RAPHAEL EDE writes on the return of former Enugu governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, to the PDP and the odds against his ambition to return to the Senate in 2015
The die is cast and the stage is set for the battle of who becomes the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Enugu East Senatorial District in 2015. In the contest are two time governor of Enugu state and former federal lawmaker on the party’s platform, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani and Chief of Staff to the incumbent governor, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo.
Nnamani whose recent return to the PDP fold was vehemently opposed by the Vita Abba- led state PDP to no avail, was unseated from the legislature in 2011 by the duos of Governor Sullivan Chime and erstwhile national chairman of the party, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo after a single tenure. His effort at returning to the upper chamber via his then Peoples Democratic Change(PDC) woefully failed.
But in the spirit of reconciliation which the Ahmadu Adamu Muazu- led national PDP currently champions, the former governor staged a comeback, a development believed to have been strongly opposed by the party leadership in the state, following Nwobodo’s ambition to occupy same seat come 2015. In fact, analysts of political developments in the state, posited that the governor’s declaration of no return ticket for serving federal lawmakers, was to pave way for his chief of staff.
But with his declaration to return to the upper chamber, the former governor has no doubt stirred the hornet’s nest. His declaration came barely two weeks after his kinsmen and the local chapter of PDP in Nkanu West local governmentl, passed a vote of confidence on Nwobodo and also unanimously endorsed her as its sole candidate for the Enugu East Senatorial seat in 2015. The vote of confidence followed the adoption of a motion moved by Hon Iloabuchi Aniagu, member representing the local government in the State House of Assembly and seconded by Mrs. Ndidi Chukwu, the state Commissioner for Gender Affairs.
Speaking shortly before moving the motion during the meeting of the party’s stakeholders at Agbani, Aniagu described the chief of staff as a selfless leader who used her position to contribute immeasurably to the development of Nkanu land in particular and the state in general.
The lawmaker described Nwobodo as a very marketable commodity, a caring mother and woman of substance, adding that if given the mandate in 2015, she would do more for people of the zone than her predecessors.
But like a hard fighter that he is, Nnamani would not be deterred by the politicking as he trudges on like a Trojan. To realise this, he put himself forward for a re-registration into the party by its Agbani ward chairman, Mr. Monday Ngene at a ceremony witnessed by party supporters. This was done on January 4, 2014, during which he picked the PDP membership card number 0276943.
Ngene who led some PDP leaders and stakeholders in the area to formally welcome Nnamani to the party, said the revalidation of his membership was sequel to the party’s membership registration which took place between August 2013 and January 2014.He said within the period, about 3,291 old and new members were registered in Agbani ward.
He described Nnamani’s return to the party as a great joy not only to members of the ward but for the entire Enugu state which he governed for eight years, got the party his successor as well as all the state and National Assembly members.
But Ngene’s action was not without a price, as some top government functionaries breathed down his neck for re-admitting the former governor into the party’s fold. He was consequently queried and suspended for anti-party activities by the local government chapter.
“We were told at the meeting that the offence we committed was that we visited Senator Chimaroke Nnamani’s house. We regard this action as illegal and unacceptable because as far as we are concerned, our visit to Senator Nnamani after he had duly registered as a bona fide member of our party did not in any way amount to anti-party activity.
“Therefore, the so-called suspension purportedly slammed against me and two other ward chairmen is a nullity and should be disregarded by party members as we have continued to function in our capacity as ward chairmen,” Ngene said.
Torched by the development, Nnamani warned his people to be vigilant, urging them not to allow any form of opposition on them.
He said: “Nkanu people should be vigilant; you are a great people that have never been conquered. If they don’t have people to lead them, I have volunteered myself to run to represent the Enugu East senatorial zone in the next Senate. Nkanu people should not allow a non-Nkanu person to represent them.
“I acknowledge the privilege and honour accorded me by the party; I thank God for this opportunity. Clearly, there are expectations of me, as former governor of the state, expectations of me as a senator but more importantly expectations of me as an Nkanu man and that is why I am here today. I come from a great nation, a clan nation state- the Nkanus.
“And when you talk about Nkanu’s greatness, somewhere, I don’t know, may be in bold prints, maybe in mild low prints, maybe in the first page, maybe in the last page, but when you talk about the greatest of Nkanu, as far as 2014 is concerned, Chimaroke Nnamani will be somewhere on that list.
“So it is indeed expected that such a day like this will come that Chimaroke Nnamani will be here. All I can do is to pay respect to my ancestors, to pay respect to our fathers, our mothers, our women and children and to say that indeed Nkanu is great. Nkanu, we do not lack people, we have men and women of honour, a great nation, a great people that were never conquered.”
Nnamani further told the party executives and supporters that when he came back from America “Nkanus were busy acting as political chaperons, acting as political hustlers, looking for political assistance, none dreamt of being governor, none dreamt of being Excellency, until I came and by the grace o God I became governor of Enugu state; by the grace of God I became senator, and I served my people.”
Taking a reminiscence of Nkanu before his sojourn into politics in 1999, the former governor recalled: “It is not for me to judge, it is for history to judge; to judge between the Nkanu I met when I came back in 1996, 97, 98 and the Nkanu of 2014. It is left for them to judge the vibrancy, the dynamism, the confidence, the dignity of the Nkanu man. It is left for people to judge.
“Today Nkanus have returned; some have returned as political chaperons, some have returned as political attendants, some have returned as political introducers and I am not surprised; partly poverty driven but Chimaroke is not one of them.
“As I answer the clarion call in 1996/99, I thank God that a day like this has come and you can count me. You can stand and count me as an Nkanu man; proud and tall, unconquered, undefeated and un-intimidated.”
No doubt, the battle line is drawn between Nnamani and Nwobodo who is believed to enjoy Chime’s backing against his erstwhile mentor. Certainly, the once powerful governor is coming under serious challenge to overcome. But the question is: can he really surmount the odds?
