Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu have many things in common. Both are lawyers cum politicians, who were not only tutored in the Faculty of Law of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), they also share the same Enugu-West Senatorial District.
Despite the aforementioned, they have realised that their zonal origin has become a factor dividing them following their ambitions come 2015.
Interestingly, both Chime and Ekweremadu are also products of the Ebeano Political Family which Senator Chimaroke Nnamani used effectively to keep his perceived opponents at bay all through his eight year rule as governor.
As it is, the rivalry between Senator Ekweremadu and Governor Chime has continued to heat up the Enugu State body polity especially as the 2015 general elections draw near.
Sunday Tribune investigations revealed that while Chime is plotting to go
to the Senate to represent his Enugu West Senatorial zone after serving out his tenure as governor, Senator Ekweremadu is said to be mapping out strategies to return to the Upper House. However, both of them are yet to make their ambitions public even when their body languages suggest they are strong contenders for the senatorial seat in 2015.
Perhaps, to douse tension and also remain in control of the Coal City State, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) waded into the seeming differences between the lawmaker and the governor.
To this end, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has scheduled a meeting between Senator Ekweremadu and Governor Chime, as well as all critical stakeholders in the crisis within three weeks, with a view to resolving the built-up anger in the state chapter of the ruling party.
In a letter to the National Vice Chairman (South-East), Col. Austin Akobundu dated April 14, 2014, which was signed by the PDP National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo and made available to Sunday Tribune in Enugu, the national leadership urged the warring factions to sheathe their swords for amicable resolution of the intra-party squabbles.
“The NWC will hold meeting of all critical stakeholders on the matter including the Deputy Senate President and the Enugu State Governor within three weeks with a view to resolving all issues in dispute and ensuring the Enugu State Chapter continues to wax strong”, the letter read.
The letter also added that “all cases of suspension (in particular that of Udi Local Government Chairman, SSG and Commissioners) should be dropped, the suspension lifted and evidence forwarded within 14 days from the date of this letter, the Udi Local Government Chairman who instituted a suit on the matter should withdraw the said suit and evidence forwarded within 14 days. Any suit on the matter should be withdrawn within 14 days”
Meanwhile, the Udi Local Government Chapter of the PDP has lifted the suspension of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Amechi Okolo, the Commissioners of Sports, and that of Commerce and Industry, Chijioke Agu and Jude Akubuilo, respectively and Sir OAU Onyema as well as Sunny Agu. Both are Senior Special Advisers to Governor Chime on Parks and Development and Due Process respectively.
Briefing the press on Wednesday, the Udi Local Government Chairman of the PDP, Uche Ogbodo said “Cohesive and broad based associations such as ours do have their trying moments, he added they come out stronger.
“The consolation is that we have come out stronger and more resolved in our determination to deliver dividends of democracy to our people. I am confident and reinvigorated to lead the party to greater success in the next elections”, he concluded.
Even as Ogbodo tries to portray all is well in the state chapter of the party, Chime’s camp reservation on the olive branch extended by Ekweremadu’s loyalists suggests there is more than meets the eye.
For instance, while the people of Oduma community were making arrangements for the conferment of a chieftancy title on Ekweremadu for his outstanding contributions to his constituency, the state government through the Ministry of Chieftaincy Matters announced the suspension of conferment of chieftaincy title by traditional rulers in the state with effect from April 7, 2014.
The letter dated April 7, 2014 with reference number; CM/CM/98/T/203 addressed to all recognised traditional rulers in the state and signed by Ibe Nnamani on behalf of the Commissioner, directed traditional rulers in the state not to confer chieftaincy title on any individual between April 7 and December 31, this year.
To Ekweremadu’s faithfuls, government’s ban on conferment of chieftancy title was targeted at their leader. It took the intervention of the Presidency for the event to eventually hold.
No doubt organisers of the event, the Oduma Unity Forum (OUF) led by its Chairman, Chief Ezekiel Chulwu saw the development as a challenge, hence they worked round the clock to ensure the event was a success. Security was therefore beefed up to forestall any ugly incident.
The crisis between Ekweremadu and Chime resurfaced in March following the controversy surrounding the return of ex-governor Nnamani to the PDP.Ekweremadu had declared it wrong for anyone to try to stop another from joining the party.
The vice chairman of PDP in Agbani ward and other party leaders in Enugu West local government rejected his return bid, saying he must follow due process by first writing the ward secretary.
But Ekweremadu said, “…nobody is going to stop anybody from being in any political party. Things don’t work that way; we don’t run a secret society, it’s not a cult, PDP is a big party, and is open to everybody so I’m surprised if anybody is opposing his (Nnamani’s) coming back. He will actually add value, the more the merrier in this business.
“So I think we should have an open mind in all this. To think about it, the major political actors in Enugu state are all products of Senator Chimaroke Nnamani and we should be grateful to him. The worse thing that will happen to anybody is the sin of ingratitude; if you are ungrateful to anybody you can never make any progress. The Bible is clear on that. So if you pay good with evil, evil will never depart from your house. We expect anyone who has benefited from Chimaroke Nnamani to be happy with him, the least you can do is to wish him well”.He expressed his happiness that the former governor had taken the decision to return to the party, which he left to form the People for Democratic Change (PDC), saying it is a positive development.
“I read that he went to the ward and declared his interest to return and he was fully accepted. I think it is also a positive development for us in PDP in Enugu state. You recall that in the last election, PDP gave most of the votes to the presidential candidate of PDP, Goodluck Jonathan. At that time Senator Nnamani was in PDC, now that he is with us in PDP, it is expected that we are going to get more votes. Majority of the votes will now go to Mr. President and of course to PDP.
“So for us in the PDP it’s a welcome development. He has been a founding father of PDP in Enugu State; he played a major role in stabilizing PDP in bringing about the position which most of us occupy today. So I think we should also be excited he is coming back to PDP and we should be able to encourage him.”
The Deputy Senate President called on others yet to return to quickly do so, so PDP can have a complete hold of Enugu State.
Curiously, Dr Nnamani was conspicuously absent at the April 11 Enugu PDP Zonal rally when President Jonathan visited despite the party’s claim it was a unity forum where aggrieved party leaders were expected to meet and resolve their differences.
The import of Nnamani’s absence at the occasion indicates that Governor Chime’s group is not sleeping as the state chief executive was said to be holding clandestine meeting with traditional rulers and other stakeholders on his senatorial ambition.
The question is: Will Chime influence the election of his successor and at the same time push himself to the Upper House on the PDP platform while Ekweremadu whose gubernatorial ambition seems to have hit the rock due to zonal arrangements stay aloof?
As the war rages on, who blinks first? Chime or Ekweremadu? Time will tell, but analysts are of the view that the opposition might likely be the gainer in the ongoing battle of wits in the Enugu PDP.
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