₦airaland Forum

90dbest:
explain what he meant.

He is not supporting Mbah in any way. He is saying that Mbah cannot excape heavy consequence from the court as a result of the forgery. And he is right in saying that no one is mandated by law to possess NYSC before contesting for any post in Nigeria. But if you must add NYSC as part of your qualifying document, then it must be genuine. If it is found forged, then you are guilty of two crimes: forgery and perjury. You also mentioned the last one. So you can see why I said you didn't understand him

Alex80s:
What about Edoga's double participation in 2 primary elections in one electoral calendar?


I'm asking this because APC in Enugu State is planning a repeat of IMO State- like judgment in their favour considering the above cases against Mbah and Edoga.

What the new electoral act forbids is double nomination of a candidate. The new law is that as long as you didn't emerge the winner of a primary election of a party, you are free to join another party yet to conduct theirs and contest there. That was exactly what Edeoga did. Be informed that he is a lawyer who understands what he is doing

90dbest:
you are dumb. So, you don't know what is called perjury.

I don't think you understood him

Akpangbo:
So what is the work of INEC if they are too lazy to verify or investigate documents of party candidates before allowing them to participate in an election.

That is the main problem of the political system in Nigeria. Nothing ever works the way it should be. It is sad. But we must continue pushing untill we get all our institutions doing their works properly

Nice2023:
This case looks exactly like that of Kemi Adeosun.

In all ramifications, it does

MadamExcellency:
2022 Electoral Law is different from 2010.

Exactly. What the new electoral act forbids is double nomination of a candidate. The new law is that as long as you didn't emerge the winner of a primary election of a party, you are free to join another party yet to conduct theirs and contest there. That was exactly what Edeoga did. Be informed that he is a lawyer who understands what he is doing

mhmsadyq:
who go read this epistle?
wetin concern me with court proceeding for matter weh no concern me.

Read oooo. Read so that you get knowledge

potent5:
Good content sighted.

Yes it's truly a good read

Nice2023:
On the issue of NYSC,there is no law that says u must have NYSC before u can become governor,senator or what have u,but the major thing we should not do is submitting fake certificates.

The court does not joke with forgery no matter who u are,hence the reason why I feel that the current governor of Enugu state is a goner.

You get the gist correctly

*GOV. PETER MBAH: COULD THIS BE THE FINAL STRAW?*

*By Dan Onwukwe*

How much blows can a man take within three months of taking the reins of political power? If you think this only applies to President Bola Tinubu who has been galloping from one problem to another since assuming office, better look Eastwards, specifically at the Governor of Enugu state, Barr Peter Ndubuise Mbah.

His quiet mien and soft-spoken voice seem to betray the tortuous electoral battles he’s up against. His ongoing travails, some of them, self-inflicted, can be likened to “ *One week One Trouble* ”, title of the novel written by Prof. Anezi Okoro. The novel focuses on the character Wilson Tagbo, a boy who got admission into secondary school. Starting from his first day at school, Tagbo reportedly jumped from one trouble to another.

For what is of political lesson, the title of the book has often been used as a reference metaphor that often befalls Nigerian politicians. It’s a fitting description of the irksome burden on Gov Mbah. It’s a burden of his legitimacy as governor of his state. His nemesis is Barrister Chijioke Edeoga, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the March 18 guber election.

Lyndon Johnson(the 36th U.S. President) aptly captured this legitimacy challenge he faced as President after the assassination of the then incumbent President John F. Kennedy. Johnson said, “I took the oath, I became president. But for millions of Americans, I was still illegitimate, a naked man with no presidential covering, a pretender to the throne, an illegal usurper”.

You see, it can be quite unbearable for a leader who faces such odium when his legitimacy or authority comes under a blanket of suspicion. That is exactly what Gov Mbah has been facing since he was sworn in on May 29.

Until the Enugu State Elections Tribunal delivers its judgment, thousands of Enugu electorate who voted in that election will continue to see Mbah as a usurper, a pretender to the Lion Building, the seat of power in the state. For now, he’s grasping at the straws, with a firestorm in his governorship plate.

For him, these days, it doesn’t just rain, it pours. Only recently, Enugu state stakeholders voiced this feeling at an emergency meeting at Nike Lake Hotel and Resort, located in the state capital.

In a statement signed by the President, Prof. Joe Aneke, and Publicity Secretary, Dr Ifeanyi Agbo, the Association told the governor, “erecting billboards on every corner of the state celebrating yourself and political godfathers cannot confer legitimacy on your administration”. They claimed that the ubiquitous billboards were veiled efforts to make the Election Petition Tribunal feel he’s popular and running a legitimate government in Enugu state.

That’s the nature of how residents of Enugu state currently perceive Gov Mbah. From whichever angle you look at it, Mbah’s case is a complicated one.

He is enmeshed in a tangle of possible conflicts of interests, with a likelihood of legal peril. This could be the last in a series of bad things that may end his political ambition.

Based on the overwhelming evidence before the Tribunal, Edeoga holds great significance of what may become the fate of Mbah. Time is ticking.

These are Edeoga's grounds of petition to unseat Mbah. He avers that Mbah was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast in the election. The petitioner’s contention, through his lawyers, is that there were “arithmetical and computational errors” in the scores recorded and announced in favour of Mbah by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mbah is the second respondent in the case. According to the petitioner, his votes were deliberately and wilfully swapped with those of Mbah, meaning that the 2nd respondent (Mbah) was unfairly awarded votes in excess of the number of accredited voters.

In context, this amounts to daylight robbery. In simple terms, the petitioner is saying that the election in which Mbah was declared winner, was not conducted in compliance with relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.

Therefore, Edeoga insists that, if the computational errors and “criminal infractions” observed in the election results had been corrected, INEC would not have declared Mbah winner of the March 18 governorship election.

These infractions are clear in some of the local governments such as Udenu and Igboeze, as well as Nkanu East and Nkanu West. For instance, in the two councils of Udenu and Igboeze, material evidence was presented to the Tribunal by the petitioner’s lawyers that there were several collation centres where results were “deliberately and inaccurately” collated to suppress the votes scored by the Edeoga, in favour of the 2nd respondent (Mbah).

This was reportedly more glaring in Udenu local government, where evidence laid before the Tribunal showed that, from 17 polling units, votes scored by the petitioner, was allegedly swapped with those of Mbah. Udenu is one of the strongholds of the petitioner.

Same infractions in the results from five polling units in Igboeze, where lawful votes were allegedly voided and false votes “awarded “ to both candidates, Mbah and Edeoga.

The heist in Nkanu East and Nkanu West, dubbed by election observers as the “Nkanu wonder”, was not for nothing. According to figures from INEC Bimodal Voter Accreditation System( BVAS), Nkanu East LGA recorded 15,000 accredited voters on election day.

