Impeachment & anger of democratic forces await would-be defector govs in Enugu & Anambra

Looming political defections in Enugu and Anambra must be resisted

Fresh political defections are thickening in South-East States of Enugu and Anambra. Intersociety has carefully followed the Independent National Electoral Commission over its decision to suspend the collation of Governorship results in Enugu (Nkanu East and Nsukka) and Abia (Obingwa) for ‘review’ and later obtained a credible intelligence informing us of what transpired in Abuja including alleged compromises and promises made to the powers that be by the Enugu Political Dynasty (called “Ebeano Dynasty”); one of which was reported imminent collapsing (after swearing in)  of the State gubernatorial seat and political structures into APC. Credence was lent to the above by recent disharmonious relationship between the Enugu Political Dynasty and the national leadership of PDP, leading to the leader of Ebeano Dynasty throwing his political weight behind APC and its presidential candidate, Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Intersociety further gathered that ‘award’ of governorship victory to Enugu PDP Candidate by INEC was part of the deal and that the same would have been repeated in Abia State if not for the tightness of the matter and uncompromising stance of Collation Officer, Prof Nnenna Oti. Critics have also found it difficult in recent times to differentiate between INEC and APC especially as it concerns the Commission’s independence, neutrality and integrity. In Anambra State, the body language of Gov. Charles Soludo has also raised a serious suspicion of imminence of defection of the State’s gubernatorial seat and political structures to APC. Apart from not hiding his recent strong opposition to collective political aspiration of the South-East Region; unconnected with “it is not my turn” or “2025 Ozigbo factor”, the Gov.’s hasty, unpopular, non-consultative and unilateral congratulatory message to Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the INEC-declared ‘President-Elect’ and the wording of his congratulatory message has also raised a strong suspicion in that direction. There is also a second option being rumored which is: “to retain PDP or APGA structures as offshoots of APC and its anti-South-East People and their development policies”.

Govs of Enugu, Anambra and Abia must be publicly barred from defection or risk impeachment

The act of collapsing the state structures into a popularly rejected political party and its ruling class is totally condemned and must be resisted in the South-East. It must be pointed out that no elected Gov has a right and power to defect and collapse the State structures into a regionally unpopular party. It has also been investigated and found that the rampancy in elected Govs’ maddening defections and collapsing of their state structures into a regionally unpopular political party and its ruling class are crudely driven by selfish political interests including self-anointment as “Igbo Political Leaders”. This is even when their ‘output legitimacies’ (achievements) are nothing to write home about. Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chair of Intersociety, sees the Govs’ self-centeredness and selfish interests as “nothing short of a colonial era Isuofia man in present Aguata, Anambra State who applied for a police job and was invited for an interview in Enugu. To honor the interview, he boarded a public transport and abruptly alighted at Oji River and started arresting his fellow commuters even when he was not yet a conscripted police officer. One of his town’s men spotted and angrily said to him: Nwanna (my brother), you are not yet a police officer but have started making arrests, what then will become of your Umunna (kindred) if eventually you become a police officer? In all, therefore, democratic forces in the South-East must resist the above dangerous trend and mobilize forces towards the impeachment of any Gov. that henceforth defects in the Region. Any Gov. that is tired of governing the State through the political platform he was elected should resign and vacate his gubernatorial seat.

Prof Nnenna Oti (Abia Collation Officer) as a heroine and next INEC chairman in 2025

Intersociety not only heartily congratulates and celebrates the courageous and conscientious Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Prof Mrs. Nnenna Oti who stood her ground and insisted that the sacred electoral wishes of the People of Abia State in the just held Governorship Election in the State must not be toyed with; but we have also put her name down as a matter of conscientious recommendation as the next Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. Although the conscientious motherly professor was one of those installed by the APC cabal preparatory for rigging of the 2023 Presidential Poll from 2020 and 2021 when she became VC, FUTO, but she has distinguished herself as one of the minutest few that survived the “APC virus in Nigeria”. Consumed victims of the “APC virus in Nigeria” include Amnesty International in Nigeria, the National Human Rights Commission, the Lagos School of Rights and Democracy Activism and its formerly respected leaders as well as dozens, if not hundreds of respected university professors and other university dons. We hereby strongly recommend the erudite and highly revered Prof Mrs. Oti for INEC Chairmanship by July 2025 when the current integrity challenged Chair will end his last term in office having been first appointed in July 2015. There is also the possibility of invocation of ‘doctrine of necessity’ to get him to step aside much sooner before than if “the come comes to the come and become”; replacing him with Prof Mrs. Nnenna Oti.

