There are subtle moves by a clique in Enugu State to facilitate the removal of Governor Sullivan Chime, writes Ozioma Ubabukoh. A series of meetings, some marathon and muffled, have been going on in Enugu, the capital of Enugu State. At virtually all the meetings, the common item for deliberation revolved around the prolonged ‘leave’ by the state Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime.Not only has the governor’s sojourn overseas for accumulated annual vacation become a source of worry in the state, political actors with eyes on the 2015 general elections have moved in with a web of intrigues.
In fact, as at the wee hours of Thursday, December 27, 2012, the issue of who succeeds Chime against the well-known power-sharing arrangement in the state was at the centre of plans for progress in 2013.
A prominent member of the state government, who was part of the meetings, told in Saturday PUNCH, “We have been meeting to lay out plans for progress in 2013.” He stated that certain elements in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, who feel sidetracked in the scheme of things, have been fueling calls for the impeachment of the governor.
He said, “You may have heard that the state House of Assembly is considering an impeachment option against His Excellency, Governor Sullivan Chime, if by the end of January he does not return to the country.
“We know those who are behind these orchestrated calls on the legislature to act in that manner. But instead of joining issues with unseen parties, we are engaged in discussions aimed at convincing the relevant stakeholders that the governor has breached no law.”
Chime, on September 19, 2012, had begun his official leave. He presided over an executive council meeting a day before and had informed his cabinet members that he would be starting his annual vacation. The Deputy Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, was handed over the reins of state power to sit in for the governor while he was away.
Saturday PUNCH recalls that from 2007 when he was inaugurated, Chime has never gone on annual leave. It was, therefore, against this background that no more words were heard from the government when the governor’s leave period stretched.
Residents began to discuss in hushed tones about the governor’s absence, but in a short time the rumour mill went full blast. The political dimension was introduced.
Some members of the state assembly began to ask questions, albeit in subdued tones. Such was the setting, that even the Speaker, Mr. Eugene Odoh, was inundated with sundry designs and requests for clarification.
To lend credence to the pressures brought to bear on the Speaker, a member of the Assembly, who insisted that his name should not be in print, told reporters that, “the situation has become very embarrassing.”
Though the legislator stated that there was the need for the lawmakers to act, he said what they knew about the health challenges of the governor was scanty. He added that it was not clear whether such deficient knowledge was enough to mandate the acting governor to function as the substantive governor with full executive powers.
A new twist was, however, added to the whole saga when a group going by the name, Civil Society Initiative, came up with what it called ‘Operation Locate Governor Chime.’ A prominent promoter of the group, Jude Agu, said that after 90 days of absence and without official pronouncement on the whereabouts of the governor, “we want to search through all the nooks and crannies to fish him out.”
Agu contended that the lack of official pronouncement on the governor’s situation gave the impression that the people surrounding him were out to hide certain things from the public.
Amid the histrionics and seemingly shadow chasing, the National Secretary of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, Willy Ezeugwu, descended on the members of the state House of Assembly, accusing them of transforming into a social club presided over by the speaker.
In an interview with Saturday PUNCH, Ezeugwu said he wanted the legislators to act in accordance with constitutional stipulations. “I told them that it was the same thing that happened when late President Umaru Yar’Adua was sick and he was kept away from Nigerians. So, I said it was time for the Enugu State House of Assembly to do something and that if they fail to act, I will personally lead 10,000 Enugu citizens to the streets for them to let us know where our governor is. I am also calling on the constituents to recall the legislators because they have lost their essence,” he declared.
Ezeugwu contended that instead of concerns for zonal balance, the legislators should follow the constitution.
Dismissing Ezeugwu’s position, the state Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Joe Mmamel, said there was no point joining issues with political jobbers in the media. He insisted that such exchanges would not advance the cause of development in the state.
Mmamel said what some less informed commentators were advocating had no bearing on governance in Enugu, pointing out that the acting governor had been carrying out his functions without let or hindrance.
But despite the continued running of government in the state, some opposition politicians are busy analysing the development and building different scenarios. For instance, at a meeting held by some powerful elements from Enugu East Senatorial Zone from where the acting Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, hails, the zone stated that as far as Onyebuchi was concerned, whoever was asking for the impeachment of Chime should look elsewhere.
A stalwart of the PDP from Akpugo in Enugu East Senatorial Zone, who was one of the playmakers in former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani’s administration and attended the meeting, spoke to Saturday PUNCH in strict confidence. He said that at the meeting, the prevailing political climate in the state was reviewed. He pointed out that the stand of every true Nkanu native was that Onyebuchi should not be supported to become governor.
He said the acting governor, who is styled as Mr. Anonymous, hails from Umuode and as such, any political calculation to enhance his influence should be resisted with all vehemence. He said, “Apart from the fact that he is from Umuode, you know what I mean; the acting governor has not been reaching out and he does not enjoy the support of eminent Nkanu politicians like Senators Jim Nwobodo and Ken Nnamani.”
And while Enugu East politicians are complacent about a possible Onyebuchi governorship, those from Enugu West, from where Chime hails, have made it clear that even if the wishes of Chime’s detractors were to become feasible, the zone must complete its eight years in office and hand over to Enugu North Senatorial district (Nsukka cultural zone).
In all these calculations, the fact that the speaker of the house of assembly comes from Enugu North makes it implausible for him to become governor in the event of a possible impeachment of Onyebuchi.
The constitution stipulates that on the unlikely event of the governor and deputy governor being impeached from office, the speaker would occupy the position for six months within which a bye-election will be conducted.
Just as Enugu politicians are busy raising hypothetical settings, younger brother to Chime, Mr. Jideofor Chime, told Saturday PUNCH that even as the rumour of his brother’s death was making the rounds in Nigeria, he left the governor in London.
Jideofor stressed that in this age of technology, it was mischievous to suggest that the governor was kept incommunicado. While denying that his brother was hospitalised, Jideofor, who is a lecturer in one of the universities in Enugu, declared that since only the return of the governor could douse the tension in the state, “in a matter of days, those merchants of fibs would eat their words.”
As Enugu people await the governor’s return, opposition politicians, who maintain that Chime may not regain his seat, have been identifying potential losers and beneficiaries. For instance, those who may lose if Chime does not regain his seat are said to include Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, the powerful Chief of Staff to the governor.
Nwobodo is an Amokwe Udi-born accountant married to Justice Afam Nwobodo of Akpugo, Nkanu West Local Council of the state. Others are Joe Mmamel, a lawyer and Machiavellian former chairman of Ezeagu Local Council; Mr. Ikeji Asogwa, Nsukka-born General Manager of Enugu State Housing Corporation; Chimezi and Cornelius Ani, both of whom are the governor’s in-laws.
The Deputy President of Senate, Ike Ekweremadu; the Acting Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi; and Senator representing Enugu East Senatorial Zone, Gilbert Nnaji, are those identified as great beneficiaries of a possible sudden change of guards in Enugu politics. But if Chime ever returned, the calculation would change and the ‘losers’ will win again!
Source Punch Nigeria
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