However, the “American wonder” happened when the result was announced: Mbah, the PDP candidate got 30,000 votes, while the Labour Party candidate(Edeoga) was ‘awarded’ 1,855 votes, meaning an excess of 15, 000 votes were “allocated” to Mbah.

Was this a clear case of over-voting or something stranger than that? Who says our politics is not a curious fun to follow? Though the petitioner did write a petition to INEC addressed to the State Returning Officer, Prof Maduebisbi, demanding a review of the results in Nkanu, nothing concrete was done to correct the anomaly.

INEC legal team, led by Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, merely offered a feeble defence to debunk the evidence by the petitioner. Rather than do the right thing, in line with Section 51(2) of the Electoral Act that requires outright cancellation of results of polling units where there are manifest over-voting, the Returning Officer deducted some votes from the PDP candidate, repackaged the entire result and proceeded to announce what observers called “cooked up” result. That’s unacceptable.

But that’s not all the ‘mountain’ that Gov Mbah has to climb in the controversial poll. His National Youth Service Corps( NYSC) discharged certificate is one Gordian knot that the Tribunal must try to untie.

So far, efforts made by him to stop the NYSC from giving evidence before the Tribunal have failed, just as the procured “staff” of the Department of State Service(DSS), Isa Yahaya Mohammed, has since been disowned by the secret police.

Early last month, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, declined to grant an application for an interlocutory injunction seeking to restrain the NYSC from giving evidence before the Tribunal in the suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/611/2023, filed by Mbah’s counsel, Emeka Ozoani(SAN).

The judge refused to maintain the status quo. Mbah’s controversial NYSC discharged certificate is one of the five grounds Edeoga is relying on to nullify the election of Gov Mbah and remove him from office.

Every passing day, things are getting harder for Mbah. His case at the Tribunal appears to be standing on a quicksand, with a web of overlapping contradictions in his evidence before the Tribunal.

In a recent deposition at the Federal High Court, Abuja, by the Assistant Director in the NYSC Certificate Department, Mrs Rhoda Dawa, the corps submitted a trove of information to the effect that the NYSC discharge certificate Mbah submitted to INEC, was not issued by the organisation.

Mbah had claimed that he participated in the NYSC scheme via a Call-up letter: FRN/2001/800351 with the Lagos Code LA/01/1532. He also claimed that on completion of service, he was issued with a discharge certificate Number:A808297, dated January 6, 2003.

NYSC has since repudiated that too. Curiously, that same year, Mbah was Chief of Staff to former governor of the state, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani. It should be recalled that following the Freedom of Information Act application by the law firm of OMAS & Partners, the NYSC had issued a disclaimer on Mbah’s certificate.

In all of this, the question is: Could Mbah have walked on two roads at once – serving as Chief of Staff – and at the same time doing his mandatory one year NYSC?

Did INEC manipulate victory on Mbah’s behalf? Does the submission of learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Wole Olanipekun, to the Tribunal that Section 177 of the Constitution does not list NYSC discharged certificate as a qualification for a candidate who ought to have participated in the scheme hold any water? All of these questions are for the tribunal to answer.

In that connection, I align myself with some legal experts’ opinion that section 182 of the Constitution is the right provision to follow for any candidate to be qualified for election in our country.

Altogether, amid this labyrinth of contradictions and Edeoga’s 30 witnesses, Mbah may have found himself in a dilemma, boxed in a corner. With the parties expected to submit their written addresses this week, very soon, the 3-member Tribunal, led by Justice K.M Akano, will deliver judgement on the matter. Undoubtedly, the verdict of the Enugu Election Petition Tribunal is one of the most- awaited across the country.

It is expected to define a new pathway to our democracy. All eyes on the judiciary. Impartiality should be the watchword.

http:///febaa84230815en_ng?link=1&client=news

Enugu people should be fully awake this time around to avoid a repeat of the ugly pattern

Ndi Enugu Beware Of That 'okpanegu' Who* *steals By Night, He May Be Up To Something.
By John Agbo (John Lead) Aug 4th 2023

In the past one year, a pattern of misfortune has repeatedly played out in Enugu State political environment. Like a wide cat that often terrorizes homes, scouting for chicks and other lower animals to steal and eat, a particular politician has been consistently laying ambush to Enugu people's political breakthrough. He has raided our electoral exercises constantly and dubiously snatched our people's victory at various stages since May 2022. Just like the wide cat supra, which my people called 'Busu Okpanegu, or simply Okpanegu' to differentiate it from the harmless domestic specie, each of this politician's nocturnal raid on our political fortune had always left our state in grief, anguish, bewildernent and expectedly frustrated.

In May 2022, Enugu people having laboured so hard to have their choice aspirant clinch the ticket of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, were very optimistic that their candidate, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga having conducted the most elaborate campaign among his co aspirants, will emerge victorious in the primary election. But a day before the exercise which held on the 25th of May 2022, 'Okpanegu' struck in the night, stealing the ticket with an alleged sum of 13bilion naira. Anguish, bewilderment, confusion and feeling of loss were the lot of Ndi Enugu as a result of the activities of 'Okpanegu' that time.
Then Ndi Enugu mobilized again and urged Edeoga to lead them through another platform that will be without the reach of 'Okpanegu' and his sponsors. This was heeded instantly. And 'Okpanegu' who always over estimateed his capacity to cause mischief, mobilized his brother in crime, a certain 'Odengene' to go and snatch the ticket of the new platform, Labour Party, from the people's choice Edeoga. And when we had gone to sleep in the night, Odengene like 'Okpanegu', reached for the ticket but was caught and hunted down through a legal battle that raged up to the supreme court of Nigeria.

Having defeated 'Okpanegu's stooge conclusively, Enugu people's mood was again enleavened to high heavens knowing that there is no way 'Okpanegu' will defeat the people's choice in any election held in the state. Like predicted, the new platform, the Labour Party won most of the elections with land slide. Out of the three Senatorial seats, the new platform won two leaving a highly disputed one to 'Okpanegu's PDP. Out of 8 House of Reps seats, LP cleared 7 leaving only one to PDP. And out of 24 House of Assembly seats, LP consumed 14 leaving just 10 for the now opposition PDP. In the gubernatorial election, LP's Edeoga was in a comfortable lead in 16 out of the 17 LGAs of the state. The entire Enugu State had almost erupted in jubilation over the victory of the chosen one, Hon. Barr. Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga. But in the night of 19th of March 2023, 'Okpanegu' invaded Enugu's 'home' again and senselessly snatched the people's emerging victory again. Okpanegu's home Nkanu East LGA was the metaphoric 'Enugu home' burgled by 'Okpanegu' that night. 'Okpanegu' and his cohort manufactured non existent votes that night to enable him achieve his aim of perpetuating the agony he always unleashed on Enugu people. When brutally confronted and challenged at the state INEC collation centre, 'Okpanegu' did the unthinkable by even going fetish. The cow slaughtered by Okpanegu's loyalists at Independence Layout during the turmoil that ensued, have been discovered by those who should know, to be his importation of his trade mark diabolism to aid him in his devilish mission. After that 'Okpanegu' and his party in the night again had reached the highly corrupt members of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, such as Festus Okoye and bribed them to the tune of 2 billion naira inorder to announce him as the winner of the election. Thus 'Okpanegu' brought tears to the eyes of Enugu people once more.

