Enugu guber: It’s PDP versus other parties

 

By WILLY EYA

For those who have been following political events in Enugu State, the coast is now clear for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to contest the forthcoming election.

The reprieve came after Justice Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the suit filed by Senator Ayogu Eze challenging the emergence of Ugwuanyi as the governorship candidate of the PDP in Enugu State. People of the Coal City state were thrown into celebration when they received the news. In many parts of the state, some of his supporters went the extra mile with ceremonial gunshots to celebrate Ugwuanyi’s victory in the controversial case challenging his emergence as the PDP candidate in next month’s governorship election.

Eze had filed the suit against the PDP, its National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
But Ugwuanyi, who enjoys the support of the national leadership of the PDP, subsequently applied and was joined as an interested party in the matter.

Both Hon Ugwuanyi and Senator Eze laid claim to the governorship ticket of the party in Enugu having emerged from two parallel primary elections held on December 8, 2014.
Justice Chukwu, delivering judgment on the case said that from the averments made, it was only one governorship primary election that was conducted in the state on December 8 under the watchful eyes of the national officers of the PDP.

He said the plaintiff’s suit did not succeed as he failed to show how any section of the constitution or the Electoral Act as well as PDP guidelines for the conduct of gubernatorial primary election was breached or violated.

Justice Chukwu, who earlier in his judgment that lasted for two hours, dismissed the preliminary objections filed by the defendants for want of jurisdiction, abuse of court process and locus standi, however agreed with the defendants that it was only a political party that was in a position to choose its candidate in an election.

He held that the power to conduct party primaries rested solely on the National Executive Committee of the party and not the state Executive of the party.

Eze had told the court that PDP conducted ward congresses in Enugu State on November 1, 2014 as a result of which a list of delegates for the conduct of primary election for the governorship candidate of the party emerged.

According to Eze, the list was sanctioned and authenticated by the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Adeniyi Ademola, in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/816/2014, through a judgment delivered on November 24, 2014.
However, Justice Chukwu said the sister court “never sanctioned any delegate list”.

The court was of the view that Eze failed to show any evidence indicating that NEC or PDP conducted the primary that he claimed was the authentic one.

The defendants had told the court that the plaintiff emerged through a kangaroo primary election which they said was not certified by the NWC of the party.

They told the court that Ayogu Eze actually came to the venue where the “authentic primary” election that produced Ugwuanyi was conducted, but stormed out with some of his supporters to another venue to conduct the parallel primary poll where he was declared winner.

But since the recent court ruling which made the coast clear for him, one question that has been agitating the minds of critical observers is – will Ugwuanyi be able to meet the expectation of the people of Enugu State as well as sustain the goodwill he enjoys from his teeming supporters?

Many believe that Enugu State, being a predominantly civil servants and low income earners’ state, creates a burden of going beyond just winning elections as there is too much to be done in terms of provision of democratic dividends.

Since 1999, more especially under the administration of Governor Sullivan Chime, the state has witnessed some level of development and it is in the light of this that so much is expected from Ugwuanyi who has enjoyed overwhelming support from the people. The general consensus is that Chime has excelled in terms of providing democracy dividends to the people and laying a democratic culture in the state. Almost all the roads in Enugu metropolis are wearing new looks with drainages and walkways adequately provided.

Chime has turned Enugu into an enviable state and investment destination. Many also agree that one of the rare qualities of Chime is that he never lost focus nor got distracted in his service delivery to the people despite the challenges of his office.

In one of his campaign tours, Chime’s likely successor, Ugwuanyi himself acknowledged the sterling performance of the governor when he acknowledged that achievements of the governor had made his electioneering activities ahead of the election much easier.

Many also believe that the icing on the cake of Chime’s achievements is the choice of his successor, Ugwuanyi who unarguably is the most popular candidate in the state ahead of the election.

