentment of the consensus arrangement. His seat would be in tussle mainly between two major aspirants namely, his one time boss, Dr. Okwesileze Nwodo and Mr. Chuka Utazi, the incumbent commissioner for transport. Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo Nwodo was the first elected governor of Enugu State and former national chairman of the PDP. His tenure as national chairman was truncated amidst intrigues framed by the PDP governors in the days leading to the 2011 presidential convention of the party. Given the wide rift between Nwodo and Governor Chime at that time and the fact that many of the judicial instruments used to unseat Nwodo came from Enugu, few are shocked by the seeming calmness in the relationship between the two men. It is reported that both men have made up and it is widely insinuated that Nwodo is the governor’s candidate for the PDP ticket in Enugu North. The permutation is that the governor is allegedly paying him back for the support the Nwodo dynasty is allegedly throwing behind his anointed gubernatorial candidate, Ugwuanyi. A major challenge, however, is the increasing discomfort among some political stakeholders in the zone on why it should again be another Nwodo that is getting the pie from Enugu North. Hon. Chuka Utazi Utazi, the incumbent Commissioner for Transport hails from Nkpologu in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, an area that is said to be widely marginalized in the scheme of things in Enugu State. He had a shot at the senatorial seat ahead of the 2011 general election but was asked to step down his ambition for the incumbent senator with an alleged promise that it will be his turn in 2015. Although he has declared his intention to run for the Senate again, he appears not to have gained the massive support needed to propel the wheels towards the attainment of his goal and the governor’s earlier endorsement of his effort seems to be in doubt. - See more at: vanguardngr/2014/10/enugu-senate-contests/#sthash.9uhadE5P.a4XRFU6B.dpuf
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 08:01:09 +0000
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