My dear Ndi Enugu, I decided to write this today because we are once again at another critical stage of our state politics. It's time for another expected success. And may we all be vigilant against the activities of this 'Okpanegu' that has been tormenting our people since last year. Anybody who has followed up the development at the state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal knows that Enugu's 'Okpanegu' has been once again dealt with in the court of law. He was not able to deny the embarrassing allegation of forgery of the NYSC discharge certificate he submitted to INEC for the election. He instead laboured to prove that even though he committed forgery as now proven by the testimony of NYSC officials at the Tribunal, it should not matter for whatsoever reason he manufactures in self deception. 'Okpanegu' through his lawyers, is trivializing a constitutional felony such as the forgery of highly rated certificate of national service, but we all know that no reasonable judge will ever listen to such a wobbly argument of his. Also, he has been largely unable to prove that he and INEC did not manufacture votes in Nkanu East LGA to the glorification of the petition brought against him by the LP's Hon. Barr. Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga. To make matters worse for 'Okpanegu', the INEC refused to defend it's declaration of the PDP's candidate as the winner of the Governorship election held on 18th of March 2023. We all know the legal implication of this. Legally speaking, the petition brought by Edeoga and his party going by all that have transpired at the trial court has gloriously succeeded.

But having known that we are dealing with 'Okpanegu' who never give up until he finishes his activities, we should deploy additional tactics and vigilance if we want this 'Okpanegu' summarily defeated. Yes, in real life, 'Okpanegu' has everything in common with the political 'Okpanegu' we are currently contending with in Enugu State. The real animal strikes only at nights. The political Okpanegu strikes mainly at nights too. No one ever sees the real 'Okpanegu' killing it's victim. All we get to see is that in the morning following every visit of the beast, chickens and other lower animals including young goats and puppies will be visibly missing. Similarly the Enugu's political Okpanegu never operate when anyone will see him. we only get to know when he has collected what does not belong to him and long gone with it.

However having studied the modus operandi of our tormenting 'Okpanegu', I hereby put the entire Enugu populace on the look out for signs and signature of the 'Okpanegu' activities. Our political Okpanegu uses a discredited elder statesman, a one time respected Chief Jim Nwobodo to communicate his ill will . Recall that in all the nurctunal activities of 'Okpanegu' earlier listed, it was Chief Nwobodo that came to announce it in disguise of a press conference by an elder statesman. On 24 of May 2022 being the eve of PDP Governorship primaries, Chief Nwobodo addressed a press conference announcing the zoning of PDP gubernatorial ticket to 'Okpanegu's Nkanu East LGA at a time it was almost certain that Isi Uzo LGA will get the ticket. And during the imbroglio that resulted from 'Okpanegu's manufacture of non existent votes in Nkanu East, it was Chief Nwobodo that came to Independence Layout to address protesters. What nobody knew at the time was that it was a ploy to pacify angry protesters against the announcement of 'Okpanegu' as the governor elect of Enugu State. So as we patiently wait for the judgement of the tribunal which will happen this month, we need to look out for 'Okpanegu's traditional methodology of covetting what never belonged to him. It is time to pay attention and discover when the clannish Chief Nwobodo will show face in this matter. For I can tell you from what I know that, the typical 'Okpanegu' is doing everything including the unthinkable to consolidate the stolen mandate currently in his hand. And we as a people must resist him now. If at any time Chief Nwobodo shows up at this critical point before the judgement day, then it is a litmus prove that 'Okpanegu' has had his way again. We must not allow this to happen again. In one of Mike Ejeagha's song, the ever cunning tortoise asked his three children how many times will bad things happen to them before they learn their lessons? I am asking Ndi Enugu the same question today. Let's make sure that the moment we see any sign of 'Okpanegu' in this all important judgement being awaited, we must rise up in group and at once to stop him. We must not allow him to succeed in stealing our future again. We must get ready to occupy everywhere if we see Chief Nwobodo coming to address anybody before or during the upcoming tribunal judgement.

'Okpanegu' equally uses some known ex political leaders of the state. And we must also look out for any the people in that category coming to address anybody this time. It will mean that 'Okpanegu' might have succeeded again and we must not allow that to happen. Finally I strongly believe that our true leader whom we voted for as our governor,Hon. Barr. Chijioke Edeoga has done his part very well in proving all the grounds of his petition beyond reasonable doubt. Now it's time for us to be as wise as a serpent and ensure that no man born of any woman again steals our joy, hopes, and future in Enugu State.

https://m./1343374456174087/permalink/1677324466112416/

The Legal Practitioners Act 1975 is a law which regulates the practice of law in Nigeria. It prescribes punishments for wide ranging offences including that of passing off, among other infractions to which a legal practitioner himself could be liable. Also in force is a code of professional ethics applicable to all legal practitioners enrolled in the Supreme Court of Nigeria and which they are expected to observe in their day to day legal practice.

Some non lawyers acquainted with these legislations, appreciate the fact that it is by far more effective to drag an erring lawyer before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee LPDC ( a body charged with the discipline of legal practitioners in Nigeria) than a conventional court of law. There, erring lawyers petitioned against, get summary sanctions unlike in the conventional court, where, owing to congestion of cases, matters take much longer time to resolve.

It was probably for this reason that one Barr. Alloy Ejimkeonye of OEMERAD CHAMBERS Abuja, a couple of days ago, petitioned the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee LPDC alleging bribery and corruption against one Festus Okoye, the INEC's National Commissioner in charge of information. The petition, a copy of which has since gone viral, demanded the immediate striking off of Mr Okoye's name in the roll of legal practitioners in the country for his involvement in the Enugu State governorship election bribery scandal which has attracted nationwide condemnation and outrage and which has further rubbished the already battered image of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

It would be recalled that Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State has been in the eye of the storm since the March 18th governorship election, for discarding the use of BVAS in the election and manufacturing fantastic results for the Peoples Democratic Party. That sparked off controversy as other political party agents at the state collation centre, rejected the fake results which ought to have been cancelled in in accordance with the new Electoral Act but which were duly collated by a dubious lecturer from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and fed into the INEC's IREV portal.

