A palpable apprehension has gripped the political camp of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State following the unfolding realignment of political forces that has re-energized the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the 2019 elections.
Last Saturday, a mammoth crowd of APC supporters from the two rival factions of the party in the state, thronged the Enugu Airport to welcome Senator Ayogu Eze who was arriving from Abuja for the first time since his recent defection to the party where he suddenly emerged as the frontline contender for the party’s governorship ticket. The significant presence of the supporters of the Ebeano political group of former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani at the rousing airport reception pointed to the changing political permutations in the state, as Enugu APC leaders mull a possible governorship ticket of Senator Eze and Rt. Hon. KGB Oguakwa, a two-term former member of the House of Representatives and longtime protégé of Nnamani. The grave implications of such an outcome have thrown top advisers of Governor Ugwuanyi into panic, according to informed Government House sources.
The apprehension is rooted in the political configuration of Enugu State where the Ebeano political machine arguably forms the most formidable grassroots organization second only to followers of the present PDP-led government in the state.
Given the significant goodwill and widespread name-recognition which Senator Ayogu Eze enjoys within the state, any combination which includes the Ebeano structure over which Oguakwa superintends, is likely to match Governor Ugwuanyi’s perceived popularity.
The governor, who initially ignored the entry of Barrister Ifeanyi Nwoga into the APC governorship race, perhaps calculating that though Nwoga had served as Nnamani’s Attorney-General for three months, there was no apparent connection between Nwoga and the Ebeano structure even in Nkanuland, the home zone of Nnamani, where Nwoga also hails from.
In sharp contrast, however, the entry into the race by Oguakwa who was the governorship candidate of the Ebeano family party in the 2015 polls, the People for Democratic Change (PDC), fuelled jitters in the governor’s camp.
Ugwuanyi in apparent response sought to divide the Ebeano camp by instigating the inauguration of a pro-government “Ebeano for Gburugburu” campaign group. The antics however proved unsuccessful as members of the Ebeano family registered en masse into the APC in the wards throughout the state, following Oguakwa’s directive that they do so.
Governor Ugwuanyi and his deputy hail from the Enugu North and Enugu West senatorial zones, respectively, and so, in a state where the issue of zonal balance is emotive, an APC ticket which mirrors this geographical balance (such as the Eze -North and Oguakwa – West ), will strike a decisive blow when Enugu East, the Ebeano stronghold of support, weighs in to support Nnamani’s political son, Oguakwa, who is currently a governorship aspirant under APC and who also has considerable Statewide name-recognition too. Oguakwa is fondly referred to as “ Ezi’oyii na’ Nkanu” (meaning, “Good friend of Nkanuland” for his abiding loyalty to Dr Chimaroke Nnamani.
Additionally, the Greater Awgu sub-zone of Enugu West Senatorial Zone from where Oguakwa hails has never enjoyed election as governor or deputy governor since the creation of the State in 1992, and may have to wait till 2031 for another opportunity if this Ayogu/Oguakwa permutation slips them by. The “Save Awgu Group”, financed by the flamboyant philanthropist, successful astute businessman and politician, Emperor Baywood Ibe, which has long mobilized and sensitized the people of the area against their perceived marginalization, has vowed not to wait for that long, – year 2031.
This joint-ticket speculation became rife when Oguakwa was the only other APC governorship aspirant at Senator Eze’s airport reception and also at the refreshment party at Eze’s residence before both rode together to attend, not only the APC stakeholders meeting convened by the Minister of Foreign Affairs same evening, but also the next day to the church service for the child dedication and reception held by the National Vice Chairman of the APC, Chief Emma Enukwu in Enugu.
Seen to be in the good books of APC Enugu bigwigs across the divide of factions, including Dr Ben Nwoye, Deacon Okey Ogbodo, the foreign minister, Onyeama, Chief Emma Enukwu, Emperor Baywood Ibe, Governor Sullivan Chime, Senators Jim Nwobodo and Ken Nnamani, Generals Ugwu and Okoloagu, the duo of Eze/Oguakwa appear set to give Ugwuanyi a battle of wits in the upcoming polls in an Enugu State that is increasingly considered winnable by the APC.
Surely this is a wniing team!
I will surely vote for the Ayougu Eze/KGB ticket
This is a poorly researched report by a jaundiced paid journalist whose sense of politics hinges on imagination rather than realities on the ground. It is shameless that out of crave for the lure of filthy lucree he aspires to blindfold truth. But it will dawn on him that a hundred Ayogu and 200 Oguakwa cannot fit into the mold of the Enugu politics hallmarked by deliverables and not political rhetorics
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is riding to power owing to his redefining governance as a charter between the government and the people, by which the greatest happiness of the greatest number matter most