Ballot revolution journey in the south-east has just begun

It is evidently correct to say that the ‘spirits’ of the Nigerian People behind the outcomes of the just held shambolic 2023 General Elections in the South-East have clearly indicated commencement of the journey to liberate the South-East from decades-long political and leadership bondages. Despite ‘industrial scale’ voter suppression and collation center massive rigging of living votes and their replacement with fixed dead votes by INEC and desperate political actors, the resilience of the People of the Region has brought about “Time-UP” for the rigging bandits that fiercely survived and “Red-Cards” for others that did not survive. It is on record that the South-East Region had produced only three public leadership conscious and compliant democratically elected Govs between 1979 and 2014; namely: Dr. Sam Mbakwe of Old Imo State (1979-1983), Chief Ifeanyichukwu Jim Nwobodo of Old Anambra State (1979-1983) and Chief Gregory Peter Obi of New Anambra State (2006-2014). Apart from these three and their historical output legitimacies (achievements), nothing reasonable has ever come the way of the Region developmentally. It must be reminded that the most striking quality of ascendance to elective public office by Mbakwe, Nwobodo and Obi and towering achievements in their names was that they were grounded in ‘input’ and ‘output’ legitimacies (ascending to elective public office through popular and credible electoral process and towering achievements in office through judicious and transparent use of public funds for public good).

Therefore, observed was the fact that the 2023 polls in the South-East are strongly grounded in ballot revolution and political re-awaking including ‘take back your destinies’.  What happened in the five South-East States during the polls has positively become the first of its kind in decades. For the first time in decades, transactional politics and politics of anointment or selection were strongly challenged and resisted in Enugu, Anambra and Abia; which also for the first in decades, will be having mixed and balanced State Assembly legislative compositions. In Ebonyi and Imo State with installed ‘mistakes’ as Govs, the citizens of the two States came out boldly en masse and spoke through the ballot; only for their sacred electoral wishes to be brutally subverted and suppressed through transactional politics using amassed billions from state coffers and widespread deployment of killer-squads and pocketing of security and INEC chiefs. The two States have also earned notoriety as South-East most politically unstable and deadliest States since 2021; fueled by the Supreme Court installation of the Gov of Imo State in Jan 2020 and defection of the Gov of Ebonyi State to APC on 19th Nov 2020. Today, Imo and Ebonyi have been politically polarized by intolerance and divisions. The two States are also under the siege of ‘unknown gunmen’, ‘government unknown gunmen’, political killer-squads and police and military terrors. It is strongly warned that Enugu and Anambra Governments must learn from Imo and Ebonyi States and be very carefully and avoid turning their States into ‘killing fields and anarchic arenas through political defections.

Ballot Revolution: Imo is next

The next in line for ballot revolution and political liberation in the South-East is Imo State which will be having a staggered governorship poll in Sept or Oct 2023. To ensure balance of force and free and fair election in the State, there must be congregation and aggregation of all democratic forces. The 2023 General Polls are likely going to be the last time elections will be brutally rigged or manipulated in the State. Imo under Supreme Court-installed Hope Uzodinma has severally been investigated and found to have recorded the highest number of civilian killings and property destructions since January 2021. Out of the State’s 27 Local Government Areas, not less than ten did not credibly and popularly participate in the just held 2023 shambolic polls yet results were manufactured and ‘winners’ announced including 99% of the State’s 27 State Legislative seats allocated to the State’s ruling political party (APC). Therefore, by Sept or Oct 2023, all roads will lead to Imo State and all eyes will be on the State. All democratic forces are hereby put on advocacy notice and prayed to get ready. Political parties like PDP, Labor and APGA are strongly advised to shop for credible and popular aspirants and not “Otokoto politicians”. This is because the State Governorship poll is going to be ‘a popularity and integrity test’ candidacy and voting choice.

Signed

For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety)

Emeka Umeagbalasi (Criminologist)

Board Chair @ Intersociety

Chinwe Umeche Esquire

Head, Democracy and Good Governance Program @Intersociety

Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire

Head, Campaign and Publicity Department @ Intersociety

Contacts:  Phone/WhatsApp: +2348174090052, Email: info@intersociety-ng.org, Website: https://intersociety-ng.org

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