To resolve the logjam and for which collation was halted for nearly four days, the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, set up a committee headed by Mr Festus Okoye to deal with the matter. Instead of getting to the root of the problem, the dubious lawyer accepted a bribe of #1bilion from Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi on behalf of his committee to allocate figures to the PDP and thereafter, arm twist the Electoral Officer Prof. Iwe, to announce the candidate of the PDP as winner of the gubernatorial election.

Aside from the issue of non use of the BVAS in Nkanu East Local Government Area, election did not hold in several polling units across the state and whose registered voters far exceeded the margin of victory between the purported winner and the runner up. It is on record that 'PVCs' collected in the affected polling units are above 20,000 whereas the margin of victory, after all the manipulations, was a little above 3,000 votes. Also on record is the fact that the heavily compromised Festus Okoye's committee refused to review the Enugu East Local Government Area gubernatorial election result with a view to recovering 3000 votes accruing to the Labour Party and which was wrongfully credited to the PDP. Luckily, the returning officer while making his return, made it clear that he was merely carrying out an instruction from his employer.

Mr Festus Okoye would always appear in a clean suit on a number of national televisions, to elucidate on various aspects of the newly amended Electoral Act. In fact, he was before now seen as the symbol and repository of the new image and confidence inspired by INEC under Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, prior to the 2023 general elections. This was largely due to his mastery of the electoral law as shown in the articulate answers he effortlessly provided to questions put to him by journalists and other persons requesting enlightenment on the new Electoral Act.

The ever smiling Festus had therefore easily come across as a truly remarkable image maker for an organization battling legitimacy crisis and which many Nigerians had totally dismissed as a mortally irredeemable fraud, before they were convinced to trust it one more time.

Due to the rekindled interest, everyone looked forward to watching Festus Okoye on the Channels Television's flagship programme 'Politics Today' as well as other broadcast outfits, doing a job he understood so well.

Not so, as the hood has once again been found not to make a Monk. The shameful manipulation of the 2023 elections are now history but the scares may not go away anytime soon. Whereas Mahmud Yakubu reneged on his signature promise of making sure that results of the presidential election were contemporaneously transmitted to INEC's portal, in order to please his ally Bola Tinubu, who allegedly nominated him, Festus Okoye served as the conduit pipe and hatchet man through whom fabulous illicit funds and hush monies from politicians were effectively laundered to rig elections at all levels.

What a disappointment for a nation whose citizens strongly banked on the year 2023 as a one which held out special hope for them. To make matters worse, these wolves in gentlemen clothing, are still championing the establishment of Electoral Offences Commission to punish election thugs and result sheet snatchers, whereas they are the real offenders the law should go after.

One interesting thing about Alloy Ejimkeonye's petition is that he claims to have documented evidence of the illicit transaction between Okoye and the Enugu State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. If he truly does, there is no reason Festus Okoye could go free with a 'not guilty' verdict before the highly rated LPDC.

Many analysts are of the opinion that striking the name of Mr Okoye off the roll of legal practitioners, is nothing compared to the monumental damage and embarrassment he has caused Enugu State and the nation at large. He should thus in addition to having his name stuck off the roll of legal practitioners, face normal criminal trial for felony against the state.

Nonetheless, it is one thing to push a letter to an office of interest, and quite another to follow it up until justice is served. In saner climes, Mr Ejimkeonye has done all he needs to do to set the machinery of justice against Mr Festus Okoye but certainly not in Nigeria. He needs to spend further time to ensure that the petition reaches the appropriate table before Mr Okoye's scavengers shreds it into the dustbin. That is the Nigerian standard.

Cult boys procured by the chairman of Isi Uzo LGA Barr Obiora Obeagu with the intention of attacking Hon Chijioke Edeoga, Labour Party Governorship Candidate and disrupting peaceful election in Eha-Amufu are now lodged in the residence of late Chief Ezekiel Ogbu very close to the methodist church before the residence of Prof Hillary Edeoga.

And in another development, Cult boys procurred by Mr Austin Nnamani the State PDP chairman are currently lodged in his compound at Neke, waiting to be deployed.

Recall that the labour party senatorial candidate for Enugu East Senatorial District Barr. Oyibo Chukwu was murdered last Wednesday on his way back from campaign tour. The murder of the labour senatorial candidate has led to INEC canceling senatorial election in the district earlier scheduled today. Many hands are already pointing at PDP candidate for the same position as the suspect in the murder case.

It seems that the ruling PDP in Enugu state want to use violence and assassination of opponents to retain power having seen that the people of the state have rejected them.
We call for heightened security presence around the labour party governorship candidate Hon. Barr. Chijioke Edeoga in this critical time. The people of the state do not wish to mourn any other of our illustrous sons in this election time

Congratulations odogwu

Eurasia:
Don't be deceived by okeysoninv, he's a false prophet

How

okeysoninv:
as God liveth Edeoga and otti shall be governor in Jesus name.

Amen

NigerianAngelo:
I was on draft, about to complete. Sorry.

Okkk dear

ComradeNap:
God bless you nwanne mmadu

Edeoga was also a two term Commissioner in Enugu State.

He started his Political carrear in 1992 when he emerged as the deputy chief press secretary to the first civilian governor of Enugu State.

NigerianAngelo:
I am Not From Enugu But Let Me Help Out (It Benefits Me):

Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga - Profile

-Birth: 1964, Enugu (58 years)
-Primary & Secondary School: Enugu
-Bachelor Degree: University of Buckingham, UK (LAW)
- Call to Bar: NBA- 1 yr (Distinction), Nigeria
Interned as Solicitor in the Supreme Court of Nigeria

Graduate Education:
-Msc (Public International Law), UK
-Msc Public Administration, ESUT, Nigeria (2019)

Experience
1. Employee, Daily Star Printing & Publishing (brief)

2. Chairman, Isi Uzo Local Government (1997-1998)

3. House of Representatives, Isi-Uzo Constitute cycle

4. House Chairman on Information

5. House Chairman States & LG

6. Adviser to Deputy Senate President

God bless you nwanne mmadu

NigerianAngelo:
Please tell him. That is how ipob reason.
They cancel ten good things for millions one stupid mindset they may change in a week.

Such stupidities should always be scolded at the face like St. Paul to St. Peter.

Exactly what am saying

NigerianAngelo:
You should do more to campaign for him here.

God bless you brotherly

Throwback:
It is a very old phrase indeed.

But we all know that as it concerns Enugu politics, it is the slogan of the Ebeano political group.

