By Dapo Akinrefon
THE 2015 general election in the country is fast gaining momentum as electioneering campaigns kick off. Now, the nation’s political landscape is increasingly getting charged with states becoming a beehive of political activities especially where governorship elections will be conducted.
The various governorship candidates have embarked on journeys to seek endorsements and forming alliances to ensure they emerge victorious at the polls.
Also, the leadership of the front line political parties especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) are making frantic efforts to ensure their party defeat their opponents on the field.
Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
In Enugu State, the situation is not different.
Though for those who have been following political events since the last governorship primaries of the PDP in the state, the picture of who would occupy the Enugu Lion Building is becoming clearer.
Analysts posit that the governorship candidate of the PDP, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, is merely waiting to be crowned by the crowd of voters rooting for his candidature.
Also, observers of political events concur that if the results of elections in the state since 1999 were anything to go by, there is no gainsaying that Enugu is unarguably a PDP state.
But ahead of the general elections, one question agitating the minds of critical observers is – will the PDP maintain its winning streak in Enugu? While many with the party have high hopes of pending victory, others in the opposition camp think otherwise.
Power must change hand
Expectedly, the governorship candidate of the APC, Mr Okey Ezea, holds the view that power must change hands in the Coal City state.
Penultimate Tuesday, Ezea who has been contesting governorship elections since 2003 accused Governor Sullivan Chime of running down the state’s economy, a claim the PDP-led government dismisses.
The APC candidate, who unveiled his manifesto in Enugu maintained that the state had a robust economy but that it was grounded by the PDP-led government.
According to him, “All these have laid the foundation for a greater evil- the poverty of morals. As men’s souls are put in crucible, social norms and ethics become luxuries only a few can afford”.
In a six-point agenda, he promised to harness the huge economic potentials of the state for the benefit of the people, assuring that the APC government would implement its programmes without over taxing residents.
Lamenting the plight of the people of the state, he said, “the poverty level in Enugu State is debilitating with 57 percent of the citizens of Enugu State rated as poor. There is infrastructural poverty through the lack of the most basic amenities- portable water, electricity and shelter.
“There is poverty of the pocket that translates to the growing incidence of hunger as a result of lack of employment opportunities and economic growth. Pensioners drop dead in long queues while waiting for meagre hand-outs that never come”.
Ezea accused Governor Chime of plunging the state into huge debts, vowing that “we are going to audit all these debt- where and when they were taken and what they were taken for. We can’t pay debts for money used to buy cars for friends.”
While expressing optimism of flooring the PDP, he called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to disqualify the PDP from participating in the election since it had failed to produce a single candidate.
Since Ezea came out with his critical commentary on the administration of the PDP-led government in Enugu State, tongues have been wagging to interrogate his submission. Not a few argue that rather than criticize the PDP government, Ezea should rather concentrate on selling the programme of his party to the electorate.
Pundits, have so far, taken exception to Ezea’s claim that Chime’s administration has impoverished the state.
Not a few have forgotten that Enugu made history recently as the only Nigerian city among 35 cities from across the globe invited to join the 100 Resilient Cities Network (100RC) pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation, New York.
It would be imperative to note here that the announcement was made during The Rockefeller Foundation’s Urban Resilience Summit in Singapore. The other three African cities that made the list alongside the Coal City of Enugu are Kigali (Rwanda), Accra (Ghana) and Arusha (Tanzania).
The choice of Enugu was predicated on the spectacular transformation the city has undergone in the past seven years under the administration of Governor Sullivan Chime. This was an addition to numerous national and international recognitions that have been bestowed on Enugu State since Chime’s administration.
The Foundation stressed that Enugu like other Network cities will serve as a model for other global cities that seek to build their own resilience.
According to the foundation, this second wave of cities will join 32 cities that won last year’s 100 Resilient Cities Challenge, forming a growing network of urban centres around the world that are ready to respond to the social, economic and physical shocks and stresses that are a growing part of the 21st century.
Many opine that with the glaring success of Chime’s administration that is recognized even globally, it will be an uphill task for any other party to beat the PDP in the coming election in Enugu.
Chime has successfully turned Enugu state, not only as an enviable city and investment destination but also as a veritable choice for family settlement for both indigenes and non indigenes. Also, the avalanche of Chime’s achievements, observers maintain, speaks for itself.
It has also been propounded that one good thing in all these is the obvious and commendable fact is that Chime never lost focus or got distracted in his service delivery to the people.
As the curtain drops on his tenure, many wonder who will step into the big shoe Sullivan Chime is about to leave behind?
It is, however, believes that the choice of Ugwuanyi as a popular candidate by the PDP National Executive Council seems to have put paid to the question given the few dissenting voices to his candidacy.
Hi. I’m a Web Developer and Graphics Designer, I enjoy blogging as part-time and I draw a lot when I’m free. Thanks for visiting my blog today and I hope you come back next time.
0 comments:
Post a Comment