Many insist that even though Ugwuanyi’s administration will face a herculean task when ushered in on May 29, the people know the stuff he is made of and that explains their passion for his governorship aspiration. His antecedents speak volumes which includes his stewardship in the House of Representatives in the last 12 years coupled with his humility and candor which have touched the lives of people. The expectation is that Ugwuanyi’s administration will have a human face with many arguing that the combination of all these factors made his candidature more of a movement in Enugu State.

With the PDP fully in control of the state since 1999, political pundits are quick to conclude that the party will repeat the winning streak in 2015. And as it appears ahead of the forthcoming election, the Ugwuanyi Movement, as it were, has so dominated the political space in the state that many hardly knowing that other parties exist.

To crown the situation, many of the governorship candidates in other parties have either stepped down for him or the party deliberately not fielding any candidate for the guber position.

Not long ago, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state adopted Ugwuanyi for the April 11 governorship election with an explanation that the move was informed by its confidence in Ugwuanyi’s capacity to govern Enugu State.

According to the APGA chairman in Enugu State, Chief Okechukwu Nkolagu, it would have been an effort in futility if the party had fielded a candidate to challenge Ugwuanyi, adding that it will be difficult for any other party to win the contest with the level of his popularity and acceptance by the people.

“We tried to distill for an aspirant that will command the influence of majority of the people of the state and one who would also be capable of enthroning a better governance in the state.

“I have the pleasure to inform you that the search was rigorous but at the end, the party settled to adopt Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as its governorship candidate for the February 28, 2015 governorship election in Enugu State. We have no doubt in our mind that he will take Enugu State to a greater prosperity and achieve a secured future for the state,” he stated.

Critical observers are also in agreement that the support the PDP enjoys in the state would be extended to President Goodluck Jonathan. Since 1999, Enugu people have always pitched their tent with the PDP and the coming election will not be different.

Among people of Enugu, the thinking is that the wind of the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan has touched the state in no small measure. Instances of President Jonathan’s effort are in the revival of the moribund Enugu-Rivers railway line, on-going work on both the Enugu-Port Harcourt and Enugu-Onitsha expressways. President Jonathan has not only upgraded the Akanu Ibiam Airport in Enugu to an international status, he has also remodelled the airport and ensured that the international wing is flagged off among other achievements.

President Jonathan has also sited some federal projects in the state. Even though critics of President Jonathan argue that he has not done well enough to deserve a second term in office, critical observers think otherwise. Those who are not favourably disposed to Jonathan would insist that beyond all is that he has not lived up to expectation in the fight against Boko Haram.

As convincing as the arguments in this school of thought appear, there are many who believe that no president could have done better in the same circumstance that Jonathan found himself. The argument among those here is that from inception, right from when Jonathan was acting for late President Umaru Yar’Adua, some powers that be did not give him a chance.

There are those who argue that, the Boko Haram phenomenon has toughened Mr. President and has made him more confident as both Christian and Muslim leaders have come out openly to criticise Boko Haram which has attracted global recognition and condemnation. Not a few argue that some elites who have failed to achieve relevance in the ballot box, are merely exploiting Boko Haram to instigate insecurity in the country. Many believe that even those who do not like Jonathan would agree that under him, there had been the promotion and practice of true democracy by creating an enabling environment where people from diverse backgrounds and views can be accommodated.

Supporters of the present administration count the conduct of free and fair elections in the country, including the 2011 poll which was adjudged to be the most credible election of its magnitude in the country as one of his achievements. Part of the positives of his administration is that there had been relative non-interference with electoral and judicial matters. Evidence of that showed in the number of governorship elections in the country since Jonathan became the President. Even though many criticize the development, under Jonathan, the nation rebased it’s GDP for the first time in over a decade to become the largest economy in Africa.

Critical observers do not forget the containment of the deadly and highly contagious disease, Ebola Virus Disease which is raging many countries even at the present.

There are those who argue that despite the shortcomings of President Jonathan, he has done so much to reposition the nation.

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