The bottom line is that in Enugu politics today, we have vehemently rejected Ebeano and whoever identifies with it. That is why Enugu people are rooting for Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga as the best man for the lion building job

Ride on to victory sir. Enugu People are behind you sir Hon. Barr. Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga

*Chijioke Edeoga Took Away the Soul of Enugu* *PDP*

*By John Agbo (John Lead)*

There is no gain saying the fact that all has not been well with Enugu PDP for a while now. It is truly palpable in all ramifications bearing in mind that the Enugu State chapter of the People's Democratic Party has unceremoniously assumed the role of opposition party in the state despite being the ruling party. Infact, PDP is not just the ruling party, it has held sway in Enugu politics since 1999 till date. It was to the eternal blame of PDP that there has been a dearth of vibrant opposition politics in Enugu State for some decades now. This I say bearing in mind that the role of opposition parties in an emerging democracy such as ours cannot be over emphasised. But in Enugu State, the ruling party has always spared no action that will cripple and decimate opposition party politics. It started with the brutal and deadly crushing of members of the opposition parties during the murderous regime of Dr Chimaroke Nnamani. Then got to the current governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi tenure where seeds of discord are passionately sowed in the midst of opposition party members in order to weaken them beyond redemption and end up not posing even a minimal challenge to PDP in every election.

The latter is the hall mark of Gov Ugwuanyi's brand of politicking. He mastered the art like a wizard to the extent that he was able to conceal his real personality from the public under the pretense of a peaceful leader and his famous hand of God mantra. For instance at every election season under Gov Ugwuanyi, he will start very early and identify all strong politicians in Enugu State who are likely to contest elections under opposition parties. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi would then, begin to lure them to come and buy ticket in PDP with full assurances of his support and back up. Being expectedly unsuspecting and with such promise coming from the state governor, these innocent Enugu politicians would begin to mobilize all their resources and support base for PDP. Remarkable in this situation is the fact that non of these politicians usually has any inkling that the same governor has promised other people with the same ambition his supports too. The governor is so brutal and merciless that he will continue assuring his victims of his approval of their political courses until they end up using their scarce resources to pay for exorbitant party forms in millions of naira.

Then at the dying minutes the governor would give a matching order to his party delegates to votes for a particular aspirant with whom he had earlier struck a deal after exchange of hard currencies. By this time, it was usually too late for all the innocent politicians he lured into squandering their money to take any meaning political course of action. Gov. Ugwuanyi's 'evil genius' kind of method is so strategic that these politicians would be left with no options than to swallow their pride and accept the governor's choice in shame with a concerted efforts at praise singing in order to attract a contract that will enable them recover their money from the governor.

This is how our dear governor has handled Enugu people for eight years now. And I wish to state significantly here that his Excellency's personality sharply contradicts that of his predecessor Barr. Sullivan Chime, who in his time told Enugu people that it was his wish that no Enugu man waste his money in an election whereas he can reach a consensus with the people to support one of them to emerge their leader at a particular time. This was the reason why Sullivan Chime never deceived any one to buy forms and no politician was made to part with his money unjustly under him.

But all the grip of the governor and the PDP on Enugu politics began to wither after the emergence of Hon. Barr. Chijioke Edeoga on the state's political scene. Soon after the governor in his usual way, sold the gubernatorial ticket of PDP to one corruption laden Peter Mba after promising and making about seventeen other politicians part with their millions of naira, a flood gate of shameful acceptance of the governor's choice opened and a manhunt for any presumed dissident politician was equally activated. The social media was awashed with news of how distinguished sen. Ike Ekweremadu was blocked from entering APC and other opposition parties by the governor at the time. The indefatigable Edeoga kept his cool and at a time participated in the PDP candidate acceptance galore which analysts have since described as an effective master stroke of Edeoga politics. With Edeoga who came second in the widely condemned PDP primaries of May 25, 2022 now in the Peter Mba's acceptance register, the PDP went to sleep under the total assumption that their victory was as usual concluded. Then the very calculative Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga went ahead to join a then emerging platform the, Labour Party, to continue his gubernatorial ambition in Enugu State.

This was the stage that 'Things fell Apart' in PDP and their centre couldn't hold since then. The rising profile of Chijioke Edeoga in Enugu politics and that of Nigeria since then has gradually but steadily reduced a ruling party in Enugu State to a toothless and hopeless opposition party. How else can one explain the fact that the only hope of Enugu PDP winning this year's governorship election is if Chijioke Edeoga doesn't contest? It took the astuteness and sagacity of Chijioke Edeoga to unravel the true personality of Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as I have explained in this write up, to the over all advantage of Enugu State and Enugu people are warming up to reward Edeoga with their votes.

This is why the Enugu PDP is desperately pursuing their Odengene script in Labour Party to the effect that they now have nothing to celebrate order than masturbate over the last Friday's striking out of Edeoga's request to join the Labour Party's appeal against a frivolous judgement granted to the fraudulent impostor known as Capt. Evarest Nnaji (Odengene) even when the main appeal is yet to be determined. How a ruling party reduced itself to clutching at straws while drowning and at the same time hoping to survive can only be understood when one considers that after the exit of Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga from PDP, the party is now peopled in majority by senseless, grossly uneducated individuals. The above position of mine is largely deducible from the quality of contents being pushed out by Peter Mba media team. In facts reading anything from Mr Mba's team instantly portrays an array of illogical, kiddish, annoying, imbecilic, ignorant, unprofessional and desperately hopeless wishes and inuendos that curiously offer one an option of only pity for PDP, Peter Mba and their few paid supporters. Compare this with the highly cerebral, well presented, fact checked, logical and mout watering contents that always exudes from Edeoga's qaurters and you will realize that Hon. Barr. C J Edeoga is well prepared for the job of Enugu governor more than his legally encumbered counterpart in PDP.

PDP's inability to campaign without witch hunting Edeoga, and their fear of competing with him has rightly earned them two important lawsuits. One of these is based on non-compliance to the texts of the Nigeria 'Electoral Act' during the PDP primaries and the other on the ineligibility of its two technically convicted candidates Mr. Peter Mbah and Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani. And these court cases are coming from concerned Enugu public who are not happy with PDP's destructive ambition of stopping Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga's good will from manifesting in Enugu state. For a party that has amassed so much political fortunes in Enugu State for almost 24 years now to be facing these preponderance of troubles in an election year following the exit of one of its founding member in the state, it is copiously safe to conclude without any display of hesitation that Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga actually took away the soul of Enugu PDP to Labour Party Nigeria and has by so doing done so well for the entire people of Enugu State.

Throwback:
But you are using the very phrase invented for Enugu politics by the same Ebeano cabal.

Abi no be "To God be the glory, Enugu State is working" be the slogan of the Ebeano political family of Dr Chimaroke Nnamani who was Enugu State Governor from 1999 to 2007?

That clause "to God be the glory" is older than Chimaroke Nnamani as a person. So you don't know what you are talking about

To God be the glory. Enugu State shall be great again. We say no to every traces of PDP in our state again. Chijioke Edeoga and Labour Party has come to rescue Enugu State from PDP misrule and their deadly Ebeano cabal

COURT OF APPEAL AFFIRMS EDEOGA AS THE AUTHENTIC LABOUR PARTY CANDIDATE FOR THE ENUGU STATE GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, today Friday, 6th January 2023, set aside the judgment of Justice Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court, Abuja and reinstated Hon Chijioke Edeoga as the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party in the Enugu governorship race.

Edeoga's nomination was set aside by the High Court upon a suit by Everest Nnaji claiming that he was excluded from the primary election.

In it's judgment today, the Court of Appeal restored Edeoga as the authentic candidate of the Labour Party for the Enugu governorship race. The Court of Appeal lambasted Justice Maha of the Federal High Court for going on a voyage of discovery. The court wondered how Justice Maha could have arrived at such a strange decision given the fact that the Supreme Court had passed several judgments on the issue of who is an aspirant entitled to bring an action. The court wondered why the lower court entertained Everest Nnaji's suit at all, since it was obvious that he lacked the locus standi to even bring the action and deemed the action of the judge as an unwarranted interfere in the internal affairs of the Labour Party.

The Court of Appeal then ruled that even the respondent's brief filed before it by Everest Nnaji's lawyer was incompetent having been filed out of time.
The Court of Appeal adopted the four issues formulated by Barrister Alexander Obodo SAN, counsel to the Labour Party. On the first issue, the court agreed with the submission of Alex Obodo SAN, that since Everest Nnaji did not participate in the primary election, he lacked the locus standi to challenge the outcome and that the lower court should have dismissed his suit.

Having held that Everest Nnaji lacked the standing to even bring the suit thereby robbing the court of jurisdiction, the Court of Appeal held that there was no need to waste their time in consideration of the other issues.
The Court therfore allowed the appeal, set aside the judgment of Justice Maha and affirmed Hon Chijioke Edeoga as the authentic candidate of the Labour Party for the Enugu State gubernatorial election

The famous socio cultural group in Enugu East Senatorial District of Enugu State, Nkanu Peoples Assembly, has rejected a motion to endorse the gunbernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, as the only candidate of the Nkanu People for the forth coming governorship election in Enugu state. The Association which consists of Elders of Nkanu people found in the six LGAs of the Enugu East Senatorial District made the rejection during it's general meeting held on Sunday the 6th of Nov. 2022 in Enugu. The motion came from the traditional ruler of Umuawalagu autonomous Community in Nara Unateze, Nkanu East LGA, Igwe Abel Nwobodo who doubles as the National president Nkanu Peoples Assembly. Igwe Nwobodo while moving the motion informed the Nkanu elders that Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has anointed Mr. Peter Mba who equally hails from Nkanu East LGA as his preferred Choice for the office of Enugu State governor come 2023. "All I am asking for is for us to unanimously as a group support Peter Mba as our son since the governor has given him the ticket for the post". "We should intensify our prayers for him to win the election as the only Nkanu man that we are supporting". The motion was supported by the secretary of the Association.

But in a swift response to the development, a prominent founding member of the Association, Chief Emma Okenwa of Amechi Awkunanaw, moved a counter motion which later carried the day. Chief Okenwa vehemently rejected the endorsement of only Peter Mba as proposed by the national president emphasizing that the association comprises of People from the six LGAs that make up the Enugu East Senatorial District stating emphatically that any candidate coming from the six councils should be a candidate of the Nkanu People as has always been the case in the past."I Chief Emma Okenwa was among the first set that started this Association. I was the first committee chairman that gave Chimaroke Nnamani reception in 1999. And Nkanu has not done it again since then". "I led the delegation that went to Isi Uzo LGA to bury Isaiah Ani on behalf of Nkanu Peoples Assembly. What we have is six LGAs and any candidate that emerges from any of these LGAs becomes Nkanu candidate" "We have never been Partisan before the coming of Chimaroke Nnamani. So it is not proper that anybody tries to confuse us with whatever governor said about anointing any candidate. We are elders and this is not what we should be talking about. We are supposed to be completely non Partisan as we used to be".
The counter motion was widely supported with massive applause from the elders. Several other speakers spoke in favour of the counter motion and generally cautioned the leadership of association to resist any attempt to politicise it.

Speaking after the meeting some elders who pleaded anonymity expressed their anger with Igwe Abel Nwobodo who according to them has held tight to the office of the national president for more than 20 years now. When asked if the association doesn't conduct election, one of the elders stated: "We are supposed to be doing election but how do you do election when the national president has not said so Is it not when he agrees to conduct an election that it will hold" "This is a man who is over 90 years old and yet what is still worrying him is to continue as the National President of Nkanu Peoples Assembly. The issue is he has stayed too long in that post. How can you continue to resist change of leadership after more than twenty years you have stayed on the post".

The decision of the Association not to endorse Peter Mba will rekindled trust among the members of the group since it is now seen that some people want to use the association to achieve some selfish gain to the detriment of the Association. And we salute the courage of the Elders and the entire membership of the Nkanu People Assembly for speaking the truth to those who think that certain part of the Enugu East Senatorial district should continue to suffer marginalization for no just course.

*

The Labour Party governorship candidate in Enugu State Hon. Barr. Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga is obviously on a long walk to victory. In my Aug 26, 2022 write up, I stated clearly that the Labour Party's candidate has become "a proverbial Cat with Nine lives in Enugu politics". The people's choice, Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga has been weathering every storms, stumbling blocks, blockades, sordid hitches, witches and wizards, convoluted conspiracies, and anastomosis of man-made issues, in his divine mission to shoulder the responsibility of leading Enugu state out of the dark forces that have held the state hostage for some 23 years now. Apart from conquering governor Ugwuanyi's bobby traps pre - PDP Primaries erra, that led Edeoga to a stationed slaughter house on may 25 2022, Edeoga has been using his widely likened genius ingenuity in dodging, repulsing, rebuking, countering, diverting, quenching and sometimes snubbing the resurgence of Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi's deadly arrows projected to extinguish the looming Political freedom of Enugu people now represented by Chijioke Edeoga movement.

However, Chijioke Edeoga was not the only victim of the May 25 widely condemned scam, the PDP Primary election in Enugu state. Other aspirants who were equally led to the golgotha same day included but not limited to: distinguished sen. Gilbert Nnaji, distinguished sen. Ike Ekweremadu, Pastor Beloved Dan. Anike, Rev. Ralph Nwoye, and Prof. Barth Nnaji. All these notable sons of Enugu state were individually and unknown to each other, lured to buy the PDP gunbernatorial forms at a whopping sum of 20 million naira by the governor of Enugu State with a firm conviction that he will anoint each of them. C.J Edeoga stood out among them because when the bubbles finally bursted with the realization that the governor had sold the ticket to Peter Mba since Match 2022 and has been deceiving others all the while, all but Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga scampered for safety and towards a financially assured succor. Most of them withdrew from the contest 24 hrs before the date. It was only Hon. Barr. Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga that had the gut to face the contest no matter whose ox was gored. Having done a tremendous work in interfacing with the party delegates, Edeoga was determined to prove to Enugu people that he was quite prepared to lead them unlike the rest of the aspirants that hoped to be handed over the ticket on a platter and ended up running away when the governor handed over the ticket to Peter Mbah for a handsome fee. Edeoga thereafter in response to the calls by Enugu people moved to Labour Party with his massive following, to actualize his divine ambition. But gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has been using all the state arsenals currently in his disposal to hunt the leader of what has become a People's liberation movement.

The most current and the final but failed onslaught against Edeoga is the suit seeking to declare the governor's surrogate Capt. Everest Nnaji, Odengene , the candidate of the Labour Party despite not participating in one and the only primary election that produced Chijioke Edeoga as the candidate of the party. Apart from paying a mind blinding sum of 2 billion naira for the ill-fated mission, grape vine has it that additional billions of the dwindling Enugu state funds were pushed into the pursuit of a legal victory for Odengene. But the federal high court Abuja in its wisdom ruled on 9th of October 2022, that the primary election should be reconducted within 14 days. This is a victory for Edeoga, Enugu people, Labour Party, INEC and even the judiciary for resisting all the palpable inducements by the corrupt PDP in this matter. At last Labour Party now has the opportunity to make the same statement it has been making since July 1, 2022 - that Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga is it's gunbernatorial candidate in Enugu state in a reconducted primaries. This will shamefully bury the nusisance value which Odengene and his sponsors have been constituting. Meanwhile Labour Party equally has the time and opportunity to approach the appeal court to quash the judgement since it is encumbered by many senseless infractions of the plaintiff such as non inclusion of Chijioke Edeoga as a party in the suit. This implies that any direction and decision the party takes will be to the rightful advantage of Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga, Labour Party and Enugu people.

Meanwhile Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and his party PDP are not the only dark forces working against the light that is coming to shine throughout the nooks and crannies of Enugu state. Certain minor Political irredentists from Enugu East Senatorial District have been projecting their own episodes of attempts to drag Enugu state back to the frightening era of Ebeano rein. Last Sunday the 6th of Nov. 2022, the Nkanu Peoples Assembly held it's meeting in Enugu. And a motion came from the national president of the group, Igwe Abel Nwobodo to recognize Peter Mba as the only candidate of the Nkanu People, for the forth coming governorship election in Enugu State. It is to the enternal credit of the spontaneous counter motion raised by Chief Emma Okenwa of Amechi Awkunanaw, that the association resisted being misled by such a motion with obvious clandestine objectives. The respected and vocal Chief Okenwa rose up to vehemently reject the motion of the irredentist Igwe Abel Nwobodo. Chief Emma Okenwa loudly reminded Nkanu elders at the meeting that before the emergence of Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, Nkanu Peoples Assembly has always been non Partisan. Chief Okenwa informed the Nkanu People that: "I Chief Emma Okenwa was among the first set that started this Association. I was the first committee chairman that gave Chimaroke Nnamani reception in 1999. And Nkanu has not done it again since then". "I led the delegation that went to Isi Uzo to beg Isaiah Ani for the inclusion of Isi Uzo people in the proposed new Enugu East Senatorial district on behalf of Nkanu Peoples Assembly. What we have is six LGAs and any candidate that emerges from any of these LGAs becomes Nkanu candidate" "We have never been Partisan before the coming of Chimaroke Nnamani. So let nobody confuse us with whatever governor said about anointing any candidate. We are elders and this is not what we should be talking about. We are supposed to be completely non Partisan as we used to be". Chief Emma Okenwa was largely supported by many other Nkanu elders in the Sunday meeting who spoke after him in approval of the gold standard of the Nkanu Peoples Assembly as correctly stated by Chief Okenwa.

While we commend the uncommon courage to say the truth, as displayed by Chief Emma Okenwa and the Nkanu elders who supported him, I wish to express my disappointment on the person of the over 90 years old Igwe Abel Nwobodo. At an age when this elder states man should be preaching unity among his people, he has continued to display extreme clannishness over the years. By the way, why has Pa Abel Nwobodo refused to conduct an election in Nkanu Peoples Assembly for more than twenty years he has monopolized the leadership of the famous Association Is he thinking that Nkanu Peoples Assembly is his personal fiefdom the same way he foisted himself on the people of NaraUnateze as their Igwe in 2014 against the will of the entire Nara Unateze people?? Why has Nkanu elders allowed this clannish man to continue to portray the noble association in bad light for more than twenty years now

This motion and counter motion in Nkanu Peoples Assembly is very timely and has reiterated all we have been saying all the while namely: 1. that Nkanu People begged Isi Uzo people to join them in forming Enugu East Senatorial district as brothers. 2. That it is only few people led by Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani that are causing problem in Enugu East Senatorial district. 3. That Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga is widely accepted throughout Enugu State including the entire Nkanu land. 4. That Peter Mba cannot win any governorship election in Enugu state because of his criminal past, as long as Chijioke Edeoga, who is in all ramifications immuned to corruption, is contesting the same election. This explains why the PDP, Peter Mba, governor Ugwuanyi and Chimaroke Nnamani have been doing every permissible evil thing to truncate the liberation of Enugu State through attempted withering of Chijioke Edeoga's name from the ballot papers.

But Edeoga as usual will definitely come out stronger as their defeat has started with the federal high court Abuja's refusal to declare Odengene as the party's candidate. May I conclude this by stating unequivocally that the conundrum of the artificial troubles that have been fashioned against the people's incoming governor, Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga is a vital and most convincing sign that he is on a long but assured walk to victory, the lion building Enugu.

Agbo writes from Mbu Ezeutazi ward 2.

*

The Labour Party governorship candidate in Enugu State Hon. Barr. Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga is obviously on a long walk to victory. In my Aug 26, 2022 write up, I stated clearly that the Labour Party's candidate has become "a proverbial Cat with Nine lives in Enugu politics". The people's choice, Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga has been weathering every storms, stumbling blocks, blockades, sordid hitches, witches and wizards, convoluted conspiracies, and anastomosis of man-made issues, in his divine mission to shoulder the responsibility of leading Enugu state out of the dark forces that have held the state hostage for some 23 years now. Apart from conquering governor Ugwuanyi's bobby traps pre - PDP Primaries erra, that led Edeoga to a stationed slaughter house on may 25 2022, Edeoga has been using his widely likened genius ingenuity in dodging, repulsing, rebuking, countering, diverting, quenching and sometimes snubbing the resurgence of Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi's deadly arrows projected to extinguish the looming Political freedom of Enugu people now represented by Chijioke Edeoga movement.

However, Chijioke Edeoga was not the only victim of the May 25 widely condemned scam, the PDP Primary election in Enugu state. Other aspirants who were equally led to the golgotha same day included but not limited to: distinguished sen. Gilbert Nnaji, distinguished sen. Ike Ekweremadu, Pastor Beloved Dan. Anike, Rev. Ralph Nwoye, and Prof. Barth Nnaji. All these notable sons of Enugu state were individually and unknown to each other, lured to buy the PDP gunbernatorial forms at a whopping sum of 20 million naira by the governor of Enugu State with a firm conviction that he will anoint each of them. C.J Edeoga stood out among them because when the bubbles finally bursted with the realization that the governor had sold the ticket to Peter Mba since Match 2022 and has been deceiving others all the while, all but Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga scampered for safety and towards a financially assured succor. Most of them withdrew from the contest 24 hrs before the date. It was only Hon. Barr. Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga that had the gut to face the contest no matter whose ox was gored. Having done a tremendous work in interfacing with the party delegates, Edeoga was determined to prove to Enugu people that he was quite prepared to lead them unlike the rest of the aspirants that hoped to be handed over the ticket on a platter and ended up running away when the governor handed over the ticket to Peter Mbah for a handsome fee. Edeoga thereafter in response to the calls by Enugu people moved to Labour Party with his massive following, to actualize his divine ambition. But gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has been using all the state arsenals currently in his disposal to hunt the leader of what has become a People's liberation movement.

The most current and the final but failed onslaught against Edeoga is the suit seeking to declare the governor's surrogate Capt. Everest Nnaji, Odengene , the candidate of the Labour Party despite not participating in one and the only primary election that produced Chijioke Edeoga as the candidate of the party. Apart from paying a mind blinding sum of 2 billion naira for the ill-fated mission, grape vine has it that additional billions of the dwindling Enugu state funds were pushed into the pursuit of a legal victory for Odengene. But the federal high court Abuja in its wisdom ruled on 9th of October 2022, that the primary election should be reconducted within 14 days. This is a victory for Edeoga, Enugu people, Labour Party, INEC and even the judiciary for resisting all the palpable inducements by the corrupt PDP in this matter. At last Labour Party now has the opportunity to make the same statement it has been making since July 1, 2022 - that Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga is it's gunbernatorial candidate in Enugu state in a reconducted primaries. This will shamefully bury the nusisance value which Odengene and his sponsors have been constituting. Meanwhile Labour Party equally has the time and opportunity to approach the appeal court to quash the judgement since it is encumbered by many senseless infractions of the plaintiff such as non inclusion of Chijioke Edeoga as a party in the suit. This implies that any direction and decision the party takes will be to the rightful advantage of Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga, Labour Party and Enugu people.

Meanwhile Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and his party PDP are not the only dark forces working against the light that is coming to shine throughout the nooks and crannies of Enugu state. Certain minor Political irredentists from Enugu East Senatorial District have been projecting their own episodes of attempts to drag Enugu state back to the frightening era of Ebeano rein. Last Sunday the 6th of Nov. 2022, the Nkanu Peoples Assembly held it's meeting in Enugu. And a motion came from the national president of the group, Igwe Abel Nwobodo to recognize Peter Mba as the only candidate of the Nkanu People, for the forth coming governorship election in Enugu State. It is to the enternal credit of the spontaneous counter motion raised by Chief Emma Okenwa of Amechi Awkunanaw, that the association resisted being misled by such a motion with obvious clandestine objectives. The respected and vocal Chief Okenwa rose up to vehemently reject the motion of the irredentist Igwe Abel Nwobodo. Chief Emma Okenwa loudly reminded Nkanu elders at the meeting that before the emergence of Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, Nkanu Peoples Assembly has always been non Partisan. Chief Okenwa informed the Nkanu People that: "I Chief Emma Okenwa was among the first set that started this Association. I was the first committee chairman that gave Chimaroke Nnamani reception in 1999. And Nkanu has not done it again since then". "I led the delegation that went to Isi Uzo to beg Isaiah Ani for the inclusion of Isi Uzo people in the proposed new Enugu East Senatorial district on behalf of Nkanu Peoples Assembly. What we have is six LGAs and any candidate that emerges from any of these LGAs becomes Nkanu candidate" "We have never been Partisan before the coming of Chimaroke Nnamani. So let nobody confuse us with whatever governor said about anointing any candidate. We are elders and this is not what we should be talking about. We are supposed to be completely non Partisan as we used to be". Chief Emma Okenwa was largely supported by many other Nkanu elders in the Sunday meeting who spoke after him in approval of the gold standard of the Nkanu Peoples Assembly as correctly stated by Chief Okenwa.

While we commend the uncommon courage to say the truth, as displayed by Chief Emma Okenwa and the Nkanu elders who supported him, I wish to express my disappointment on the person of the over 90 years old Igwe Abel Nwobodo. At an age when this elder states man should be preaching unity among his people, he has continued to display extreme clannishness over the years. By the way, why has Pa Abel Nwobodo refused to conduct an election in Nkanu Peoples Assembly for more than twenty years he has monopolized the leadership of the famous Association Is he thinking that Nkanu Peoples Assembly is his personal fiefdom the same way he foisted himself on the people of NaraUnateze as their Igwe in 2014 against the will of the entire Nara Unateze people?? Why has Nkanu elders allowed this clannish man to continue to portray the noble association in bad light for more than twenty years now

This motion and counter motion in Nkanu Peoples Assembly is very timely and has reiterated all we have been saying all the while namely: 1. that Nkanu People begged Isi Uzo people to join them in forming Enugu East Senatorial district as brothers. 2. That it is only few people led by Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani that are causing problem in Enugu East Senatorial district. 3. That Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga is widely accepted throughout Enugu State including the entire Nkanu land. 4. That Peter Mba cannot win any governorship election in Enugu state because of his criminal past, as long as Chijioke Edeoga, who is in all ramifications immuned to corruption, is contesting the same election. This explains why the PDP, Peter Mba, governor Ugwuanyi and Chimaroke Nnamani have been doing every permissible evil thing to truncate the liberation of Enugu State through attempted withering of Chijioke Edeoga's name from the ballot papers.

But Edeoga as usual will definitely come out stronger as their defeat has started with the federal high court Abuja's refusal to declare Odengene as the party's candidate. May I conclude this by stating unequivocally that the conundrum of the artificial troubles that have been fashioned against the people's incoming governor, Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga is a vital and most convincing sign that he is on a long but assured walk to victory, the lion building Enugu.

Agbo writes from Mbu Ezeutazi ward 2.